Both Protestant and Catholic groups now have a faith-focused way to explore Cuba with two new tours announced through Celestyal Crystal. Regina Tours packaged the Catholicism in Cuba tour in partnership with the cruise line to shed light on Cuba’s long history with Catholicism, the largest organized religion on the island nation.
For the Protestant take on the country, Journeys Unlimited packaged the Christian Life in the Culture of Cuba that highlights the island’s different protestant denomination, the history of its Christian community and it current faith practices. Both tours will run on the same weeklong cruises of Cuba throughout 2017, but with differing included excursions.
Travelers will see both the Christian influences and the cultural attractions of Cuba’s Santiago de Cuba, Havana, Punta Frances and Cienfuegos.
Additional Catholic excursions include a pilgrimage to Santiago de Cuba’s shrine of Our Lady of Charity, the Cathedral of Santiago, the Felix Varela Cultural Center, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception and a concert at the Convento de San Francisco de Asis. At the Felix Varela Cultural Center, groups will converse with lay and clergy regarding the religious and cultural work of the center.
The Protestant tour offers similar Christian experiences, among them a visit to the Cuban Council of Churches, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center at the Baptist Church in Havana and a local Protestant church. At the church, guests will interact with locals. A more formal reception awaits at the Cuban Council of Churches where participants will meet with Christian leaders and listen to a presentation about the work of the council.
For more information about Celestyal Crystal, visit www.yourcubacruise.com. For more on the Catholic tour, visit www.regina-tours.com/catholicism-cuba, or for the Protestant tour, visit www.journeys-unlimited.com/christianlifecuba.
