Oceania Cruises Sets Stage for Cuba Sailings

NCLH CEO Frank Del Rio at a press conference aboard the new Regent Seven Seas Explorer.

Yet another cruise line has revealed plans for Cuba sailings. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) president and CEO Frank Del Rio, speaking at a press conference aboard the new Regent Seven Seas Explorer, said he is waiting for final approval from the Cuban government to allow Oceania Regatta to make calls in Havana and other Cuban ports. NCLH is the parent company of Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

Del Rio claimed Cuba cruises could begin as early as this year, with itineraries that would include Havana as a port call as part of a larger Caribbean itinerary, as well as circumnavigations of Cuba. He also said Oceania Marina could be sailing in Cuba in the early part of 2017 and that he expects other NCLH companies, presumably Norwegian Cruise Line itself, will start making port calls in Havana next year.

“It’s a destination that will appeal to our guests. It’s an incredible place,” said Del Rio, who emigrated from Cuba to the United States when he was seven years old and returned for a visit to the island nation last September. “Cuba has nine UNESCO World Heritage sites, more than in the U.S. It has French, Spanish and Moorish influences. There are valleys, mountains, rivers and lakes.”

Several cruise lines already are sailing to Cuba, including Carnival Corp.’s Fathom, which offers sailings every other week to the island; MSC Cruises, which is homeporting MSC Opera in Havana through 2016; Celestyal Cruises, which will homeport year-round in Havana staring in November; and Ponant, which will feature sailings to Cuba staring in January next year.

A new company, Miami-based Victory Cruise Lines, plans to sail Florida-Cuba itineraries starting in November, while Pearl Seas Cruises is still awaiting approval for its own Cuba sailings. Among the other lines offering Havana as a port call are Fred. Olsen Cruises, Thomson Cruises, Variety Cruises, Noble Caledonia and Star Clippers.