Well that was a shocker! Didn’t see that one coming! News in over the weekend that Donald Trump has banned US cruise ships from travelling to Cuba under strict new restrictions in a bid to keep ‘US Dollars out of the hands of Cuban military’.
How will this news affect us Brits travelling to the beautiful country of Cuba? It was definitely on my list of places to visit. Even before I watched Jane McDonald at the house party in Santiago de Cuba! Seems not via a cruise though. Unless Mr Trump has a change of mind.
“Without warning, CLIA Cruise Line Members are forced to eliminate all Cuba destinations from itineraries effective immediately.
“This affects nearly 800,000 passenger bookings that are currently scheduled or already underway.
“These travel restrictions effectively make it illegal to cruise to Cuba from the United States.
Since this news broke Cruise Lines have been quick to announce they were ending their Cuba routes immediately, and are now busy looking at 2020 sailings for alternative ports of call.
Royal Caribbean passengers can either stick with the new itinerary and receive a 50% refund or cancel completely to get a full refund. Sailings on Majesty of the Seas and Empress of the Seas will now be docking at Costa Maya instead.
So how can we visit Cuba, if not by cruise ship? Well you are not allowed to fly to Cuba via a US Gateway – its now illegal. Whether you are a US Citizen or not. You can travel on either a direct flight from the UK (Virgin Atlantic from London Gatwick) twice weekly or via other countries apart from the USA.
Its such a pity, and a huge disappointment to thousands of holidaymakers who no doubt chose their particular cruise specifically to visit Cuba.
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I started working at Cruise.co.uk in January 2014 and thought you might like to know a little bit about me..... I was born in London but as a child spent a great deal of time playing in the Hopfields of Kent while my parents worked on the farm. In fact…
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