With New Regulations, US Ending Cruise Travel to Cuba

The announcement by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Tuesday that it would be ending people-to-people travel to Cuba is also the end to travel that has flourished since restrictions on Cuban travel began to thaw in 2014—cruise travel.

In a published statement to the U.S. Department of State website, a spokesperson wrote that along with the elimination of people-to-people trips “United States will no longer permit visits to Cuba via passenger and recreational vessels, including cruise ships and yachts, and private and corporate aircraft.” 

That means that progress made by major cruise companies, including Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival Corp., and more, will be halted starting on June 5, 2019 (OFAC is including a grandfathering provision in the rules, which will allow certain people-to-people travel groups to continue as long as the traveler had completed one travel-related transaction—purchasing a flight or reserving accommodation—before June 5).

Travel Market Report reached out to a number of cruise lines for comment on the announcement, and many are still determining just how the new rules will impact current and future sailings, including sailings to Cuba already released but not fully booked.

A spokesperson from the Cruise Lines International Association told TMR that “CLIA and its Cruise Lines are currently reviewing and working through the details of the Administration’s Cuba policy announcement made earlier today to assess the scale and timing of its effect on cruise sailings from the U.S. to Cuba.”

Norwegian Cruise Line told TMR that it was “are closely monitoring these recent developments and any resulting impact to cruise travel to Cuba” and would be communicating to its “guests and travel partners as additional information becomes available”

Virgin Voyages, had planned for its entry into the cruise market to include Cuba calls during its inaugural season homeporting its first ship, Scarlet Lady, in Miami.

“We are disappointed to hear of the Administration’s decision to halt travel to Cuba,” a spokesperson told TMR. “We are currently working with CLIA and the regulatory authorities to assess how this new change will impact our itineraries that stop in Cuba.”

Virgin added that “the beauty of sea travel is that we have the flexibility to adjust our itineraries. We will be updating our Sailors and First Mates as soon as we have more information to share.”

MSC Cruises said that it “is currently reviewing and working through the details of the Administration’s Cuba policy announcement made earlier today to assess the scale and timing of its effect on its cruise sailings from the U.S. to Cuba.”

This article will be updated as more information becomes available.