Cruise travelers to ‘make history’ in Havana
ON BOARD THE ADONIA— The cruise ship Adonia headed out of Miami for a rendezvous with history, destined to become the first U.S. ship in decades to dock in Cuba on Monday.
For some of the 700 travelers, paying a visit to a once-forbidden communist-nation has been a longtime dream that seemed possible only after the U.S. announced in December 2014 that diplomatic relations would be restored between two countries separated by revolu--
tion, an American trade embargo and Cold War rhetoric.
“I missed a chance to go in 1957 when I was in Key West and we decided at the last minute not to take the ferry,” said Rick Schneider, 73, of Delray Beach. He brought with him a Cuban flag he’ d purchased on Amazon and waved it in celebration over the starboard rail as the Adonia headed out of Miami’s Government Cut about 4 p.m. Sunday.
“Now I’m happy to be able to do it,” said Schneider. “The time is now.”
The cruise sailed with a lot of hoopla: salsa bands in the terminal and on board; welcomes from Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald and Fathom brand president Tara Russell; free drinks and a promise from Capt. David Box just before anchors aweigh that this would be a cruise to remember.
“We’re going to sail directly from the United States to Havana, Cuba,” Box said over the ship’s PA system. “How awesome is that? Tomorrow we will make history.”
History was the draw for retired school teacher Francine Lacey, 69, and seven of her friends from Philadelphia. As she sat on the lido deck with a glass of wine, Lacey said that she and her friends had been talking about doing “something meaningful” when the Cuba trip hit the news.
Fathom, a new brand for Carnival, promotes what it calls “impact travel” designed to offer passengers a chance to explore the culture of its destinations through people-to-people contacts.
“We said, ‘This is for us,’” said Lacey. “For 50years I’ve wondered about Cuba, didn’t understand our policy, and thiswas the chance.
“Never in my life did I think I’d go to Cuba,” said Lacey. “When you get a chance to be a part of history, it’s special.”
The ship is due to dock in Havana between 7 and 9 a.m. Monday, according to the schedule.
Symbolically, the first person off the ship will be Cuban-born Arnie Pérez, Carnival’s chief legal officer, Donald said. Perez has traveled to Cuba several times by air recently to work with Cuban officials on the trips, now scheduled to take place every twoweeks.
Perez, and a handful of others on the Adonia who were born in Cuba, as recently as 10 days ago were barred by the Castro government restricting them from traveling to the island by sea.
When the ban became known, protesters railed against the trip in demonstrations at Carnival’s Doral offices, and many editorials chided the world’s largest cruise company for acceding to the ban on Cubans traveling.
Carnival officials said while negotiations with the Cuban government continued, they would postpone the cruise if that regulation was enforced. Cuba relented and lifted the ban on April 22.
Uncertainty over the sailing triggered anxiety for travelers Dale and Margaret Cox of Windermere, near Orlando, who worried that the trip they had booked months ago would be called off.
Among those arriving early at Port Miami to be among the first Americans to board the historic cruise were Panama City Beach retirees Rosemarie and Ted Mitchell.
The couple said they booked the Cuba cruise soon after Carnival announced last July that its new brand Fathom had plans to sail to there pending Cuban approval, which the cruise company received in March.
“We thought how great, we’d love to be there,” said Rosemarie Mitchell, 73. “I’m very interested in the culture there and hope we can help tomake things better in the culture there.”
Ted Mitchell, 80, aformer U.S. Navy serviceman who served between 1954 and 1960, said he was most looking forward to returning to Cuba to see more of the island, something he wasn’t able to do during two previous Navy visits.
“I didn’t see much back then because we weren’t allowed to leave the base,” he said.
Once the ship set sail, many travelers seemed to slip easily into vacation mode. On the lido deck a rock band played, drinks flowed, and several travelers jumped into the pool.
An appearance near the ship by the Democracia, a boat owned by a Cuban-American group which opposes any travel to Cuba, provided an interesting backdrop to the departure. Several Miami-Dade Police boats kept the Democracia yards away from the cruise ship.
Once underway, travelers heard Cuban music, along with rock from a British band, Craze Band, and Sunday night were invited to a lecture on Cuban culture, and, after dark, a screening of “The Old Man and the Sea.”
“Everybody would love to do this,” said Philadephia lawyer Richard Hoy, 68, who was wearing a Cuba Tshirt he bought in Key West, where he summers. “Most of the people I’ve talked to are really looking forward to interacting with the Cuban people.”
Joe and Linda Dillard, who have gone cruising before, said this is the only cruise they’ve ever bought travel insurance for given the uncertainty of its launch.
“The draw was Cuba and we have lots of CubanAmerican friends and have heard their stories and heard the sacrifices their parents had to make to get them over here, so we wanted to see it,” said Joe Dillard, of Doral.
People-to-people visits fall under the U.S. guidelines for traveling to Cuba, and Fathom cruises have set out to make that a specialty, according to Russell. For the last two weeks the Adonia has sailed to the Dominican Republic, where passengers can volunteer to plant trees, work in a chocolate cooperative and pour cement floors.
There will be no similar activities in Cuba, but there is a series of optional tours planned in Havana that promise to give passengers a chance to meet regular Cubans.
Among the many tours offered by Fathom in conjunction with the Cuban state agency Havanatur are visits to the Plaza dela Revolucion, Colon Cemetery, the National Fine Arts Museum and various artists’ studios. People can also wander off on their own, but are asked to follow U.S. guidelines and interact with people rather than just heading for the beach.
The Adonia will spent Monday and Tuesday in Havana before sailing around the island and making shorter stops in Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. The ship will return to Miami on Sunday morning.
Prices for the May 1 trip started at $2,662 per person double occupancy for an interior cabin, excluding visas, taxes, fees and port expenses, according to Fathom’s website.
Margaret Cox said going to Cuba has been on her bucket list for years, thanks in part to her father. A World War II veteran, he went there after the war to relax, and told his daughter she should go if the chance arose.
Dale Cox said he wanted to go in part because his ninth-grade Spanish teacher in Titusvillew as Cuban.
“I am interested in the culture, talking to people,” he said. “I am not sure of what the schedule will be, but it will be an adventure.”
A sampling of passengers’ stories indicated that most had never been to Cuba before, and some had a particular reason to go beyond making history.
Bill Slattum, of Melbourne, said he was looking forward to checking out diving opportunities in Cuban waters and touring rum and cigar factories.
But his wife, Cynthia Slattum, said one of her chief goals was to replicate a photo of her grandparents taken on a Havana bridge in 1957. “I want that same picture,” she said.
Cynthia Slattum, 62, said she also wanted to see Cuba before vacationing in Cuba become commonplace for Americans, hinting at the concern shared by many travelers that the island could soon lose its authenticity and become Americanized as business relations between the U.S. and Cuba improve.
“I want to get there before Starbucks does,” she said.