March 9, 2017
On March 9, 2017, Oceania Cruises made cruise history by becoming the first major North American cruise brand to sail to Cuba. The 1,250-guest Marina began a 14-day sailing that departed from Miami on March 7, and will continue on to Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Panama Colombia, and the Cayman Islands. Oceania Cruises has two more sailings to Cuba scheduled this March and six scheduled for this autumn. According to an Oceania press release, passengers on the historic cruise to Cuba included Oceania co-founder/CEO Bob Binder and Frank Del Rio, Cuban-born founder of Oceania Cruises and CEO of parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. Once docked, Del Rio addressed international media regarding the inaugural voyage.