A NEWAPPROACH TO CUBA BEGINS
The first cruise from the US to the island nation in more than 50 years gets underway this afternoon
MIAMI— The cruise ship Adonia will weigh anchor for Havana this afternoon, becoming the first to make the voyage to the island fromthe United States in more than 50 years.
About 700 passengers— including at least a few native Cubans— are expected to be aboard for the historic sailing under the banner of Carnival Corp.’s Fathom brand, which markets cruises aimed at travelers more interested in cultural involvement than conventional tourism.
In the first of what it calls social impact cruises, Fathom in mid-April docked in the Dominican Republic, where passengers volunteered towork with locals in planting trees and making water filters during a weeklong visit.
There will be no such joint projects between Cubans and visitors from the U.S. on the inaugural week long cruise to Cuba, labeled a people-to-people visit that includes a two-day stop in Havana and then briefer visits to Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba.
Instead, the cruise is “a kind of a hybrid,” Carnival spokesman Roger Frizzell said. “The Cuba traveler is traveling on a Fathom ship, but it is not the Fathom
experience.
“Cuba is much different [from the Dominican Republic],” he said. “This is more like the traditional cruise experience. We will see the sights, visit with the people and take tours.”
Those scheduled tours include visits to Colon Cemetery, museums and artists’ workshops and even the famed Tropicana nightclub. At a cost of $219 per person, travelers can take in the show and travel to the nightclub in a classic American car fromthe ’40s or ’50s.
In arranging the tours, Fathom has partnered with Havanatur, one of Cuba’s main state-run tourism companies, officials said.
Prices for the cruise start at $1,800 per person for an interior cabin, excluding visas, taxes, fees and port expenses, according to Fathom’swebsite.
There are no plans for travelers to visit one of Cuba’s white-sand beaches, since leisure activities do not fall under one of the 12 reasons the U.S. accepts for allowing its citizens to travel to Cuba.
Adonia passengers will spend twice as much time on the ship during the week sailing around the 750-mile-long island than they will spend on the island itself, according to the schedule.
During those days at sea, passengers will be offered a menu of Cuban-themed programs that could include classes in mixing a mojito, how to play dominoes or dance salsa. There are also plans for a book club-like discussion of Cubanwriter Cristina Garcia’s 1992 novel, “Dreaming in Cuban.”
Also available will be traditional cruise ship activities such as swimming in the pool, sunning and working out in the gym.
The Adonia, which is smaller than many cruise ships, has no casino and no Broadway-style shows.
Passengers will spend two days — and only one night — in Havana. In the capital city they will be able to stroll the Malecon, the famous waterfront thoroughfare, take in the faded glory of many of the buildings and dine at private restaurants, called paladares, that are far too pricey for most in Cuba, where an average government salary is about $20 a month.
The ship will leave Havana Tuesday evening and head around the western end of the island for Cienfuegos, on the south coast.
The schedule calls for six hours of sightseeing in Cienfuegos, a small city noted for its 19th century French-influenced Neoclassical architecture.
Next, after eight hours at sea, the ship is to dock in the island’s second-largest city, Santiago de Cuba, on the far eastern end of the island. There passengers can take in the tomb of Cuban patriarch Jose Marti, the location of the Battle of San Juan Hill, and nearby, La Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre, built in 1926 and a sacred pilgrimage site for Catholics on the island and many who now live U.S.
The tours and lectures arranged by Fathom are not mandatory, Frizzell said. Passengers have the freedom to wander off on in the their own during the approximately 50 hours they are on Cuban soil. Nor is there a curfew Monday night when the ship is berthed inHavana.
The opening for U.S.based cruise ships to sail to Cuba emerged after the December 2014 announcement that the two old foes would re-establish diplomatic relations that were severed in 1961. Both nations reopened embassies in each other’s capitals.
In July 2015 Carnival announced it would launch cruises to Cuba this spring. But in mid-April controversy erupted when the Doral-based cruise line said it would honor a Cuban government regulation banning Cuban-born visitors from arriving by sea. After demonstrations outside Carnival’s Doral headquarters, and local and national political pressure, Carnival officials said they would postpone the cruise unless Cuban policy changed.
Cuba relented and on April 22 announced it would drop the ban.
The aim of the Cuba cruise is to provide travelers with a “cultural immersion,” according to Fathom president Tara Russell, Global Impact Lead of Carnival Corp.
“We believe there is tremendous pent-up demand in the marketplace to visit this extraordinary country — particularly in the U.S. where travelers are eager to experience Cuba — so we wanted to share as much of the country as possible,” Russell said in a news release.
The Adonia returns to PortMiami on May 8. The schedule calls for weeklong cruises to Cuba every otherweek.
mwclary@tribpub.com