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Which line will offer Cuba first

fairweather

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jenn6743

jenn6743

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Almost all restrictions on travel to Cuba were lifted today in the US. Which cruise line do you think will offer Havana as a port first?

 

I don't know, but my DH will be dragging us there... He as been begging me to do an educational experience in Cuba which until now is the only legal way to go to Cuba.

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WhenIsLobsterNight

WhenIsLobsterNight

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I think we are still many years away from a major cruise line heading to Cuba. Congress controls the purse strings and is less than thrilled that Obama is normalizing relations with Cuba without really getting much of anything in return. Anything that needs to be funded from Congress to normalize relations will not be. That is going to create an unstable political situation for many months/years to come. In addition, we are less than 12 months removed from Cubas leaders still calling us the great Satan. They have changed their tone recently with the collapse of Venezuela (who had been giving Cuba free oil) which was supporting the Cuban economy. If and when the Cuban economy begins to pick up, it would shock nobody if they changed their tune to truly hating the US again and causing us problems. So all this uncertainly has to be considered by the cruise lines that would need to invest tens if not hundreds of millions to help build ports for cruises to land. Cuba has a crumbling infrastructure. Its going to take a massive investment to bring in even tiny cruise ships. They water around the ports will have to be dredged for the ships to enter and also new buildings will have to be built to handle the ships docking and the tourists needs. If any of the major cruise lines gets to Cuba in the next five years I will be completely shocked. However, I think early in the next decade a cruise to Cuba on a line like RCCL could be possible.

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boscobeans

boscobeans

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It depends on how quickly cruise lines can get together with Cuba to have some infrastructure prepared. A cruise line will want to have well planned and established excursions in place before a few thousand passengers disembark only to wander the streets of Havana.

 

I am glad to see the spending limits have been raised as well as what can now be purchased and brought back to the States.

 

Maybe this new cruising to policy will finally do something for the general population since it will allow more money to go to the people rather than to government owned and operated hotels and restaurants. The government now allows private sector businesses and restaurants "paladares" ( now numbered in the thousands) to be owned and operated by the private sector although the land they are on will still be owned by the State.

 

If all goes well, as I hope it will, this influx of money will not only be a tremendous benefit to the rising middle class but may also be a step in the right way to improving political relations with our closest neighbor to the south.

 

OMO

 

bosco

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boscobeans

boscobeans

Posted
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They water around the ports will have to be dredged for the ships to enter...

 

That's correct and it depends on the berths that will be used.

 

The depth at the Havana berths varies from 26 to 39+ feet. The channel leading into the port is just over 40 feet deep. Several berths can now handle large cargo ships. The soil under most is soft mud making for easy dredging.

 

OMO

 

bosco

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LMaxwell Great Review Rare

LMaxwell

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Posted (edited)

 

In terms of you quoting me, I'm going off the basis of mass market cruise lines sailing from the US regularly; Carnival, RCI, NCL, HAL, MSC, Princess; the relatively big players.

 

I say Carnival because they have been not only a bit port starved in recent years, but also because they have such a large concentration of ships in Florida and in states along the Gulf of Mexico, that it would be easiest and make the most sense for them to diversify ports of call.

 

This all assumes that travel bans are lifted in relation to cruising and proper agreements between companies and gov't officials, etc., so on and so forth are made. Once they are all "ready to go" I think Carnival gets there first.

Edited by LMaxwell
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Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

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That's correct and it depends on the berths that will be used.

 

The depth at the Havana berths varies from 26 to 39+ feet. The channel leading into the port is just over 40 feet deep. Several berths can now handle large cargo ships. The soil under most is soft mud making for easy dredging.

 

OMO

 

bosco

 

For RCI ships the Oasis class has the deepest draught is 31 ft. Freedom is at 28 ft. Voyager is at 29 feet, and Radiance is listed at 28 ft.

 

So it would seem that there are areas of Havana's harbor that could accomodate every class of RCI ship presently sailing.

