Late last year, the White House announced that it would start normalizing relations with the island nation of Cuba, after 50 years of severe economic sanctions.
Located just 90 miles off the coast of Florida, Cuba has been isolated by travel restrictions and a decades-old embargo. Its close proximity and vibrant Latin culture has meant that the island has long been a forbidden but alluring destination for Americans curious to experience the Caribbean nation’s way of life. For this reason, when President Obama announced that trade with Cuba would be improving, devoted cruisers and industry insiders speculated that Cuba might soon open its ports to American tourists.
So, what does this new thaw in diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba mean for cruising?
Unfortunately, there are not likely to be any significant changes for Caribbean vacationers—at least not yet. For the time being, travel to Cuba remains restricted to a number of specific classifications, such as travel related to medical need, athletic events, journalism, religious reasons, or family visits.
The biggest change for Americans traveling to Cuba is that they are no longer required to acquire a special license from the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Moreover, limits on how much money a visitor can spend there, and the types of business they can pursue, have been relaxed. This broadening of acceptable economic activities has the potential to further stimulate trade between the countries, and possibly encourage opening up relations further.
Despite all these changes, though, general tourism is still forbidden under the new rules—and that means no cruises. To allow larger numbers of Americans to travel to Cuba, Congress has to pass a law specifically permitting that. However, there appear to be no plans among American politicians to do that just yet.
Despite the complications and slow diplomatic processes involved, the latest announcement by the White House may the first step toward introducing an exotic new destination to cruisers’ Caribbean itineraries sometimes in coming years.
