There’s no doubt that cruises to Cuba are hot. Since the Obama administration lifted many of the restrictions that prohibited American’s from visiting the island nation, cruise lines have taken advantage of the cruising public’s curiosity to see what life is like in the land that time forgot.
Nearly all of the U.S. based cruise lines have deployed cruise ships to Cuba and consistently increase capacity to keep up with demand. But a recent warning by the United States Department of State may cause some cruisers to think twice.
As widely reported in the news, employees at the U.S. Embassy in Havana have been subject to sonic attacks that have resulted in physical symptoms such as ear complaints, hearing loss, dizziness, headache and even brain injuries. According to the government, these attacks have taken place in diplomatic residences and hotels frequented by American citizens.
While the United States and Cuba work to identify the source of these attacks, the U.S. ordered nonemergency government employees and their families to leave Cuba for their own safety.
With the reduction in Embassy staff and the risk of such attacks on civilians, the United States government has issued a warning to U.S. citizens to not travel to Cuba.
BONUS: See photos from Cuba taken by a reader on a recent cruise.
While this is not a travel ban, it is a warning and American’s can still enjoy their cruise vacation. Royal Caribbean issued a statement saying, “since the warning is due to the events that occurred in U.S. diplomatic residences and hotels frequented by U.S. citizens, we do not feel they pose a risk to our cruise passengers. Our guests explore Havana on escorted tours and do not visit hotels. We will continue to monitor the situation and will review any additional information that may be released.”
Norwegian Cruise Line echoed Royal Caribbean’s statement by saying, “cruises to Havana continue to operate as scheduled. The safety and security of our guests and crew is always our first priority and we continue to maintain the highest security standards as we do in all ports of call.”
It appears at this point, that if one chooses to cancel a cruise to Cuba out of concern for their own safety, cruise lines are not waiving penalties or accommodating guests on a different itinerary.