Port, Ferry Operators Want to Run a Slow Boat to Cuba

Port, Ferry Operators Want to Run a Slow Boat to Cuba
By William E. Gibson (The Sun Sentinel)

Imagine boarding a deluxe ferry boat at Port Everglades or the Port of Tampa one evening, settling into a cabin or a reclining chair and sailing into Havana harbor as the sun rises the next morning, all for $150 to $300 roundtrip.

Florida port officials are planning for this tantalizing prospect, while ferry operators push the Obama administration to allow them to make it a reality.

For thousands of Cuban-Americans and other passengers scrambling for seats on charter flights to Cuba, ferry service would be a cheaper new way to get themselves and lots of luggage to the island. Some of them once fled to Florida on rickety boats; now, they want to return by water to bring money and goods to their families.

The ferry operators want a piece of the growing traffic to Cuba, which is overwhelming air charters. Port officials want to position themselves to tap a potential burst of leisure travel if the U.S. ban on tourist trips to Cuba is ever lifted.

The ferry operators and port promoters are also developing plans for ferry service to other destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean, potentially conveying some of the millions of visitors who pass through Central Florida’s vast vacation complex.

“The Cuba part requires government approval, but we are talking about ferry service throughout the Caribbean,” said Bruce Nierenberg of Orlando, a former cruise line executive who has applied to the U.S. Treasury Department for permission to establish a ferry line to Cuba from Port Everglades, Tampa and the Port of Miami.

He’s pitching it as a low-cost service for consumers, especially Cuban-Americans clustered in South and Central Florida, who can travel more frequently if they avoid airfares that cost nearly $400 roundtrip.

During a 35-year career in the travel industry, Nierenberg was CEO of Scandinavian World Cruises, started the one-day “cruises to nowhere” on Seascape and founded Premier Cruise Lines. He envisions well-appointed ocean-going ferries to Cuba carrying about 1,200 passengers who pay $150 for a reclining chair or about $300 for cabins.

He hopes to start with service to Cuba as early as this year to take advantage of a ready-made market and begin ferries to Mexico and other countries in 2012.

Port Everglades also plans on a burst of business if ferries are allowed to make the 250-mile trip to Cuba from Fort Lauderdale. Port officials have talked with Nierenberg and contacted other potential ferry operators here and in Spain, France, Norway and Latin America who have shown interest in providing service.