Cuba has survived the death of Fidel Castro, but will it survive the invasion of thousands of tourists?
The normalisation of relations agreed to by US president and Castro’s brother Raul has opened the door to direct flights and cruise ship arrivals from America.
I’ve not yet been to the tiny island off Miami, but I am among those who feel that I ought to do it soon before it changes forever.
A sure sign of impending change is the number of cruise arrivals. The first licences to dock were given to smaller cruise companies, such as Fathom, but now the cruise giant Royal Caribbean has announced sailings to Havana on the “reimagined” (read: refitted) Empress of the Seas.
The first Royal Caribbean journeys from Miami will be in April, 2017. Details are here. Also sailing to Havana are Fred Olsen Cruises in 2018, and MSC.
