London-based Tropicana Cruises has confirmed it will begin cruises from Havana in November.

The Belize-registered line will use the 300-passenger Adriana, built in 1972, for the cruises from November 6th.

Tropicana, with offices in London and St. Petersburg, bought the vessel from a French company and already transferred it to its new homeport in Havana.

“Having received the full complement of necessary certificates, the Adriana promptly set sail from Kingston, and reached exotic Havana after a short two day voyage,” read a statement from the company.

“Upon berthing at the passenger pier in Havana, a huge delegation from all the local Ministries and Governmental Administrations came on board the vessel with their warm welcoming of the ship and its crew.

“The final logistical steps of the operation were discussed during a lavishly prepared meal, and a plan of final preparations was put together.”

The Adriana will sail from Havana to Cayo Saetia, Santiago de Cuba, Trinidad and Nueva Gerona, as well as Ocho Rios in Jamaica, where US and Canadian passengers can board.

The company is marketing its Cuba cruises in Russia, Britain, Germany and Spain, but — due to sanctions — not in the United States.

Cruises are priced in Euros and will start at €785 per person for a seven-night voyage.

Happy Cruises announced in September it will home-port its Gemini in Havana to offer around-Cuba cruises, joining British cruise lines Thomson and Fred Olsen in the market.

World Mobi

Also in the Caribbean today, World Mobi launched its new city guide to Havana. 

World Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the World Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.mobi, London.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

Havana.Mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality - which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, transport, and weather.

City.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.