Carnival Cruise Line adds more sailings to Cuba for 2018

Cruise giant Carnival has added five more sailings to Cuba for 2018, citing strong demand for voyages to the island nation.

Three of the new departures are five-day trips that include an overnight stay in the Cuban capital of Havana as well as a stop in Cozumel, Mexico or Key West, Fla. They begin on Feb. 17, July 2 and Sept. 5, 2018. 

The other two departures are a six-day sailing featuring Havana and a stop in Grand Cayman that begins on Aug. 26, 2018; and an eight-day voyage with stops at Havana, Grand Cayman and Cozumel that begins on Aug. 18, 2018. The eight-day trip includes two full days in Havana. 

All of the cruises will begin in Tampa and take place on Carnival's 2,052-passenger Carnival Paradise. 

Carnival kicked off cruises to Cuba for the first time in June. The line initially announced plans for 12 sailings to the country through May 2018.  

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Carnival is one of half a dozen cruise lines that have begun sailing from the USA to Cuba in recent months.

Two of Carnival's top rivals in the cruise industry, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line, began Cuba voyage in April and May, respectively. April also saw the first visit to Cuba by a Regent Seven Seas Cruises vessel. Oceania Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises ships arrived for the first time in March.

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Cruise lines began planning the voyages more than a year ago after the Obama administration loosened rules on travel to Cuba. President Trump tweaked the rules in June but not in a way that is expected to have a significant impact on cruises to the country.  

The Cuba calls planned by Carnival and the other lines are designed to provide an opportunity for "people-to-people" exchanges between Americans and Cubans as allowed by U.S. rules governing visits to Cuba, the companies have said. U.S. visitors are limited in the activities they are allowed to do in Cuba by the terms of the USA's five-decade-old embargo.  

Fares for the Carnival sailings to Cuba start at $439 per person, based on double occupancy.

The fleet and home ports of Carnival Cruise Line, by the numbers

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