Cuba Cruise Opens Shore Excursions for Dec. 16 Debut

Cuba Cruise, a Calgary, Canada-based company started by travel entrepreneur Dugald Wells, opened reservations for shore excursions as it plans to depart on its first cruise Dec. 16. The company plans to operate seven-night circumnavigation cruises of Cuba on the 1,200-passenger Louis Cristal through March 24.

Cruises will begin on Mondays from Havana, Cuba, and Fridays from Montego Bay, Jamaica. Fares start at CAD586 (about US$568). Ports of call include Santiago, Cienfuegos, Trinidad and Punta Frances on the Isle of Youth. Cuba Cruise is chartering the 1980-built Cristal from Louis Cruises, which will manage the vessel.

The shore excursion line-up includes tours built around Ernest Hemingway or Bob Marley, remote beach outings, a guided tour of Havana in American automobiles from the 1940s and 50s, visits to six UNESCO sites including the Colonial village of Trinidad, tours of cigar and rum factories and more.

Wells previously was president of Cruise North Expeditions, which operated in the Canadian Arctic, from January 2004 to March 2011, and president of Marine Expeditions, which operated five expedition ships, from October 1993 to June 2001, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was honored in 2006 by Travel+Leisure Magazine as one of the Top 35 Innovators in travel.

Source: Travel Pulse, http://www.travelpulse.com/cuba-cruise-opens-shore-excursions-for-dec-16-debut.html