After two Cuban-Americans were denied passage to Cuba by boat because of a longstanding Cuban law, lawsuits have swirled and
according to The New York Times, a subsidy of
Carnival Cruise Line — who will operate the first American ship to Cuba in at least 50 years — is starting to soften their stance and announced "that it would begin accepting bookings from Cuban-born people in the hopes that the Castro government will overturn its Cold War-era directive by May 1."
"We remain confident that we will reach a positive outcome and we continue to work full speed ahead in preparing for our every-other-week sailings from PortMiami to Cuba," Arnold Donald, Carnival's president and chief executive officer, told employees in a letter Monday, according to The New York Times.
While Carnival Cruise Line's subsidy Fathom ship, the Adonia, is set to sail to Cuba on May 1, many including Republicans and Democrats alike have criticized the Cuban law and suggested canceling all cruises until the government lifts the regulation.
"We should not be in a situation where the Cuban government is forcing its discrimination policy on us," Secretary of State John Kerry told the Miami Herald last week.
The Times reports that the Cuban law was issued decades ago in an effort to stop Cubans from fleeing the islands by boats as well as prevent exiles from returning.
In 2014, Norwegian Cruise Line also faced a similar situation when 20 Israeli citizens could not embark to Tunisia. The cruise line soon after stopped their travel plans to Tunisia.
Tucker Ronzetti, a lawyer for one of the plaintiffs in the Cuban-American case suggests Carnival follows Norwegian Cruise Line by discontinuing trips until the issue is resolved.
"The laws of some other nations that promote discrimination don't trump the laws of the United States that forbid discrimination," Ronzetti said.
"We need to be consistent," he continued. "We should stand against all travel restriction, for Cubans or Americans."
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.