Marella cruise line drops visits to Havana, Nassau and Lisbon leaving customers furious

Exclusive: Double-booking in Cuban capital triggers widespread changes on transatlantic voyage

Off the map: Marella's transatlantic cruise gives Havana a wide berth (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

“Port availability is beyond our control”: that is what Britain’s biggest travel firm has told cruise passengers whose planned visits to Havana, Nassau and Lisbon have been cancelled.

Marella, the cruise operation of TUI, has told hundreds of holidaymakers booked on an April voyage from Jamaica to Mallorca that they will not visit Cuba, the Bahamas or Portugal.

In a letter to passengers, TUI wrote: “We start planning our future cruise schedule a long way ahead of the sailing date. And, as a result, we sometimes find we need to amend an itinerary shortly before a cruise starts so that we can offer you the best holiday experience possible.”

“On this occasion, Havana, Nassau and Lisbon are no longer available for us to call at due to port congestion which means we have had to re-work the itinerary.”

An investigation by The Independent has revealed that the trigger for the removal of the three highlights was a US cruise line being given priority for docking at Havana.

There was a double-booking in the Cuban capital on the day the Marella Discovery 2 was due to call, 12 April. But the city’s Sierra Maestra cruise terminal has only one berth fit for a vessel of that size.

Also planning a call in the Havana that day is Royal Caribbean’s Empress of the Seas, which has been given preference over its UK rival. So Marella passengers who were tempted to book for the chance to visit “a city that feels like a film set, thanks to its vintage Cadillacs and candy-coloured old town” have been disappointed.

Without the call in Havana, the cruise would have had an extra day at sea. Instead, additional ports were scheduled, but the knock-on impact meant that Nassau and Lisbon were deleted from the itinerary.

Many customers have contacted The Independent to express their frustration.

Shirley Bishop said: “The only reason we booked this cruise was because of the itinerary included the three places they have cancelled.

“TUI have waited until everyone has paid as the final payment had to be paid by 26 January 2018 and we are now in a position that we have paid for a holiday we really don't want.”

A spokesperson for TUI said: “We’d like to apologise to our customers for any disappointment caused by some recent changes we’ve had to make to the Marella Discovery 2 itinerary departing on 10 April.

“This is due to new information about berth availability on previously confirmed port stops which has only just come to light.”

Cuban congestion: cars waiting for traffic lights to change on La Rampa in Havana (Simon Calder)

Marella has refused requests from disappointed passengers for a full refund. Each passenger has been offered £25 in on-board spend.

The TUI spokesperson said: “The ship will now be calling at four new ports: Amber Cove in Dominican Republic, Georgetown in Grand Cayman, Grand Turk, Horta in The Azores and Cadiz (for Seville) in Spain, as well as extending our time in Bermuda.”

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