Cruise ships are prohibited from visiting one country in the Caribbean. However, U.S. travelers hope the restrictions will eventually be relaxed.
President Obama eased travel restrictions to Cuba in 2016, so certain U.S. cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Carnival, began offering voyages to Cuba. Before that, the country had been largely off-limits to American tourists.
However, it wasn't a permanent change—the Trump administration reinstated restrictions on travel to Cuba in 2019. As a result, cruises to Cuba from the U.S. came to an abrupt halt, with many guests disappointed in the resulting itinerary changes.
A former guest shared a letter they received while sailing on Carnival Sensation, a now-scrapped Fantasy Class ship, in 2019 on Reddit.
"The U.S. government has imposed a series of new sanctions on Cuba prohibiting travel via cruise ship and rescinding certain categories of authorized travel, which previously allowed U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba under the People-to-People program," the notice reads.
"Effective immediately, cruise ship travel is no longer allowed and we are required to cancel our visit to Havana. We will be replacing this stop with a visit to Cozumel to provide you with the best experience ashore."
Though the port has been closed to cruise ships for over five years, Carnival passengers are pushing for the reopening of Cuban ports
One individual reached out to John Heald, Carnival Cruise Line's Brand Ambassador, expressing the desire to cruise to Cuba.
“I hope the cruise lines are lobbying the government for permission to go back to cruising to Cuba. I am not the only one who thinks this BTW,” the unnamed person said.
Heald then invited Facebook users to vote whether they'd be interested in cruising to Cuba. Over 19,000 participants responded, with more than 11,500 passengers sharing they would cruise to Cuba and 7,500 stating they wouldn't be interested.
When the Trump administration reinstated the travel ban, cruise lines like Carnival were forced to remove Cuba from scheduled itineraries. Many had booked specific cruises just because Cuba was one of the ports of call, leading to disappointment.
“We would LOVE to be able to go to Cuba,” said Tammy Beakley in the poll's comment section, “We were booked to go to Cuba and Key West, but cruising to Cuba stopped a couple of months before our cruise. We were so disappointed. I pray that cruising to Cuba will be available again in the near future.”
Other guests shared their experiences visiting Cuba during the brief period cruise ships were allowed to call at Havana.
“We cruised into Cuba on Carnival during the limited period it was ‘open’, commented Walt Hack, “One of my favorite stops and loved that the ship remained in Havana harbor overnight. We found the island beautiful, the people extremely friendly, and the history fascinating! Stop the politics and let’s open it back up!
Linda Runkel shared, “I was fortunate to go to Cuba when it reopened in 2018. We did an awesome excursion around Havana, saw lots of old cars and ate local cuisine. Yes, please try to get back in. I would go back.”
“My wife and I were lucky enough to get to go on a cruise to Havana when it was open for cruises. We LOVED it! The people were so happy to see Americans finally visiting their country, and we felt like our money could really make a difference in their lives. I felt bad for them when cruises were cut off. We would go back in a heartbeat!" wrote Wayne Brockinton.
TipsyRussell expressed gratitude for visiting Cuba when cruises were allowed to sail there. "Who else did an overnight to Cuba? I feel so lucky and grateful that I got to go when I did," they wrote on a r/RoyalCaribbean Reddit thread.
"Went in 2018 on NCL and it was the most memorable location I’ve ever visited! Hoping to visit again one day…was particularly impressed with the way they tag and take care of the homeless dogs there, brittles526 added.
Despite the positive sentiments and desire to cruise to Cuba, Carnival is not adding Havana back to its itineraries. For now, passengers can continue to voice their opinions hoping that the travel restrictions will be eased.
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Growing up, she had the privilege of traveling frequently with her family and fell in love with cruising after sailing on the Oasis of the Seas her freshman year of high school. She wanted to pursue a career that highlighted her passion for travel and strengths as a writer.
