As Christmas quickly approaches, cruise lines are providing even more tempting offers for travelers to consider a cruise vacation this holiday season. In fact, one island in particular dominated the cruise updates this week and is the main story in this latest edition of Cruise News December 11, 2016.

Cruise News December 11, 2016

Contemporary Cruise Lines Will be Sailing to Cuba

Just in time for those last minute gifts, now you can give that cruiser in your life a trip to Cuba! Last week, two major cruise lines announced that they will have ships heading to the largest island in the Caribbean starting in the spring of 2017. Norwegian Cruise Line released details of planned trips to Cuba on Norwegian Sky, which now does 3 and 4 night Bahamas cruises. Sailings will be available for booking starting December 20th. Other brands under the Norwegian corporate umbrella will also have sailings to Cuba including Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas. Also this week, Royal Caribbean International won approval to go to Cuba and currently has four sailings on Empress of the Seas that include a full day stop in Havana, Cuba. More itineraries are expected to be available soon. Expect to see the Princess and I on one of those cruises soon!

Cruise News December 11, 2016 – Empress of the Seas (Source)

More Cruise Lines Make Going to Cuba Feasible

More options also opened up last week for U.S. citizens looking to cruise to Cuba. Pearl Sea Cruises received the okay to begin cruising to Cuba in January 2017. Unlike Norwegian and Royal, the smaller Pearl Mist will be doing round-trip cruises leaving from Fort Lauderdale that visit multiple ports on the island. Itineraries include 10 night trips with 8 days spent at various ports in Cuba. In addition, Celestyal Cruises will continue the program started last month that allows U.S. citizens to cruise on select sailings as part of the “people-to-people” travel restrictions imposed by the federal government. Special shore excursions and other accommodations have been created so Americans can sail year round to Cuba on Celeystal Cruises enjoying all-inclusive amenities.

Cruise News December 11, 2016 Pearl Mist (Courtesy of Pearl Sea Cruises

The Ultimate Punk Concert at Sea

Last week, details were announced for the 2017 Warped Rewind at Sea. The four night round-trip cruise leaving from New Orleans in October 2017 will feature some of the biggest bands in punk and alternative music. Already confirmed for the onboard music festival including Good Charlotte, Less Than Jake, and Reel Big Fish, among others. Along with live concerts, the cruise includes themed party nights, artist Q&A, and more special events. Not to mention, the four day cruise also includes a stop in Cozumel, Mexico, one of the most popular cruise ports in the Western Caribbean. Sailing on the Norwegian Pearl, this one of kind event is now open for booking, with prices starting at $795, per person double-occupancy.

Cruise News December 11, 2016 – Norwegian Pearl (Courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line)

Ovation of the Seas Arrives in Australia

Making her maiden call down under, Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas officially arrived in Australia just a few days ago. Set to start its summer season in the region, Ovation of the Seas will be the largest ship to sail from Australia at over 160,000 gross tons.

Cruise News December 11, 2016 – Ovation of the Seas (Courtesy of Royal Caribbean International)

Similar to the other ships in the Quantum-class, Ovation of the Seas includes some firsts at sea like North Star, an aerial capsule that lifts you above the ship to see the surroundings, and Ripcord by iFLY, an indoor sky diving simulator. Along with other dining and entertainment offerings, the ship will be offering 3 night to 14 night sailings departing from Sydney through February of next year.

Comments

Do you have any other breaking travel news? Have we missed an important travel update in our latest edition of cruise news December 11, 2016? Drop us an anchor below to share your insider information from the past week.