(Mellow Wanderer) Cruise companies always look to add new and exciting itineraries and destinations to keep customers coming back. But unlike Disney, if you don’t have a corp of animated characters whipping the masses into a frenzy about the frozen wonders of Norway, what do you do?
Cuba, front and center, please! Cruise behemoth Carnival Corp.’s announcement to add Cuba as a destination next year set off a blur of bookings.
There’s already a waiting list of cruise customers eager to pay $3,000 a piece, excluding taxes, port and other government and related fees, for a blank itinerary! All we know is cruises will launch from Miami and, according to Carnival, they’ll be seven-night “people-to-people” tours of the island beginning in May 2016. 
Cuba falls under Carnival’s new fathom brand, which emphasizes volunteer social impact excursions. Fathom debuts in April 2016 with volunteer oriented vacations to the Dominican Republic.
Thawed relations between the island nation and the U.S. opened the door to expanded tourism, but only if travel complies with U.S. Treasury Department guidelines. Carnival says it’s also actively involved with Cuban authorities to gain approval for onboard cultural presentations and shore excursions.
Fathom is Carnival’s 10th global brand and expects to attract 37,000 annual travelers. Carnival has re-purposed the 710 passenger MV Adonia from the corporation’s P&O Cruises (UK) brand. 
“We are excited about receiving U.S. approval as the very important first step to ultimately take travelers to Cuba under the existing 12 criteria for authorized travel. We look forward to working with the Cuban authorities for their approval to help make the social, cultural and humanitarian exchanges between U.S. citizens and the people of Cuba a reality,” said Arnold Donald, President and CEO of Carnival Corporation. 
“We know there is strong demand from travelers who want to immerse themselves in Cuban culture, so this is a historic opportunity for us to enable more people to experience Cuban society. It is also an important opportunity for our new fathom brand to expand its positive influence in the world with this potential to add full-week immersion sailings to Cuba to its already planned full-week social-impact itineraries to the Dominican Republic beginning in the spring of 2016.” 
Carnival isn’t the only player in the Cuba cruise market. Apple Vacations announced cultural immersion tours two weeks prior to Carnival’s announcement.
Whether Carnival sets sail to Cuba on time next year remains to be seen. After all, more than thirty years of frosty U.S.-Cuba relations haven’t completely thawed.
Source Photos: Wikimedia Commons
