Cuba Is Attracting More Cruise Visits as Traditional Travel Gets Complicated
Skift Take
While Americans lost some of the ability to explore Cuba on their own due to restrictions put in place by the Trump administration, cruise ships are offering organized trips approved by the U.S. government. That seems to be working out well for operators, who are eager to increase their presence in the destination.
Nearly two years after cruise travel between the U.S. and Cuba restarted following a decades-long break, demand for the destination — at least as part of cruise itineraries — is showing no sign of cooling.
Cruise lines continue to add more visits, in some cases doubling the number of ships they send, and travel agents report higher interest among clients.
"Cuba has been terrific, I think, for the industry. For our particular company, it's been very, very good," said Frank Del Rio, CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, at an industry conference last month. "I defined it as a home run — so much that we're doubling capacity in 2018."
The continued growth in cruising comes as the rules governing travel to the island have tightened under President Donald Trump, who last year resurrected some of the restrictions his predecessor eased.
U.S. citizens are only allowed to go to Cuba under 12 authorized categories of travel, and the one that had become especially popular under Obama — the people-to-people provision — has changed significantly. Americans traveling under that category are no longer permitted to take trips on their own with just a promise that
