Cuba

Many cruise lines are offering sailings with stops in Cuba, and now, Carnival Cruise Lines is expanding their offering to include stops in Havana from Charleston and other East Coast homeports.  This represents a significant increase in options, especially for those looking to sail out of Charleston, where options had previously been somewhat limited. Read more about Carnival Expands Cuba Sailings & Adds Variety to Charleston, Other Ports

Yesterday we discussed information that was revealed around how changes to the United States' Cuba policies may affect travelers and today things are becoming a bit more clear.  Continue reading to find out how you'll be able to travel to Cuba, if you'll be able to bring back cigars, rum, and other items, and whether diplomatic relations will continue... Read more about US to Update Cuba Policy: Cruises Still On, Roll Back "People to People" Trips to Cuba, Organized Tours May Become Requisite

Day 3 of our Empress of the Seas cruise took us to Havana Cuba, the highlight of the cruise for most guests, I’m sure.  I’ve lived in South Florida my entire life, been lucky enough to travel much of the world, some of my closest friends were born in Cuba, and yet I was hopeful but never sure that I’d get to visit the island nation just a short distance away from my home.  Summing up this trip and walking away would sell it short... Read more about Empress of the Seas Live Blog - Day 3 - Havana, Cuba

This Saturday we're setting sail on Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas, and while we're excited to sail on Royal's smallest ship in the fleet, we're even more exited about our itinerary which takes us to Havana, Cuba!  We'll also be visiting Key West and Cozumel, places we really enjoy, so this should be a treat.  During our five night sailing we'll be blogging at EmpressOfTheSeas.live, for RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com.  Be sure to follow along on the site, and stay tuned in on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and of course Periscope.  Oh, and make sure to catch Michael Poole's live blog from Oasis of the Seas going on at the same time as mine.  Mine is sure to be superior in every way, though if you dig photos of anything that happens before 9:00am you'll want to check with Michael's posts.  Now, let's start of by looking at our itinerary, the ship, and why we picked this particular sailing... Read more about Empress of the Seas Live Blog Preamble - ¡Vamos a Cuba! (We're going to Cuba!)

We've answered some of your questions about cruise documentation in the past when covering passport requirements but you've probably heard confusing and conflicting information on cruising to Cuba as a US citizen.  Let's clarify passport and visa requirements, as well as how the United States' travel restrictions to Cuba affect cruising to this tropical island. Read more about What documents or authorization do you need to cruise to Cuba?

One benefit of cruising is getting away from it all and disconnecting, but more and more we have internet connections on board, WiFi in port, and often mobile phone service wherever we travel.  While you might have mixed feelings about staying tethered it's also important to know that staying in touch while visiting Cuba will likely be quite a bit different than you're used to.  Let's look at where you'll be able to get online and how useful your smartphone will be on your visit to the island nation... Read more about Cell service and internet access in Cuba - How to keep in touch when visiting Cuba on a cruise

When visiting Cuba the amazing architecture, friendly people, pristine coast, and vintage car watching are all included in the price of your cruise.  Food, souvenirs, and tours however, are not.  While many Caribbean destinations readily accept US dollars and credit cards, but that's not the case in Cuba, so you'll need to know how to pay for things in this unique island nation with a two-currency system... Read more about Cruising Cuba: Credit cards and changing currency in Cuba - How to pay for goods and services