Previously, Cuban law had barred Cuban-born Americans from traveling to the country by sea, although they were allowed to travel their by air. This week, Carnival, which is based in a Miami suburb and is well-versed on local sensitivities about Cuba, faced a class-action lawsuit by Cuban-Americans and harsh words from political leaders who expressed outrage that a USA company would discriminate against American citizens.
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Cuba has agreed to allow passengers on Fathom cruises to Cuba who were born in Cuba to arrive by sea, a change in policy sought by Carnival Corp. “More importantly, we are contributing to a positive future”. Carnival resumed selling tickets to Cuban-born Americans last week amid a storm of controversy and a threat by Miami-Dade to block the Doral-based company from having access to its terminals at the county-owned PortMiami. It asked for the May 1 cruise to Cuba to be stopped.
Carnival CEO Arnold Donald announced on Monday, April 18 the company would delay its first journey to Cuba if negotiations with that country’s government to relax its travel restrictions failed.
Carnival’s 1 May cruise, the first from the U.S. to the Communist-run country since the 1959 revolution, was thrown into doubt when the company triggered a backlash by refusing Cuban-Americans passage due to a cold war-era law.
“In the current context of relations with Washington both governments have discussed issues like terrorism, maritime security and human trafficking as well as travel, trade and other topics related to Cuba and the United States’ national security, promoting bilateral cooperation with mutual benefits”, said the statement. But Carnival executives also said they expected the Cuban government to change the policy before the cruise was set to launch. It will be the first time in over 50 years that a cruise ship has been permitted to sail from the United States to Cuba.
Two Cuban-American men asked a Miami federal judge earlier in the week to guarantee that Cuban exiles would not suffer discrimination on the upcoming trips, according to the Associated Press.
The specifics of Cuba’s policy change were not immediately available.
The Cruise Lines International Association is also happy with the developments and has released the following statement: “Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) welcomes the Cuban government’s positive and fair decision to allow all American citizens equal opportunity to visit Cuba”.
It was created to prevent anti-communist militants from landing on Cuban shores to try to overthrow the government, as in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 against Fidel Castro.
Several cruise and tour companies already offer Cuba cruises that don’t start in the USA.
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The change in policy appears to remove barriers to the first visit by a US cruise ship to the island scheduled for next month.
