READY SET WAIT

Posted on 08/05/2016 | About Cuba

Royal Caribbean International has not yet received permission from the government to sail to Cuba, having spent $50 million to refurbish Empress of the Seas for that itinerary. The delay will mean that the cruise ship will continue to be used for four or five night sailings to the Caribbean until October 29.

“This is the right sized vessel for Cuba, and our intention is someday we will be going there. We’re just still waiting for the nod,” said Vicki Freed, senior vice president for sales, trade services and support at Royal Caribbean.
Empress of the Seas is a 27-year-old ship used by their Spanish brand Pullmantur until earlier this year when it was gutted and renovated for the Cuban itinerary.
Mark Tamis is the senior vice president of hotel operations and stated that Empress will be the only ship in Royal Caribbean’s fleet where smoking is banned from the casino, due to the open multi-deck design.
Presently Carnival’s only brand with permission to sail to Cuba is Fathom, which started sailing to the communist country in June.