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After days of will-they or won’t-they, Carnival Corp. announced Friday morning that the cruise line will sail to Cuba on May 1 as planned — with Cuban-born passengers, which wasn’t always guaranteed.
The Miami-based cruise operator acknowledged earlier this month that its Fathom brand was not allowing Cuban-born passengers to book cruises to the island in order to comply with a law in Cuba that forbids people born in the country from returning by sea.
Carnival said it was working with the Cuban government to allow Cuban natives to visit by cruise — as they are allowed to come and go by plane — but its initial decision to sail even without that permission faced intense public outcry, lawsuits, pressure from the Cuban exile community, and chiding from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
On Monday, the cruise line opened booking to anyone who was interested and said it would delay its planned weeklong voyages on the 704-passengers Adonia if it didn’t get approval to bring all guests. In a statement Friday, the company said it had “worked closely with Cuba to allow its cruise ships to operate in a similar manner as current air charter operations.”
The world’s largest cruise company, appears to have settled the issue for other operators as well. The statement said cruise ships and other commercial vessels were also now approved to carry passengers who were born in Cuba.
“We made history in March, and we are a part of making history again today,” Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corp., said in the statement. “More importantly, we are contributing to a positive future. This is a positive outcome and we are extremely pleased.”
The cruise line announced its intentions last year to visit Cuba on the new Fathom line, but only received permission from Cuban officials in March.
The cruise line will visit Cuba every other week, visiting Havana, Cienfuegos, and Santiago de Cuba. Adonia will depart from Miami on Sundays. In between Cuba visits, it will sail to the Dominican Republic for “social impact” cruises full of volunteer activities.
Itineraries in Cuba will be more focused on cultural outings, including meetings with artists, architecture tours, rum tastings, and visits to coffee plantations.
“We have already seen tremendous interest in the incredible Cuba journey we have put together, and we are ecstatic that this historic opportunity is open to everyone who wants to travel to Cuba,” Tara Russell, president of Fathom, said in the statement.
Source: skift.com