When the U.S. cruise ship, Adonia, sailed from Miami to Cuba, it brought more than a shipful of tourists. The trip was yet another milestone in the quest to normalize relations between the U.S. and Cuba.

CCTV America’s Nitza Soledad Perez was on board the ship that returned to Miami on Sunday.

Emotions were running high before departure. More than 600 passengers boarded the ship last Sunday for Cuba. The last time an American cruise ship docked in Havana was in 1977.

Cuban American passenger Ana Garcia had not stepped into Cuban soil in 48 years.

“From the conversations that I had, from the people in Cuba, not the government, but those connections that we masde at the Paladares, at the restaurants – and the pride that they took to take care of us when we were there, and those private moments that we were able to share – really made me feel hopeful and optimistic that there is a future,” Garcia said.

At the ship’s second port of call, Cienfuegos on the southern coast, musicians came on board for the next leg of the trip.

“There has been chemistry. They’ve liked us. They dance. They sing. And they ask many questions,” Cuban musician Lenski Diaz said. “It’s incredibly beautiful for me. It has one of the best experiences of my professional life and I will treasure it.”