NORWEGIAN AND ROYAL CARIBBEAN CLEARED TO SAIL TO CUBA FOR 2017

In a move that comes just days after the death and cremation of Fidel Castro, Cuba has given the green light for both Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean to begin sailings from the USA to Cuba in 2017. Both lines have been like runners poised at the starting blocks for a few months at least.

Currently making the running, Norwegian's partner cruise lines begin the process with a sailing of Oceania's elegant Marina from Miami on March 7th. Overnight and multi night stays are in the mix for the upmarket line. Meanwhile, another sister company- Regent Seven Seas- will make two calls into Havana in April 2017 with the deluxe Seven Seas Mariner.

But the biggest splash-and quite literally at that- will be the arrival of the 78,000 ton, 2,000 passenger Norwegian Sky from May onward, offering four night cruises from Miami that will include at least one overnight stay in Havana. And, while no other dates have yet been announced, it seems a safe bet that the popular Norwegian Sky will remain on this same itinerary for at least the foreseeable future.

As for Royal Caribbean, it seems beyond doubt that their 'point' ship for the return to Cuba will be the 48,000 ton Empress of the Seas, cannily re-acquired from Spanish sister company, Pullmantur. Empress of the Seas is the recent beneficiary of a very substantial refit and, like the Norwegian Sky, is operating short cruises out of Miami. Expect schedule announcements any day now.

That just leaves Carnival to show it's hand among the traditional 'Big Three' of the major Caribbean players. That line has recently announced the end of dedicated, immersive Cuba cruises by a small subsidiary company, Fathom Cruises. Instead, the line made it perfectly clear that they were expecting permission from the Cuban authorities to sail one of their much larger, 70,000 ton 'Fantasy' class cruise ships to Cuba quite soon. Well, it now looks like that might come even sooner than they were expecting.

So, the scramble for the biggest potential growth market in the entire Caribbean region now officially begins in earnest. The immediate question is whether Cuba's fearfully outdated infrastructure and docking facilities will be able to handle the biggest encroaching armada since the one last seen looming up the English Channel in July of 1588.

Boom times are coming for sure, as far as Cuba is concerned. My recommendation; Go sooner rather than later, if it is at all practical.