Cuba said on Friday it would lift a ban on Cuban-born citizens entering and leaving the Caribbean island by commercial vessels, opening the way for USA cruise operator Carnival Corp to set sail for the country from Miami next week.
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The company said it’s asking the Cuban government that travel on its ships be treated the same as air charters to Cuba and remains confident its negotiations “will result in a positive outcome for everyone who wants to travel to Cuba, including those who are Cuba-born”.
Cuba has now opened the gates for anyone in Cuba and those Cubans living in the United States visit Cuba on cruise ships. The policy provoked widespread criticism of Carnival and protests outside its corporate headquarters last week.
Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise operator, will sail as planned from the U.S.to Cuba with Cuban-born passengers for the company’s week-long voyages to the country, starting May 1.
Carnival received approval from the United States government previous year to sail to Cuba, followed by a go-ahead from Havana a day after President Barack Obama’s historic visit to the country in March.
ThPeople born in Cuba are eligible to visit a Carnival Cruise Line (NYSE: CCL ) trip.
“Our Oceania Cruises brand continues discussions with Cuban officials seeking approval to commence cruises to Cuba later this year”.
“We are a part of making history again today”, Carnival Chief Executive Arnold Donald said.
“My opinion is simply that once Cuba made a decision to accept cruise as a contributor to the people exchange and additional economic development within Cuba, that they also realized having a disparity between air travel and cruise could be an inhibitor”, Donald said on the media call.
The restriction on Cubans entering from the United States by sea goes back to the tensest days of the Cold War, after the Cuban Revolution of 1959. “And that’s including with the opportunity to have those on board who were born in Cuba”.
The Cuban government held off on Cubans’ arrival by private craft, however.
Despite the restoration of ties, the United States has maintained its trade embargo against Cuba, and regular, full-fledged USA tourism to Cuba is still banned.
Cruise prices for the seven-day sailing start at $1,800 per person, excluding Cuban visas, taxes, fees and port expenses.
Carnival changed its position on taking bookings from Cuban-born travelers less than a week after it was sued in federal court by two Cuban-born Americans who were turned down when they tried to book one of the Cuba sailings.
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Now, Marty is part of a class-action lawsuit claiming that Carnival is discriminating against Cuban-Americans looking to travel to their homeland.
