HAVANA-From the windows and decks of the first American passenger ship to make this approach in almost 40 years, the earliest glimpse of Cuba came a little after sunrise Monday morning: a long sliver of land, then a hint of distant mountains, and then buildings, the shimmering silhouette of Havana. After a half-century of waiting, passengers finally set sail on Sunday from Miami on an historic cruise to Cuba. Giant cruise ships are a familiar sight in the harbor outside Havana, but they’re from other countries. But several Cold War-era restrictions on travelling and trading are yet to be lifted. That’s because the Miami-based Carnival cruise line became the target of protests last month by Cuban-Americans, who were angry about a Cuban rule that barred anyone born in Cuba from entering the island by sea. “I think the Cuban government was exposed”, said one man.
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The study, taken by Florida International University associate politics professor Dario Moreno from among 400 eligible Cuban-American voters in Miami-Dade County between April 21-23, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent. He bought a Cuban flag for the occasion, which he waved from the deck at protesters who opposed the cruises. More than a dozen lines have announced plans to run U.S. -Cuba cruises and if all actually begin operations Cuba could earn more than $80 million a year, according to the U.S. -Cuba Trade and Economic Council said in a report Monday.
News of the ban sparked demonstrations outside Carnival’s offices in Doral, Fla., with newspaper editorials questioning why the cruise company would accede to the decades-old ban.
While the arrival of a US cruise ship in Havana is a milestone for tourism and Cuban-American relations, it is also a bittersweet reunion for some of the handful of Cuban-Americans on board. A Cuban-born Miami Herald columnist wrote an excoriating column saying a Carnival official told her that for this reason, to the company’s regret, she could not buy a ticket for the trip.
The cruise, which makes stops at ports of call in Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba, is designated as a cultural exchange. Since then, embassies have reopened in Washington and Havana, Obama has visited Cuba and more USA businesses are operating on the long-isolated island.
Today, the Cuban government sees cruises as an easy source of revenue that can bring thousands more American travelers without placing additional demand on the country’s maxed-out food supplies and overbooked hotels. Traffic remains low, however, for a major tourist attraction only 90 miles (145 kilometers) from Florida.
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When the Adonia pulled in to port in Havana Monday afternoon, crowds of cheering Cubans and media lined along Havana’s historic Malecón to greet the passengers.
