• Home
  • About Evelyn Kanter
  • Evelyn Kanter’s Books & Apps
  • In The News
  • Workshops
  • NYC on the Cheap

Evelyn Kanter ecoXplorer

smarter traveling, driving and spending

  • Green Hotels
  • Green Cars
    • Best Cars under $20,000
    • Test Drives
    • Diesel Cars
    • Electric Cars
    • Hybrid Cars
    • Hydrogen Fuel Cell
    • Luxury Drives
  • Travel Deals
    • Free
    • Budget Travel
    • Discount Tickets
  • Xplore More
    • Safety and Health
    • How To
    • Five Best
    • Travel Pioneers
    • Motorcycles
    • Vintage Cars
  • Scam Alert
  • Where to Go Next
    • Historic Travel
    • Epic Adventures
    • National Parks
You are here: Home / Adventure Travel / Cruising to Cuba aboard Fathom Adonia

Cruising to Cuba aboard Fathom Adonia

14 Comments

Evelyn Kanter aboard Fathom Adonia
ecoxplorer Evelyn Kanter cruising to Cuba aboard Fathom Adonia

I’m just back from a week aboard the Fathom Adonia, the first US-flag cruise ship to sail to Cuba in more than 50 years, marking a new chapter in Cuban-American relations. Music, dancing, flags flying and lots of cameras marked our departure from Miami and our welcome in Havana – celebrations in both ports.

Our departure from Miami was celebrated with the traditional salute of fireboats blasting water hoses into the air, as passengers stood on deck waving small American and Cuban flags.   But that was nothing compared with the welcome we received in Havana the next morning.

Hundreds of Cubans lined the Havana harbor as we sailed in, waving to all of us on deck, waving those same Cuban and American flags.There were shouts of “bienvenidos”, “America” and “hola” from them, and “Viva Cuba” from us.

That’s me, ecoxplorer Evelyn Kanter, one of many journalists aboard the maiden voyage, in the photo above, with the Havana skyline in the distance behind me.

cruising to cuba

The Adonia carried some 700 passengers, a mixed group of executives from Fathom and its parent company, Carnival, journalists, travel agents, and “regular” cruisers, including more than a dozen Cuban-born passengers.  It was the Cuban natives who nearly scuttled the entire Cuban-American cruise detente.

For whatever reason, Cuba allows its native-born former citizens to return for visits by air, but not by sea. Days before the inaugural sail, Cuba told Fathom it would not allow the ship to dock if Cuban-born Americans were aboard. To say that began a tense round of last-minute negotiations would be an understatement.

For several years, including the final round, negotiations with Cuba were spearheaded by Arnie Perez, the Cuban-born chief counsel of Fathom parent, Carnival Cruise Line. Perez was the first one off the ship in Havana, before Carnival CEO Arnie Donald or Fathom CEO Tara Russell, who were also aboard and clearly outranked him. It was a gesture of thanks for a job well done, and a finger to Cuban obstructionism.

crusing to cuba
Arnie Perez, the Cuban-born chief council of Carnival Corp., is the first passenger to disembark. Photo courtesy Travel Weekly

This was the first time Perez has been back since leaving Cuba as a child.  While the rest of us were touring Cienfiegos, the port after Havana, Perez visited an aunt and cousins he had never met.  He told me later that they pulled out a box of family photos sent over the years, and that the meeting was intently emotional. He intends to return, by ship, of course, to introduce his American-born teens to their Cuban relatives.

But I digress.

A band and salsa dancers kept us company as we waded through immigration at the port terminal, then we were literally mobbed by a crowd of well-wishers lining the streets outside.  It was like going through a tunnel of people. Now I know what it feels like to be a rock star.

cruising to cuba
Cuban and American flags greet Fathom Adonia passengers in Havana. Photo (C) by Evelyn Kanter

Cuban and American flags were everywhere. Hands reached out for high-fives. Cameras and camera phones clicked away. Babies were lifted to kiss us or be kissed. One handsome young man at the back of the crowd insisted on taking a photo with me, and then wrote his name in my notebook. Just his name. No email address, no street address. Just a personal, fleeting connection with an American. It was joyful and overwhelming.

The Fathom is just the latest of rapid changes in the Cuban economic and political scene.

cruising to cuba
Vintage cars are Cuba’s landmarks on wheels. Photo (C) Evelyn Kanter, all rights reserved

Cubans now have Wi-Fi in parks and other public locations, and are catching up with the outside world, including with family members living outside the country.  They can now start small businesses like restaurants, rent rooms in their homes to tourists, and buy and sell their vintage cars.

Maybe that’s why it seems there are more vintage cars in Havana today than on my first visit to Cuba five years ago.  Maybe savvy entrepeneurs are buying up the old cars from elsewhere on the island to turn them into tourist taxis in Havana. Old Havana, the historic heart of the city, is being refurbished at a record pace.  Buildings from the 1800s are getting facelifts inside and out, abandoned buildings are being rebuilt, as are rutted cobblestone streets.

