US cruise lines say return to Cuba would take time

[Judi Lynn]

US cruise lines say return to Cuba would take time
Wed Mar 17, 2010 7:35pm GMT

* Cuba seen as eventual star of Caribbean cruising
* U.S. law keeps U.S.-run ships out of Cuba

* Cuban ports would need overhaul to handle modern ships

By Jane Sutton

MIAMI, March 17 (Reuters) - U.S. cruise companies are eager to add Cuba to their itineraries; but even if U.S. policy allowed that, Cuba's ports would need years of rebuilding to accommodate the ships, industry officials said on Wednesday.

"Our business has grown so much that these ports in Cuba that were (established) in the time of the Spanish conquistadors, that size of ports, they're going to need a lot of infrastructure improvement," John Tercek, vice president of commercial development for Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, said at an industry conference in Miami.

The world's three largest cruise companies -- Carnival Corp & Plc (CCL.N) (CCL.L), Royal Caribbean (RCL.N) and Norwegian Cruise Line, which is owned by U.S. private equity firms Apollo Management LP and TPG Capital LP and by Genting Hong Kong Ltd (GENH.SI) -- are all headquartered in Miami.

They are prohibited by the United States from doing business with nearby communist Cuba, under a policy aimed at depriving Cuba of U.S. dollars until it adopts democracy.

More:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN1719951320100317?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=governmentFilingsNews

[protocol rv]

1. Sounds like baloney

I can set up a facility to receive tourists into Cuba in 18 months. All I'll need is a building permit to build a pier and I'll build a giant barge with the reception facilities to be moored on one side of the pier, so the cruise ship can berth on the other side. I checked with Google Earth and Cuba is full of good quality deep water protected harbors.