Norwegian, Royal Caribbean expand Cuba sailings through end of the year – Orlando Sentinel

While several cruise lines will be following on the heels of Carnival with limited visits to Cuba this spring, both Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Line have announced they have expanded service through the fall.

Royal will send Empress of the Seas out of Tampa on 4- and 5-night sailings from Tampa through November and Norwegian Sky will sail out of Miami on 4-night trips through December.

Carnival Corp. was the first U.S.-based cruise line to visit Cuba on a regular basis in nearly 50 years when it sailed on May 1, 2016 on its Fathom brand aboard the Adonia as part of an approach that was aimed to provide passengers cultural and educational immersion in the Cuban culture. That brand is going away this summer, and Carnival has yet to announce sailings on any of its other brands beyond May.

In late 2016, Norwegian, its sister lines Oceania and Regenet Seven Seas, Royal Caribbean and sister line Azamara Club Cruises as well as Pearl Seas Cruises all announced various sailings to the island nation, some of which will began in January, but none of the lines were slated to sail beyond May, not having received approval from the Cuban government.

Royal was the first to announce the expanded approval on Friday with Norwegian following on its heels today. Norwegian Cruise Line had five itineraries slated out of PortMiami, all with overnight stays in Havana, with departures in May. The line's addition 25 trips run from June-December.

"We are thrilled to be the first cruise line able to offer weekly sailings from Miami to Cuba through the fall of 2017," said Norwegian Cruise Line President and CEO Andy Stuart in a press release. "We have seen great demand from our guests for sailings to Cuba and we look forward to providing more opportunities for them to experience this incredibly culture-rich destination on a weekly basis."

The trips will offer 15 full and half-day cultural immersion activities in Cuba including a farm-to-table dining experience, exploring natural gem Soroa, exploring Havana in a classic car and others. The four-night trips will also feature stops at the line's private island Great Stirrup Cay. The new cruises will open for sale Feb. 21. Inside cabins start at $699 per person, based on double occupancy. Those rates don't include taxes and port fees. Visit http://www.ncl.com/cruises-to/cuba-cruises for more details.

Royal Caribbean's newly announced trips will offer some overnight stays in Havana - a first for the line - as part of itineraries that also feature stops in Key West and Cozumel, Mexico. 4-night sailings start at $499 per person, based on double occupancy and 5-night sailings start at $599. Those trips are slated to run through Nov. 4, and are currently on sale at RoyalCaribbean.com.

Cruise to Cuba: 'People from all over the world are experiencing this together'

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Norwegian, Royal Caribbean expand Cuba sailings through end of the year - Orlando Sentinel