More about that in another report, and about the other two Cuban cities the Fathom Adonia visited, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba.cruising to cuba

 

Thanks for visiting ecoXplorer. Stay up to date with the latest news about green travel, green cars, smart spending and frugal living by subscribing. It's free. RSS feed.
Welcome back to exoXplorer. Stay up to date with the latest news about green travel, green cars and smart spending by subscribing. It's free. RSS feed.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Adventure Travel, Bucket List Trips, Cruises, Vintage Cars, Where to go Next Tagged With: CarnivalInCuba, Havana, TravelDeep

Comments

  1. The Vicki Winters Show- says

    May 20, 2016 at 4:58 pm

    I was with The Gypsy Nesters on the DR cruise. It was amazing, and I’d LOVE to go to Cuba too. Apparantly only the REALLY COOL KIDS got to go….so lucky you.PS. Are those pics intentionally upside down and sideways? #ART?

    Reply
    • Evelyn Kanter says

      May 20, 2016 at 10:03 pm

      Love being called a Really Cool Kid! That’s so weird about the images upside down and sideways – they look fine on my desktop but not on my iphone. Thanks for pointing it out. Now I gotta figure out how to fix.

      Reply
  2. Grey World Nomads says

    May 18, 2016 at 4:49 pm

    What an experience – to be on the first cruise ship to Cuba! I’m sure it was incredible. Thank you to let us participate.

    Reply
  3. Wendy says

    May 18, 2016 at 12:05 pm

    Great to hear about the first cruise to Cuba! I look forward to read more about the trip. Cuba is on my bucket list, and I hope to get there before tourism takes over.

    Reply
  4. The GypsyNesters says

    May 17, 2016 at 7:02 pm

    We just returned from the Dominican Republic with Fathom and loved our trip. Sure hope we can follow your footsteps to Cuba soon.

    Reply
    • Evelyn Kanter says

      May 17, 2016 at 8:25 pm

      And I should follow in yours. Hoping to be aboard Fathom’s DR itinerary soon.

      Reply
    • Tammy criscuolo says

      May 30, 2016 at 1:58 pm

      Any pictures of the interior of the ship?

      Reply
      • Evelyn Kanter says

        June 1, 2016 at 1:02 pm

        Soon.

        Reply
  5. McCool Travel says

    May 16, 2016 at 12:53 pm

    That is cool that Fathom sailed around Cuba and stopped in 3 places. Nice you get to see different parts of the island and not just Havana.

    Reply
  6. Claire cmwalter says

    May 14, 2016 at 12:10 pm

    Enjoyed your report. How lucky you were to be one of the invited journalists on the first ship. I visited Cuba (Havana only, alas) last spring, when everyone was anticipating the normalization of diplomatic relations and all that was to come with it. We had dinner the other night with friends who had just returned from Havana and Cienguegos. They flew from Miami and stayed in AirBnB lodgings in both places. The options are increasing.

    Reply
    • Evelyn Kanter says

      May 14, 2016 at 7:56 pm

      Yes, the options are increasing. When I first visited Cuba five years ago – also from Miami – AirBnB or Wi-Fi had not yet arrived.

      Evelyn

      Reply
      • Claire Walter says

        May 15, 2016 at 8:15 am

        AirBnB opportunities are certainly mushrooming, and WiFi is coming. It won’t be long before ATMs appear too, I’m sure. I hope to return before the entire Caribbean cruise ship fleet starts calling. If thousands of people are disgorging every day, it will be a tidal wave rather than a trickle.

        And BTW, I meant Cienfuegos. Typo time.

        Reply
        • Evelyn Kanter says

          May 15, 2016 at 11:32 am

          That’s probably why there’s such a demand for travel reservations – to get there before it changes.

          Reply

What do you think? We value your comments and love hearing from you. Cancel reply

Most Popular Recent Posts

  • 2 Reasons to Avoid Jimmy John's
    2 Reasons to Avoid Jimmy John's
  • Scam Alert: Kars4Kids Car Donation Charity
    Scam Alert: Kars4Kids Car Donation Charity
  • Scam Alert: Mideast Peace Charities
    Scam Alert: Mideast Peace Charities
  • Lamborghini Stretch Limousine for Rent
    Lamborghini Stretch Limousine for Rent
  • Best Used Car Buys: 2005-2010 models
    Best Used Car Buys: 2005-2010 models
  • How to Get a Hotel Room Upgrade
    How to Get a Hotel Room Upgrade
  • Airlines Profit from In-Flight Booze Sales
    Airlines Profit from In-Flight Booze Sales
  • Get Your Photo on a U-Haul truck
    Get Your Photo on a U-Haul truck
  • Best 2020 Green Cars & SUVs
    Best 2020 Green Cars & SUVs
  • Rivian is EV Company Driving for Success
    Rivian is EV Company Driving for Success

ecoXplorer is your guide to smart spending and eco-friendly living

ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter is a journalist with 20+ years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer, radio & TV news producer & reporter, and guidebook and smartphone app author – all focusing on travel, automotive, the environment and your rights as a consumer.

Contact me at evelyn@ecoxplorer.com.

Also follow my NYC website, www.nyconthecheap.com.

Search ecoXplorer by category

Translate ecoXplorer

© 2010-2020 EcoXplorer by Evelyn Kanter. All the stories and photos on our site are protected by US Copyright laws. Any unauthorized copying is strictly prohibited. Plus, it’s just not nice.

  • Home
  • About Evelyn Kanter
  • Evelyn Kanter’s Books & Apps
  • In The News
  • Workshops
  • NYC on the Cheap

ecoXplorer.com is an independent information service which is compensated by advertisers and sponsors. This site includes some links to other websites which are compensated for by our sponsors when you click them.

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.