Cruise into a rich Cuban experience
HAVANA Carnival Cruise Line (cruise.center/carnival) began sailing to Cuba for the first time in its 45-year history in June, with Carnival Paradise setting out from Tampa, Fla., to the historic city of Havana.
I hopped aboard the 2,052-guest ship for a five-day cruise to Havana and Key West. Carnival knocked this one out of the park, creating one of the most enjoyable and rewarding Caribbean cruises I’ve taken in a long time.
Sailing to Cuba aboard a ship owned by a U.S.-based company means you must comply with socalled people-to-people regulations, totalling between seven and eight hours ashore (no, the beach doesn’t count). I would highly recommend you take one of Carnival’s shore excursions, as they include cultural experiences you would be hard-pressed to replicate on your own.
In Havana, Carnival offers 13 diverse shore excursions that go as far away as Vinales (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), or as close as a walking tour of La Habana Veija, the historic city centre just steps from where Carnival Paradise ties up. I indulged in the Local Flavors and Traditions of Havana, a tour that should have been 4 1/2 hours but lasted seven. Hey, this is Cuba — things run on Island Time here, too. I didn’t mind the three-hour difference; time flies by when you’re having fun.
In addition to visits to two local markets in Havana (including one dedicated solely to books in English and Spanish) and a photo stop at Revolution Square, we learned how to best indulge in three Cuban pastimes: cigars, coffee and rum.
I expected a tepid response to the cigars. Minutes later, the table of older retired women next to me had all lit up, puffing their cigars like actor George Burns used to do, pausing only to hammer back their Havana Club rum. Set to a soundtrack of live Cuban music within an open-air, colonial-era courtyard, the glory days of Cuba came alive again.
The real show-stopper, though, was a visit to Muraleando. It was a rundown neighbourhood 16 years ago, until volunteers turned a 1911-built water tank into a space for local artists, who painted the exteriors and interiors with colourful murals and, in the process, revitalized a neighbourhood. The Cuban government recognized it with an award in 2014. Today, teachers and artists donate their skills for the benefit of the community.
This really was Havana off the beaten path. I’d love to see Carnival take this in-depth approach to its excursions in other parts of the Caribbean. The line even brought on local performers during our overnight stay in Havana.
The other surprise was just how much I enjoyed sailing aboard Carnival Paradise. Launched in 1998, the last of Carnival’s eight-ship-strong Fantasy Class was ahead of its time. Along with numerous technical enhancements, she debuted as the world’s first purpose-built non-smoking ship. That program was discontinued in 2004, but Carnival Paradise still excels. She’s humanly sized, cosy and comfortable; a wonderful throwback to the way cruising used to be.
Her whimsical interiors pay homage to the great ocean liners of the past, with spaces like the Rotterdam Martini Bar, the Normandie Lounge and the Blue Riband Library, the latter a gorgeous room filled with memorabilia that might just be the best shipboard library in the Carnival fleet.
Carnival offers four-night cruises to Cuba on Sept. 7 and 21, Oct. 5 and 19, and May 3, 2018. My five-night itinerary to Havana and Key West will be repeated Sept. 25, and a fivenight sailing to Havana and Cozumel departs Oct. 9.
Carnival just announced five additional Cuba sailings from Tampa for 2018. Five-day cruises to Havana call on Key West or Cozumel (Feb. 17, July 2 and Sept. 5, 2018); while a special sixday cruise on Aug. 26, 2018 visits Havana and Grand Cayman. An eight-day voyage featuring two full days in Havana departs Aug. 18, 2018.
There’s also good news in store for Carnival Paradise: the 19-year-old ship is going through a month-long dry dock this winter. The refit will add 98 new balcony staterooms, refresh all existing staterooms and suites, and add new FunShip 2.0 features like the BlueIguana Cantina and Guy’s Burger Joint.
Happy cruising.
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