| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 28/08/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 30 |
| Copyright: Other |
New cruise gives taste of daily life in Santiago
Island gets fresh tourism opportunity
Product update by Linsey McNeill
CUBA would be an ideal port of call on a Caribbean cruise because the island has so much historical and cultural interest, not to mention great beaches.Unfortunately, most cruise ships have to skirt around its coastline because US-based companies are barred from trading with Fidel Castro’s regime.
However, British tourists holidaying on the nearby island of the Dominican Republic are being given a chance to sail to Cuba by a Cyprus-based company which is offering three to four-day mini cruises from Puerto Plata this winter.
The Caribbean Fun Cruise in the Dominican Republic, operated by the Legend Cruise Company, is being featured by First Choice, sister company Unijet, Cosmos and JMC. The first departure is on October 2.
Both the three and the four-day cruises stop at Santiago de Cuba in the southeast, the island’s second largest city, for a full day. The three-day cruise remains in Santiago overnight and passengers can either stay on board the ship or spend the evening in the city. The four-day cruise travels on to Montego Bay in Jamaica.
The cruises add only an extra £100-£200 to the cost of a two-week all-inclusive package in the Dominican Republic. They are not available to clients planning to travel for just one week.
Passengers are offered a choice of excursions in Cuba, including tours of colonial Santiago or helicopter sightseeing trips. These can be pre-booked through tour operators or booked aboard the ship through Cuban-based ground handler Cubanacan.
Cosmos head of specialist products David Binns said: “This is the only regular cruise that I know of that includes stops in Cuba and it gives British holidaymakers a chance to see something of the island.
“Santiago itself is a very attractive city and of great historical interest, while the coastline is also very attractive.”
Sightseeing options within Santiago include many buildings that played a significant role in the 20th war of independence, such as the 26 de Julio Historical Museum, which was formerly a barracks and was stormed by young revolutionaries on July 26, 1953, and the Underground Struggle Museum which houses objects, documents and photos linked to the revolution.
Cosmos offers a couple of optional excursions, which clients can book locally. These are a morning tour of Santiago in a 1950s American car, including visits to a cigar factory and residential areas, and a trip to the Tropicana open-air evening cabaret.
Unijet general manager for the Caribbean and South America Brian Booker said: “This cruise gives people a little bit of an insight into Cuba. It is proving to be very popular because it is something unusual.”
First Choice said it hoped that clients were inspired enough by what they saw in Santiago to return to Cuba for a holiday.
The year-round cruises are aboard The Joywave, which is being shifted from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean this winter. Legend said it was marketing the new operation as a fun cruise aimed at 25-55-year-olds. The ship will have organised activities during the day, gala shows in the evening, and features a casino, piano bar, cinema and sun deck bar, plus shops, a fitness room and a beauty salon. There is a choice of 214 outside or inside cabins, which all have en-suite facilities.
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