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JasonV1

JasonV1

Posted
Posted (edited)

Legislative issues aside (travel isn't truly "open" yet), it takes awhile to prepare a port for an onslaught of cruise guests. Even if just *1* ship visits the port needs to be able to handle an influx of thousands of guests at the same time. This means food, transportation, and so on.

 

The issue I see is that this requires someone to invest considerable dollars into Cuban tourism, and I'm not sure if their government knows how they want to handle that yet (let alone that much contact with US tourists, who will gladly shower them with our dollars). The cruise lines will probably have to foot the bill via a partnership with the Cuban government, and then you'll start to see private operators spring up. Capitalism is often infectious to those who haven't experienced it before.

 

To be clear, I look forward to it. Short of flying there via Canada there was no way I'd be able to go, and there are things I want to see such as the Hemingway house (even if all the books are fakes at this point). Plus Cuba has a ton of reefs, and since (large numbers of) cruise ship divers haven't overloaded them they should be in good shape.

Edited by JasonV1
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ibm_db2

ibm_db2

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The restrictions that were eased have nothing to do with cruise travel.

 

 

Correct cruise travel was not addressed nor was normal airline travel other than restrictions for general travel still not valid, but like Washington Post reports today:

"But—and this is a huge but—prospective travelers will no longer have to obtain a specialized license from the government, which seems to pave the way for a future in which leisure travel is more common, if not completely legal."

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boscobeans

boscobeans

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I'm wondering if a cruise line offered a "cultural immersion" cruise, if that will meet the new law's requirements.

 

Although any cruise line will have to deal with the red tape I think a cruise advertised as stated above would be viable.

 

There are quit a few modern buses now that take visitors all over the island to a wide variety of venues, however there will have to be a much larger number to handle what a ship will bring to Cuba. Although the busses will most probably be State owned the venues should allow plenty of tourist dollars to flow to the non-governmental entrepreneurial middle class.

 

bosco

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Essiesmom "Live from...." Rare

Essiesmom

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It's a matter of Cuba being able to handle a large number of people at once. The ships calling there now are small, relatively speaking. Louis Lines Celestyal Crystal, Fred Olsen Braemar, Thomson Dream. for Carnival to jump in early, it would have to be the Fantasy class ships. For Royal, it would be the Vision class. NCL the Sun class. The luxury lines might get there first, if they see a demand, as all of their ships are smaller. EM

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sail7seas

sail7seas

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HAL could send their "S" and "R" Class ships. Statendam and Ryndam are leaving the fleet soon but that leaves Maasdam, Veendam, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Zaandam and Volendam.

 

There are 12 categories of 'reasons for travel' that permit Americans to visit Cuba starting at midnight tonight. While they say vacation travel in and of itself does not fit any of the categories, for practical reasons, vacationers will be going to Cuba. Americans will be permitted to carry $10,000 cash and to use credit cards.

 

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boscobeans

boscobeans

Posted
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HAL could send their "S" and "R" Class ships. Statendam and Ryndam are leaving the fleet soon but that leaves Maasdam, Veendam, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Zaandam and Volendam.

 

There are 12 categories of 'reasons for travel' that permit Americans to visit Cuba starting at midnight tonight. While they say vacation travel in and of itself does not fit any of the categories, for practical reasons, vacationers will be going to Cuba. Americans will be permitted to carry $10,000 cash and to use credit cards.

 

 

This policy change is jam packed with vagaries.

 

Granted there is no longer a need for a U.S. license to visit Cuba, however does this also negate the need to fulfill all the mandatory "educational, cultural....etc." requirements that are presently in place as per the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

 

If these requirements are still in place very little other than not needing a license prior to your visit has changed.

 

The documentation from these approved programs at least gave some proof that visitors were there for one of the valid reasons outlined by OFAC.

 

As usual one solution from Washington creates a hundred more problems.

 

bosco

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jocap

jocap

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At the moment, shipping lines which visit Cuba aren't allowed into the USA for 6 months.

We were wondering whether Carnival will be lobbying for lines under their umbrella, which cater for Europeans, to visit, if this law is repealed. We were thinking of Costa, Aida and P&O.

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