Cuba ferry services unlikely to start until late 2016 - TravelMole


Cuba ferry services unlikely to start until late 2016

Wednesday, 04 Dec, 2015 0
Proposed ferry services from Florida to Cuba are unlikely to begin until late 2016 at the earliest, the executive of one company said.
 
United Caribbean Lines has already been granted approval to operate services from US authorities but is still awaiting official clearance from Cuba.
 
"The Cuban government has said they’ll hold off for several months. It’s not a priority now," United Caribbean CEO Bruce Nierenberg said.  
 
"It won’t start before the second half of 2016 at the earliest. Cuba is taking its time and they’re thinking it through. You have to have a lot of patience."
 
United Caribbean is one of at least seven operators with a US license to operate sea crossings but so far none has been given the green light by Cuba.
 
Nierenberg said Havana is prioritizing hotel construction and cruise tourism at the moment. 
 
United Caribbean Lines plans to run two overnight passenger and vehicle ferry services from Miami and Tampa with about 500 cabins.
 
Other Florida seaports in the running for direct sailings to Cuba include Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach and Key West.
 
Spanish ferry company Balearia even proposed to invest $38 million on a ferry terminal and related infrastructure to help speed up the approval process with Cuban authorities. 
 
 The proposal was made ‘to show the willingness of the company to invest in Cuba and operate from Havana,’ said spokeswoman Pilar Boix, but so far the incentive is yet to have the desired effect.
.


 

profileimage

TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.



Most Read

Mark Jaronski of Explore Georgia on FIFA World Cup 2026

Connecting Small Businesses to Global Tourism Markets: Nate Huff of Tourism Exchange

North Carolina’s Resilience: Wit Tuttell on Recovery and Tourism

Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns

James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel

Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination

Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics

Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy

Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene

Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee

Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail

Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats
TRAINING & COMPETITION

Our emails to you has bounced travelmole.com Or You can change your email from your profile Setting Section

Your region selection will be saved in your cookie for future visits. Please enable your cookie for TravelMole.com so this dialog box will not come up again.

Price Based Country test mode enabled for testing United States (US). You should do tests on private browsing mode. Browse in private with Firefox, Chrome and Safari