Read all about my next cruise

For the next two weeks I will be cruising in the Caribbean. I’m flying to Havana and during the first few days of the cruise will be visiting Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba.
Americans are still waiting for their government to lift the trade embargo which has restricted travel to the island since the 1960s, and only a few ships visit – none of them from the American giants like Carnival or Royal Caribbean
Recently Fred Olsen based Braemar there for a couple of winter seasons, and Thomson Dream is sailing cruises which visit Havana this year, although will not be in 2012. MV Discovery will be there next month
Embargo or not, US holidaymakers will eventually over-run Cuba’s resorts.
When that happens, the island will gain the familiar infrastructure of the rest of the Caribbean – the shopping arcades selling gems and watches, T-shirts and Tanzanite.
Every other port has all that in abundance. With its faded grandeur and tall-finned cars from the 50s, Cuba remains unique.
Lots to see then, starting with a visit to the glitz and glamour of the Tropicana show, a Caribbean version of the Folies Bergeres – all feathers, legs and, er, teeth.
Lucky me.
Saga Pearl II is the ship I will be sailing on – she’s in the Caribbean for a few weeks after a voyage up the Amazon; some passengers have been on board since leaving Southampton early in January.
Taking leave of Cuba, we will be sailing on to Port Antonio in Jamaica, Willemstad in Curacao, La Guaira in Venezuela, Catalina Island, off the Dominican Republic and finally Santo Domingo.
Every day will bring a new treat: a Havana cigar perhaps (go on, just the one), maybe a visit to Noel Coward’s Jamaican hideaway of Firefly, and a glass or two of Curacao (just to discover how an orange liqueur can be such a vivid shade of blue).
Venezuela could be particularly interesting if – as rumoured today – Libya’s Colonel Gaddafi has fled there.
Ever-vigilant, I will be reporting back here throughout the journey – Internet access permitting. Keep checking back.