NOT ALL INCLUSIVE Carnival sued over Cuba restrictions

Posted on 04/15/2016 | About Cuba

American cruise ships may be getting permission to sail into Cuba but some Americans are prohibited from taking the cruises. Entry to the communist country by ship or any other sea vessel is denied to those born in Cuba, even those who are now US citizens. Carnival Corporation who intended to abide by this law is now facing a lawsuit.

Carnival Corporations’ Fathom brand is the first cruise company to be approved to sail from the US to Cuba, and possibly the first to sail in over 50 years. The first sailing is scheduled for May 01. 

The cruise line is getting backlash for enforcing the rule to not let Cuban born passengers sail to the communist country. 

Protestors met outside the Carnival corporate headquarters this week to demand that Carnival take a stand - either not to sail until the law is changed - or to over-rule and take Cuban born passengers anyway. 

The protest was staged by the Doral Democracy Movement (Doral is a city located in Miami Dade county). 

"We believe this is similar to when blacks had to sit in the back of the bus," said Ramon Saul Sanchez, president of the Democracy Movement.

"We are trying to somehow take the example of Ms. Rosa Parks and sit in the front of the bus, protest that kind of policy, so that the cruises can continue to go but be inclusive and not discriminative." 

Carnival has chosen to abide by the laws of Cuba, and released a statement Tuesday afternoon saying, "We believe we have a much better chance in helping to effect that change by working within the current boundaries of the policy while engaged in an active commercial agreement." 

The same day however two Cuban born Americans (who were denied purchasing Fathom’s cruise to Cuba) filed a federal lawsuit against Carnival and asked for the May 1 cruise to be cancelled. 

"The more I started researching this, the more I became upset," said Robert Rodriguez, the son of Cuban immigrants and one of the lawyers representing this file. 

"I was surprised and let down." 

On Wednesday, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez requested an official opinion to see whether Carnival would be violating county code by banning passengers based solely on their national origin. Gimenez asked if the restrictions on Cuban-Americans would represent a breach of contract or warrant penalties. 

"As a Cuban-born, naturalized American citizen myself, it is clear to me that this policy violates the code," Gimenez wrote in a memo. 

Carnival has expressed sympathy for the concerns of Cuban-Americans but said the lawsuit is "without merit or substance," according to Roger Frizzell, a Carnival spokesman. 

"This is not a decision by our Fathom brand, but rather a Cuba decision," Frizzell said in a statement. "We have requested a change in the regulation and are actively working on the issue. It is our hope and intention that everyone can travel and we will continue to pursue a change in the regulation that puts cruising on the same footing as aircraft travel is today in Cuba." 

There are no restrictions for Cuban born individuals who want to travel by air. 

Yesterday’s editorial in the Columbus Dispatch (Ohio) also called for Carnival to avoid Cuba, stating “It is not OK for an American business to abide by policies that discriminate against Americans. It is not OK for an American business to check the birthplace on citizens’ passports before letting them aboard. It is not OK for an American business to create two classifications of Americans, no matter the rhetoric of presidential candidates who would discriminate against Muslim-Americans and gays.” 

Expect to hear more on this issue.