It’s been more than 60 years since cruising to Cuba ceased. President Kennedy imposed the embargo because Fidel Castro seized American-owned hotels and gambling casinos.

The Cuban seizures were legal under international law, if equitable financial compensation is paid. Yet, every American President and Congress has kept the cruising embargo in place because of failure to compensate the injured parties. As reported in Hotel Hotline, the latest glitch that’s prolonging the cruising embargo is a lawsuit by the heirs of Meyer Lanksy, saying they too deserve compensation. The Bay of Pigs debacle also fueled enthusiasm to keep the embargo in place.

With this backdrop of more than 60 years of retribution, let’s look ahead to what may be in store for the Russian government now that their invasions of Ukraine have already created close to two- million refugees and thousands of deaths Read the rest of this entry »

“Keep calm and visit Ukraine,” says one travel insurance supplier’s recent marketing campaign, in a tone-deaf call for travel advisors to become evangelists for travel to Ukraine (Visit Ukraine – INFORMATION PAGE FOR FOREIGN TOURISTS).

And indeed, travel advisors report that many clients are holding steady on their planned cruises and FITs in the region, if not to Ukraine itself. Still, though, as final payments come due, politics and the drumbeat of military operations are beginning to take a toll.

“I sell cruises only, and I’m a top producer for Virtuoso, so I have lots of people going to that region—and surprisingly few have canceled,” says Linda Speer of Cruises by Linda in Harrison, AR. “Still, I have a group of seven cabins booked on a Baltic cruise in September that’s looking instead for something to do domestically. Between omicron and this Ukraine business, it was just too much uncertainty.”

Of course, that’s something Speer has gotten used to of late Read the rest of this entry »