Americans can not vacation in Cubs, but have to travel there in an approved humanitarian or cultural trip, unless family lives there.
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Book your tickets, and head to the wide open sea: Carnival Corporation, the parent company of Carnival, Princess and other cruise brands, has been granted USA approval to begin travels to Cuba in May 2016. Carnival’s announcement didn’t not say who it would work with in Cuba, or whether the organizations would be affiliated with the Cuban government.
After inaugurating the route to the Dominican Republic next April, Fathom will offer regular cruises there. “IDDI has long-standing relationships in Cuba and more than a decade of experience working on the ground side-by-side with local officials to make a positive impact in Cuban communities”. Last week, US and Cuba announced they are formally restoring diplomatic ties, and will reopen embassies in both countries.
Travelers to Cuba can enjoy historical buildings and historical cars like these as well as the sunny beach.
Carnival’s planning on sailing some cruise ships to Cuba. Although the cruise line still has to get permission from Cuban authorities, the fact that they gained approval in the U.S.is a huge step after fifty years or so of frosty relations between the two countries.
The United States still bans leisure travel to Cuba, but Carnival Corp. can legally bring Americans to Cuba through its recently-launched fathom brand.
Prices for the seven-day trip to the Dominican Republic start at $1,540 per person.
But under Carnival’s new “Fathom” brand, Carnival’s initiative will revolve around education, the environment and economic development, while it will also feature workshops on the country’s heritage, as well as Spanish lessons. This includes traveling for educational reasons, people-to-people exchanges and more.
“Everything we are doing in the Dominican Republic is with the intention of seeing how we replicate models across the nine brands”, he said. By designing its proposed cruises to Cuba as cultural exchanges, Carnival was able to qualify under the approved categories. Of those six, four of them are authorized to allow passengers and crew to spend the night aboard, even when docked in a Cuban port. Other major cruise lines did not immediately respond to inquiries about their efforts to sail to Cuba. Also last week, the USA Treasury Department issued a license authorizing a Palm Beach luxury yacht company, Paul Madden Associates, to provide charter services to Cuba.
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The largest cruise ship company in the world will be heading to Cuba starting next May. The unprecedented warming of relations between Cuba and the US began in December after half a century of animosity.
