Pullmantur’s Pullout Has Hurt the Cuban Economy

Cuba lost $1.9 billion this year due to the suspension of service of Pullmantur’s Holiday Dream, which stopped operating when Royal Caribbean Cruises bought the company last year, according to a report by Latin American news agency Prensa Latina.

The report noted that the ship’s cessation of services meant that 230 Cuban jobs were lost and that the island lost out on visits from 12,375 tourists.

Pullmantur’s acquisition by Royal Caribbean was contingent upon ending its operations in Cuba, due to the economic and trade blockade the U.S. has against the island nation.

When Pullmantur agreed to dissolve its Cuba deployment last November, RCCL would not say how much of the line’s revenue came from Cuba operations, but alluded that it was nominal.

The article said that in 1997, Italian company Costa Cruises also dissolved its Cuba program when it was purchased by Carnival Corp.