Hefty Blow for Cruise Lines as US Supreme Court Decides Over $440M Cuba Case
If you sailed with Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, or MSC to Cuba between 2016 and 2019 through Havana Docks, this ongoing litigation involves those past sailings, not future ones. Cruise lines currently cannot return to Cuba, and US law prohibits tourist travel there, so this doesn't affect upcoming bookings. Keep an eye on further court proceedings, as the case could take years to resolve.
Mark Millham here. An 8-1 Supreme Court vote is about as lopsided as it gets, and it reopens a case that looked dead when the 2022 ruling tossed it over that expired 2004 Havana Docks lease. Justice Thomas's majority opinion hinges on a narrow but important point: Havana Docks still holds a claim to that confiscated property, and that's enough to let the $440 million lawsuit against Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, and MSC proceed. None of these four companies are writing checks yet — this is about clearing the path for litigation, not a verdict. The irony here is stark: nearly a million passengers sailed to Havana legally under people-to-people rules from 2016 to 2019, and years later the legal fallout is still being sorted out. In the reader's shoes, I'd treat this as a story to watch, not act on — Cuba cruises aren't happening anyway under current US law.