Virgin Voyages are heading to Cuba

We are getting ever closer to the launch of the brand new Scarlet Lady, the first of the Virgin Voyages cruise fleet. With a launch date in 2020 Virgin are slowly dropping nuggets of information to the press regarding her itineraries.

We already know that she will home port in Miami and will be offering Caribbean sailings and now they have announced that she will call at Havana and will include overnight stays there.

Havana is an amazing city and following the US sanctions of the past it is a place that is stuck in the past and has an shabby charm not found anywhere else. This is all beginning to change though as the embargo is lifted and US influence and money pours into the city. It is a place that everyone is desperate to visit before it changes too much and Virgin Voyages like many other cruise lines are taking advantage of this fact.

Virgin Voyages have said that the 2750 passenger vessel will offer excursions touring Old Havana, dancing at Salsa Clubs, exploring architecture and interacting with locals. The architecture is fantastic – I recommend a trip around the Capitolio building (above) and just a wander around the streets. You have to walk in the middle though as the buildings are crumbling! The above photo was taken in a square right in the centre of Havana, all the buildings were different with a glorious church, bars and very old residential homes all mixed up together.

Virgin have promised full details of dates etc next year, they need to hurry up though, with many cruise lines already on sale for 2020 they risk losing out on the UK market if they are not bookable soon.