Cruise Cuba by yacht

Travel deals: Cruise Cuba by yacht
By Phil Marty, Special to Tribune Newspapers
1:29 p.m. CDT, July 15, 2014

Since the U.S. government has somewhat loosened restrictions on visits
to Cuba by Americans, the island nation has been turning up on a lot of
people's bucket lists. Group IST has a new Havana-to-Cienfuegos tour
that's unique in that it's a cruise by 49-passenger mega-yacht, rather
than a strictly land-based venture. Because the U.S. doesn't allow
travel to Cuba by sea, the package includes round-trip air from Miami.
The eight-day/seven-night cruise spends the first two nights in Havana
before moving on to Cabo San Antonio, Cayo Largo, Trinidad and
Cienfuegos. (On alternate weeks the itinerary operates in reverse.) Time
spent ashore will concentrate on people-to-people interaction and
cultural immersion, as required on all trips to Cuba by U.S. citizens.
The trip is priced as low as $4,490 per person double occupancy,
depending on cabin class and travel date. Port taxes of $375 are extra.
All meals and tours are included, as well as Cuban visa and mandatory
Cuban medical insurance. Info: 800-833-2111, groupist.com/cuba.

A Quantum leap at sea

If you're a cruiser who likes to sail on the latest and the greatest,
the Online Vacation Center has a raft of cruise offers for May and June
2015 on Royal Caribbean International's Quantum of the Seas, which
debuts in November. For those with lots of time on their hands, there's
a 56-night cruise that starts in Cape Liberty, N.J., and ends in
Shanghai. There are lots of days at sea to explore amenities such as the
sky-diving simulator or circus school. Among the port calls will be
places as disparate as Spain, Jordan, Oman, India and Vietnam. For those
with less time or money, it's possible to do segments of the itinerary,
such as the 13-night cruise from Cape Liberty to Barcelona, Spain; or a
13-night Singapore-to-Shanghai leg. Packages include air from New York
as well as pre- and/or post-cruise hotel accommodations. Air add-ons are
available from other U.S. destinations and vary by package. Info:
800-780-9002, tinyurl.com/ozx5ndv.

New UNESCO sites

The UNESCO World Heritage List has added 26 new sites this year,
recognizing their cultural or natural significance. Among the 21 sites
added for their cultural heritage is the monumental earthworks of
Poverty Point, a complex of mounds and ridges erected by a native
society thousands of years ago in northeastern Louisiana. Other cultural
sites include China's Grand Canal, the world's longest man-made waterway
at 1,100 miles, and Qhapaq Nan, the expansive Andean road system in
Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Sites added for
their natural beauty include Great Himalayan National Park in India and
Botswana's Okavango Delta, home to white and black rhinos, cheetahs and
lions. Check out the list at tinyurl.com/382odg8.

Source: Travel deals: Cruise Cuba by yacht - chicagotribune.com -
http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/sc-trav-0715-trips-20140715,0,3587006.story