Port Tampa Bay to Offer Royal Caribbean Cruises to Cuba in 2017
The recently updated Empress of the Seas will port in Tampa for the 2017 summer season and offer a series of four and five-night sailings to ports in Cuba. The Empress of the Seas will join two other Royal Caribbean ships in Tampa, the 2,543-passenger, Brilliance of the Seas and 2,416-passenger Rhapsody of the Seas, in 2017.
The Empress of the Seas ship will arrive on April 30 and start the season with a seven-day cruise and then offer four and five-day itineraries. More details of the summer itineraries will be released at a later date, according to a press release.
"This is truly historic for Port Tampa Bay to have cruises to Cuba and we are thrilled that Royal Caribbean has chosen Port Tampa Bay to offer the largest ship to sail to Cuba from the United States. To have three Royal Caribbean ships in 2017 is exciting for cruise passengers seeking new and innovative experiences," said Paul Anderson, CEO of Port Tampa Bay, in a statement.
Carnival Corp. was the first cruise line to begin offering cruises to Cuba in May with service out of Miami. But Carnival will end those operations next spring. Both Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line were approved Friday to offer additional sailings to Cuba. Both cruise lines will offer sailings from the Port of Miami, too.
"The Tampa Bay market has always been important to us, and the entire family at Royal Caribbean is excited to give our guests great year-round options to travel on one of our beautiful ships from a world-class port like Port Tampa Bay," said Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, in a statement. "We are thrilled to introduce culture-seeking travelers to Cuba from Tampa and we look forward to continuing to grow our business in Tampa for years to come."
The cruise announcement comes on the heels of plans for starting commercial flights from Tampa International Airport to Havana, Cuba, on Southwest Airlines, which will take off for the first time on Monday.
Source: Tampa Bay Times
