Royal Caribbean acquired Spanish tour operator Pullmantur and their ships a year ago, but for some reason the English-speaking Cuban press seems to just be discovering it and its effects on the island nation. In the last week, we've seen a couple of articles on the subject running in the Cuban press. The one appearing in Gramma yesterday is the more thorough.
US law prohibits US-owned companies from doing business with Cuba. The immediate effect of the acquisition was that Cuban crew members aboard the Pullmantur ships had to be terminated and sent home. Longer term, it also means, of course, that Pullmantur's ships will no longer be calling at Cuban ports.
There was a similar economic loss to the island when Carnival Corp acquired Costa Crociere. Cruise News Daily has reported several times over the last few years on the potential Cuba has had both as a port of call and a port of embarkation in combination with European-sourced charter flights. In addition to the direct loss of calls and jobs caused by the US embargo, another provision of the embargo that also stifles Cuba's cruise industry is one that prohibits calls at any US port (including San Juan and St. Thomas) by any ship which has called at a Cuban port within the previous six months.
