Cruise Liners to Visit Santiago de Cuba this Winter Season

The city of Santiago de Cuba, alongside other travel destinations across Cuba, will welcome calls by various cruise liners during the upcoming high-peak travel season on the island nation, stretching from November 21, 2014 to April 10, 2015.

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Authorities expect this period to be one of the bustling seasons in recent years, featuring 13 vessels that have applied for clearance to dock in Cuban seaports. And Santiago de Cuba is one of them.

According to a press release obtained by Caribbean News Digital, the number of incoming cruise liners has increased in recent years and 2014 should end with a grand total of 140 calls and passenger figures in the neighborhood of 35,000.

Louis Cristal, the only cruise liner homeported in Havana, is making weekly round-the-island trips with calls in a several seaports.

The Thompson Dreams is also expected to dock, bringing over 2,000 passengers. This vessel is sailing back to Cuba after a long stay.

By the end of the year, Cuba will receive the so-called Semester at Sea Cruise, an academic program of international studies sponsored by the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, the United States, and run by the Institute of Onboard Studies. The Panorama and Star Clipper are also on the list of incoming liners.

These visits bear out the intention of major cruise lines to dock in Cuba during the 2014-2015 winter travel season, regardless of the limitations imposed by the U.S. travel ban on Cuba and the restrictions on American cruise companies to make stopovers in Cuban ports.

Santiago de Cuba boasts countless travel allures for cruise passengers, including cultural, architectural and historic values that European travelers love.