US cruise majors plan to continue travel plans to Cuba despite new limits set by Washington, while keeping guests abreast of any itinerary changes.
The Trump administration is tightening restrictions on travel and remittances to the island nation in response to its support for the Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela.
Last week, National Security Advisor John Bolton said the US Department of the Treasury will "restrict non-family travel to Cuba", barring US citizens from travelling there for holidays.
The new rules reverse Obama-era policies that in December 2014 began warming US-Cuba relations, including allowing tourists to visit.
"We are closely monitoring the recent developments with respect to US-Cuba travel," Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings spokeswoman Andrea DeMarco told TradeWinds.
"At this time, no new regulations have been issued and, accordingly, the company’s itineraries which include Cuba as a destination will continue as scheduled."
Carnival Corp and Royal Caribbean Cruises also confirmed their plans for Cuba remain unchanged — for now.
"We will continue to monitor the situation and will notify our guests if there are any changes," Carnival Corp spokesman Roger Frizzell said.
Headed to Cuba
Carnival Corp sends five ships from its flagship Carnival Cruise Line fleet to Cuba from several US ports.
These include the 2,056-berth Carnival Sensation (built 1993), 3,006-berth Carnival Sunshine (built 1996), 2,052-berth Carnival Paradise (built 1998), 2,758-berth Carnival Sunrise (built 1999) and 2,758-berth Carnival Victory (built 2000).
The Carnival Victory will undergo a $200m renovation and be renamed Radiance in March 2020.
Carnival Corp also sails Holland America Line's 1,258-berth Veendam and Seabourn's 450-berth Seabourn Sojourn (built 2010) to the communist country.
Royal Caribbean Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings also offer regular voyages to Cuba, which the US considered a "state sponsor of terrorism" until April 2015.
Royal Caribbean Cruises sails Royal Caribbean International's 2,020-berth Empress of the Seas (built 1990) from Miami for voyages lasting four to eight days.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings sends the 2,002-berth Norwegian Sun (built 2001) and Norwegian Sky (built 1999) from Miami and Orlando for cruises lasting four days to a week.
The Caribbean will still be the top cruise destination if a ban on US tourist travel is reimposed, said Tigress Financial Partners analyst Ivan Feinseth.
"People like to go there [to Cuba] but there are still a lot of places to go in the Caribbean," he said.
'A huge deal'
In May 2016, Carnival Corp sent the first cruiseship to Cuba in 50 years — the 2,016-berth Adonia (renamed Sea Princess, built 1998).
The company commemorated the ship's arrival in Havana by allowing general counsel Arnold Perez and his wife, Carmen, both Cuban-born, to be the first passengers off the ship.
Carnival Corp chief executive Arnold Donald considers the moment to be his greatest personal accomplishment, telling TradeWinds in August 2018 that it was "a huge deal".
