Cruises in Cuba: New Restrictions for US Tourists

The Trump administration imposed on June 4 new restrictions on Americans wishing to travel to Cuba. Effective Wednesday, June 5, the United States will not allow educational or cultural group tours on the island of Cuba unless they have been booked before June 5 announced the government in a statement. It will also not allow cruise ships, private yachts or fishing boats to stop in Cuba. Thousands of American visitors will be left behind in their travel plans.

The decision has had the effect of a cold shower on many travel agencies and cruise companies who must now assess the impact and how they might be led to change their operations in Cuba.

Carnival Cruises' Lynne St-Jean said in a statement this morning, June 5: "The US government has imposed a series of new sanctions on Cuba by banning cruise ship travel and canceling certain categories of authorized travel, which previously allowed US / Canadian citizens to visit Cuba through the People-to-People program. From now on, cruises are no longer allowed and we must cancel our scheduled stop in Havana. We are working to find a replacement port to provide our customers with the best possible experience. We are working as fast as possible to find alternative routes for the rest of our trips to Cuba and we hope to have information in the next 2-3 days. In the meantime, our customers are welcome to visit our website for further updates. We sincerely apologize to our guests for this unexpected change and thank them for their understanding. "

Cruises are, since 2016, the most popular way to travel to Cuba for Americans, when President Obama reopened his relationship with the island. This year, between January 1 and April 30, 142,721 Americans visited Cuba by boat against 114,832 who went there by plane.