MSC Cruises to Homeport in Havana this December | Cruise News – July 6, 2015

MSC Cruises to Homeport in Havana this December

Cruise News – July 6, 2015

MSC Cruises has announced that in December 2015, its 2,120-guest MSC Opera will begin to homeport in Havana, Cuba, for the winter 2015-16 season. The ship will sail a series of 16 Caribbean cruises from December through April 2016, calling on Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel with two nights spent in the Cuban capital.

“We are particularly proud to make this exciting new destination available to our guests,” said Gianni Onorato, CEO of MSC Cruises. “We can definitely attest to the strong demand for the product due to the combination of the attractiveness of Cuba as a culture-rich destination, coupled with the fact that it is offered through our distinctive MSC Cruises experience.”

To offer local ground services and shore excursions, MSC Cruises will partner with Cuba-based Cubanacan, which was established more than 20 years ago and is known for its experienced professionals and high quality of service.

The first cruise to sail from Havana will depart December 22, 2015, following MSC Opera’s Grand Voyage to Cuba from Genoa, which departs December 2, 2015. Due to the change of deployment to Cuba, MSC Opera’s original winter 2015-16 schedule in the Canary Islands, Madeira, and Morocco has been cancelled. Sales for the new cruises from Havana will open July 9.

The 7-night cruises will be available to travelers with a combination of packages including from Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina that will include of fly and cruise combinations.

If you’re a U.S. citizen wondering if you can book one of these sailings from Cuba, MSC Cruises states that a U.S. national or Green Card holder who wants to take an MSC Cruises Cuba cruise must have a special Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) license to travel, or fall within one of the 12 categories of permitted travel listed in the Cuban sanctions regulations.


Photo: Christopher Michel


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