Royal Caribbean Pegs Empress Of The Seas For More Cuba Sailings

Royal Caribbean International is building on the positive reaction it received from its inaugural Cuba cruise season, with a new schedule of sailings on Empress of the Seas for winter 2018.

“We’ve seen the excitement of our guests when sailing into Havana and the passion they have for the city at sail away,” Royal Caribbean president and CEO Michael Bayley said.

Royal Caribbean will send Empress of the Seas to Tampa in the summer of 2018, where it will sail four- and five-night cruises to Key West, Costa Maya, Cozumel and Havana. Empress will then homeport in Fort Lauderdale for the winter, from where it will continue with a season of short Caribbean itineraries.

Empress will sail from Tampa to Cuba from now until Nov. 4, when it will move to Miami for the winter. Out of Miami, Empress will sail Cuban itineraries that include stops at CocoCay and Nassau.

Guests will be treated to cortaditos and café con leche in Café Royal, and salsa music and dancing in the Boleros Latin lounge, along with other onboard activities “developed to bring the spirit of the island to life throughout the entire journey.”

In total, Empress will now sail 58 four- or five-night sailings between January 2018 and March 2019. More than half of those will stop in Havana.

The sailings already are open for booking.