Cuba restrictions hit cruise lines

Associated Press

MIAMI

The Trump administration’s new restrictions on travel to Cuba will sting the cruise industry, taking away a new and increasingly popular destination at the start of the critical summer vacation season.

Major cruise lines on Wednesday immediately began dropping stops in Cuba from their itineraries and hastily rerouting ships to other destinations including Mexico.

The changes affect thousands of passengers already on cruises or booked for future trips, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, an industry trade group.

At docks in Florida and aboard ships at sea, frustrated travelers vented over wrecked vacation plans.

In New York, shares of cruise line companies tumbled.

“We have a ship full of disappointed and angry people,” said Darcy Van Zijl of Cape Coral, Fla., who had planned to celebrate her 45th birthday with a cruise to Havana.

The U.S. Commerce Department announced the new regulations Tuesday to take effect a day later. Cruise lines that carried passengers under a government policy that permitted “people-to-people” travel to Cuba were told they could not continue.

The restrictions effectively made it illegal to cruise from the U.S. to Cuba, according to the industry group.

“This is going to have a noticeable impact on the cruise lines’ earnings this quarter and the rest of this year and likely into 2020,” said Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst with Atmosphere Research Group.

Cruise lines will face refunds for passengers who booked just for Cuba and aren’t interested in other destinations, and they are offering discounts to rebook on non-Cuba itineraries.

Those costs are not yet clear, said UBS analyst Robin Farley.