Small-Ship Cruise Line to Offer People to People Sailings in Cuba

Small-Ship Cruise Line to Offer People to People Sailings in Cuba
April 29, 2015

(4:20 p.m. EDT) -- International Expeditions will offer several
small-ship sailings focused solely on Cuba in late 2015 and 2016.

The three 10-day programs, to take place in December, January and March,
charters Panorama, a 48-passenger three-masted sailing ship owned by the
Greek cruise line Variety Cruises.

The trip starts in Miami, where passengers take a charter flight to Cuba
to Cienfuegos, an art-infused city that's an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
After a day trip to Trinidad – another World Heritage Site – and stops
at the island of Cayo Largo and Maria La Gorda, the ship sails to
Havana. Passengers spend three days in Cuba's capital, using the ship at
anchor as a base for exploration.

International Expeditions, which has been offering land tours of Cuba
since 2003, has a "people to people" license, which means Americans will
be able to book the trip and travel the itinerary without restrictions.
Cultural exchanges with Cubans will be held throughout the cruise to
comply with people-to-people education requirements.

Since President Obama lessened the restrictions on travel to Cuba in
January, the Caribbean's largest island has become a hot topic in the
cruising world. Until Congress officially lifts the embargo,
American-owned mainstream cruise lines cannot offer sailings to Cuba
(which may be a long time coming, as some lawmakers have introduced
legislation to roll back Obama's attempts to normalize relations).

In addition, many of Cuba's ports are too shallow for large cruise
ships. Cuba Cruise, a Canadian company, has offered two seasons of Cuba
sailings on 1,200-passenger Louis Cristal (now renamed Celestyal Cristal).

For more about cruising to Cuba, check out Cuba Cruising Basics, a Cuba
cruising Q and A, 10 Things Americans Should Know about Cruising to
Cuba. 10 More Things Americans Should Know about Cruising to Cuba and
the Cruise Critic Cuba Forum.

--By Chris Gray Faust, Senior Editor

Source: Small-Ship Cruise Line to Offer People to People Sailings to
Cuba - International Expeditions – Cruise Critic -
http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6330