Trump bans US-Cuba cruises

US officials say the move will ‘keep US dollars out of the hands of Cuban military’

Cruising is the most popular form of travel for Americans going to Cuba (Getty Images)

Cruises from the US to Cuba have been banned as part of new travel restrictions announced by Trump’s administration.

The move is an attack on Cuba’s communist regime and will “keep US dollars out of the hands of Cuban military, intelligence, and security services,“ according to US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The most popular category of trip, known as “people-to-people” – whereby any American can legally travel to Cuba, provided they engage in a full-time schedule of activities as part of an organised group trip – is also prohibited.

The news was announced on Tuesday and the rules come into effect as of Wednesday 5 June.

However, those who have already booked at least one element of their visit – such as flights – will be allowed to travel, officials confirmed.

Royal Caribbean tweeted the following in response to the news: “We’re aware of the announcement and are analysing the details to understand the impact on our itineraries. For now, we’re adjusting the 6/5 and 6/6 sailing itineraries, which will no longer stop in Cuba. We are communicating the changes with our guests.”

Rules on travelling between the two nations had been relaxed under Barack Obama, with certain organised group and individual trips permissible, but the new ruling will reverse this more open stance.

“This administration has made a strategic decision to reverse the loosening of sanctions and other restrictions on the Cuban regime,“ said Mnuchin.

“Cuba continues to play a destabilizing role in the Western Hemisphere, providing a communist foothold in the region and propping up U.S. adversaries in places like Venezuela and Nicaragua by fomenting instability, undermining the rule of law, and suppressing democratic processes.”

While educational and cultural group “people-to-people” trips are now off limits, those that come under the category “support for the Cuban people” are still allowed.

The latter involves participating in local activities and staying in a private home rather than a hotel, and travellers must meet local business owners or artists to comply.

As Tom Popper, president of the tour company Insight Cuba, told the New York Times: “Going to hang out at the beach in the afternoon won’t cut it.”

Cruise is the most popular form of travel from the US to Cuba; 142,721 Americans visited the island nation on cruises between 1 January and 30 April this year.

The Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, tweeted of the move: “I strongly reject new sanctions announced by US vs. Cuba which further restrict US citizens’ travels to Cuba, aimed at suffocating the economy and harming the living standards of Cubans in order to forcefully obtain political concessions.

“Once again they will fail.”