Cuba

[cardboardcharlie]

My husband wants to take a cruise to cuba in the future do you

think princess will have cruises going to cuba and what year do you think it would start again

[CruiserBruce]

If you do a search on the topic, you will see many threads on the topic. Princess will not be able to go there for some time yet. At this point, in terms of American tourism, almost nothing has really changed. Just read an article on this today. The summary is that Cuba has a very small tourism capacity, and it is pretty full with the non-American tourists that can go there now. So, on both sides, it will take a while for the capacity to be there.

 

I wouldn't expect a US oriented cruise ship full of Americans to be stopping there for a couple of years.

Edited March 8, 2015 by CruiserBruce

[icat2000]

I'm going there in March/April next year land base tour with some friends we are hoping it remains that way until after we have visited because once it opens up to the US it will be very busy.

[caribill]

I'm sure Princess is considering stopping in Cuba but the very earliest would be 2018.

 

 

Carnival Corp (which owns Princess) has stated that there is a pent-up demand for cruise ships to visit Cuba. Because of the demand, yields from visiting there will be high.

 

Being so close to South Florida, going there makes for fuel efficient itineraries. There are about 11 ports which can handle a variety of Carnival Corp ships, but Havana has a shallow draft and can only handle smaller ships.

 

An investment in ports and infrastructure will be required once (and if) the legislative embargo is lifted.

[WeeCountyMan]

Cuba has become a popular tourist destination for Brits for quite a few years now, both land based and cruise visits.

 

Tourism creates employment so opening up the island to more visitors can't be a bad thing for the locals.

[Liz54]

Its called "Cuba Cruise". We did 4 days in Havana followed by 7 days around Cuba with 6 stops, including 1 in Monetego Bay (Where Americans were able to board more easily!). There is a thread here under "Other Cruise lines - Cuba Cruise"

 

We hope to do it again next year, possibly twice!!

[john watson]

Star Clippers do quite a few Cuba cruises. They seem to have an office in Miami but are not regarded as American owned.

 

Regards John

[kendon]

I enjoy reading the posts from the Canadians who have open travel to Cuba. They would be more knowledgable than those from the U.S. Anything else you can share is welcome. I have been reading many travel books the past five years in anticipation of going there some day.

[Liz54]

I enjoy reading the posts from the Canadians who have open travel to Cuba. They would be more knowledgable than those from the U.S. Anything else you can share is welcome. I have been reading many travel books the past five years in anticipation of going there some day.

 

Almost 100 pages here from people who have done the Cuba Cruise in the 2 seasons it has been available. Some Americans were on our cruise through the "Roads Scholar" program. Others simply booked the cruise and boarded and disembarked in MoBay,Jamaica.

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1850565

[icat2000]

Almost 100 pages here from people who have done the Cuba Cruise in the 2 seasons it has been available. Some Americans were on our cruise through the "Roads Scholar" program. Others simply booked the cruise and boarded and disembarked in MoBay,Jamaica.

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1850565

Thanks for this link. It will be helpful in planning our visit to Cuba. Been wanting to visit for years. Its just that the flights are long and costly from Australia, as you either have to go via Canada or Mexico to get there.

Edited March 8, 2015 by icat2000

[M4dC0w]

There are many nice hotels out there in the urban areas, small towns are anither story.

 

Some if gheir resorts aee 4 star or better along the beaches. I can eee them becomming non all inclusive in the future. But as all inclusive, some are amazing especially for the money.

 

Btw most staff at thise resorts are quite educated, and speak many languages. Their restraunts don't quite have the hang of the western palet yet.

 

And its amazzing what kind of service you recieve with a few trinkets, but dont believe that crak about giving them toiletries etc.... candies and magazines are gold out there, and perscription meds.

[peternina]

Cuba is very interesting. There are no simple answers. If you go, you will find what most of the other posters have said to be true. The future is complex, answers to the future of American tourism will depend on dozens of factors coming into place. For the Cuban people I wish them the best.

I will answer only one question on this post. I drove by the future cruiseship port several times, the cruise terminal building is under construction and channels are being dredged.

[Liz54]

Assume you meant the port in Havana, where the Canadian company Cuba Cruise berths?

[peternina]

Yes, the new cruise terminal is being constructed in Havana Harbor.

 

"One item no one has mentioned yet is that Cuba rivals Thailand as a major destination for sex tourism."

 

I did see evidence of the above quoted reference.

 

COMMENT: As you can see the topic of Cuba opens a huge can of worms, every topic comes into play, with many points of view. The Cuban citizens appear to cope. Please go visit, make your own observations. Make your own predictions about the future of the island, at this point in time, no one has any idea what might or might not happen, the book is not written.