Travel Options to Cuba Expanding With Fathom, JetBlue and AirBnB

The president's recent moves to restore diplomatic ties, reopen embassies, and loosen rules for U.S. travel to Cuba -- combined with America's pent-up curiosity -- are prompting travel companies to jump-start connections even before the embargo is lifted.
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Thinking about when to go to Cuba, and how? The president's recent moves to restore diplomatic ties, reopen embassies, and loosen rules for U.S. travel to Cuba -- combined with America's pent-up curiosity -- are prompting travel companies to jump-start connections even before the embargo is lifted: including new tours, new flights, new accommodations, and the first American cruise to Cuba in 50 years.

Carnival Corp. recently announced that seven-night "people-to-people" ship-based tours to Cuba from Miami (designated "non-leisure"), will be starting in May 2016, assuming approval from Cuban authorities. The company has already been granted necessary approvals from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The bi-weekly cruises will be on Carnival's new social impact-focused fathom brand, debuting in April 2016 to the Dominican Republic.

New Cuba cruises will be offered on fathom's only ship, the 710-passenger Adonia, and offer social-impact programs. Itinerary details are pending, but U.S. travelers can reserve with a $600 deposit, and fares will begin at $2,990 per person plus taxes and port fees -- more than triple the starting price for a typical seven-night Caribbean sailing on a Carnival cruise. The fare will include all on-board and some on-the-ground activities, and include high-end facilities and amenities. But the emphasis will be culture, not casinos or shows.

In other Cuba travel news, package-tour giant Apple Vacations announced plans to start people-to-people tours to Cuba, joining a growing number of land-based tour companies, such as Road Scholar, already offering such trips. Also, JetBlue has started weekly charter flights from New York to Havana, adding to other air charters that fly out of Miami. This is the first U.S. airline to fly to Cuba in decades.

And in December, when President Obama announced plans to restore diplomatic ties with Cuba, Airbnb, the room-sharing service valued at $20 billion, met with the Cuban government.

By April, Airbnb expanded into Cuba in one of the biggest, fastest U.S. business developments there in 50 years. They plugged into the regulated network of casa particulares. These private bed and breakfasts are permitted under new Cuban laws allowing for entrepreneurship, and are managed through independent websites, despite difficulty with internet and payment transfers. By now, more than 2,000 Airbnb listings are already in Cuba.

To be clear, leisure travel to Cuba is still banned under the USA's five-decade-old embargo. Right now, only U.S. travelers who fall under one of 12 approved categories can legally visit the country without needing a license in advance. These categories include the educational and "people-to-people" connections: cultural, artistic, faith-based and humanitarian exchanges between American and Cuban citizens. But until the U.S. embargo is finally lifted, and rules ease, these latest travel options are the first of many exciting opportunities to come for citizens eager to experience Cuba.

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