By Boris Sanchez and John Couwels

April 19, 2016

Miami (CNN) When Carnival Corp. announced plans for a cruise ship from its Fathom line to sail from Miami to Havana in May, Francisco Marty jumped at the opportunity to surprise his kids with a trip back to their native land.

But Marty, who’s cruised so many times that he’s a Platinum VIP in the company’s rewards program, was shocked when a representative told him he couldn’t go on the inaugural trip because of where he was born: Cuba.

Now, as travelers get their bags ready for the first cruise to Cuba in more than 50 years, Marty is part of a new class-action lawsuit claiming that Carnival is discriminating against Cuban-Americans looking to travel to their homeland.

The lawsuit, filed by Marty and fellow traveler Amparo Sanchez, alleges that the company is violating federal civil rights laws and discriminating against Cubans by denying them tickets.

‘A Cuba decision’

A spokesperson for Carnival responded to the lawsuit in a statement, writing, “This is not a decision by our Fathom brand, but rather a Cuba decision.” The statement cites a Cold War-era Cuban law that does not allow Cuban-born individuals to enter the country by ships, only via plane.

Carnival said the company has requested a change in the law and has been working with the Cuban government on the issue for months.

On Monday, the cruise line reversed course and announced it will accept bookings on its Fathom line from all travelers to Cuba, regardless of their country of origin. The company said it’s asking the Cuban government that travel on its ships be treated the same as air charters to Cuba and remains confident its negotiations “will result in a positive outcome for everyone who wants to travel to Cuba, including those who are Cuba-born.”

The weeklong cruise is set to sail to Havana on May 1, also making stops in Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. Tickets start at $1,800 per person excluding other costs, such as Cuban visas.

But if the Cuban government’s decision on the matter is delayed past May 1, Carnival said, the company’s first cruise to Cuba will be delayed, too.

“We want everyone to be able to go to Cuba with us,” said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation. “We remain excited about this historic opportunity.” If successful, the cruise will mark the first time in over 50 years that a cruise ship has sailed from the U.S. to Cuba, Carnival said.

Cuban officials haven’t commented on the lawsuit. Previously, they’ve said the policy that prohibits Cuban citizens from boarding boats came about after the migrant crisis of the 1990s, when thousands of people took to the sea in an effort to reach the United States.

Travelers in limbo

Meanwhile, Francisco Marty remains in limbo. His attorney, Robert Rodriguez, said Marty has health issues that keep him from flying to the island.

Marty took part in the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion and had been hoping to return to the beach he landed on to take “before” and “after” photos for an exhibit at a Miami museum, Rodriguez said.

Then, he was told he wouldn’t be allowed on board.

“They said, ‘Sorry, you can’t go because you’re Cuban,’ ” Rodriguez said.”That’s just not the American way. You were given permission to sail to Cuba, not break the laws of the U.S.”

Attorney Tucker Ronzetti said the lawsuit against the cruise line will continue. Monday’s announcement, he said, doesn’t go far enough.

“In our motion and in our case, we’re looking only for an order from a judge saying Carnival is mandated and shall not discriminate against Cuban-born people in its bookings,” Ronzetti said.

The attorney said he’s been in contact with Carnival asking whether they would consent to the order, but so far the company hasn’t agreed.

Do similar cases set a precedent?

Rodriguez said he’s confident the suit will succeed. One reason: the U.S. government has weighed in on similar situations in the past.

Miami-based civil rights attorney John de Leon says there are at least two similar cases in recent history. According to de Leon, Kuwait Airways had a policy banning Israeli citizens from traveling between JFK and London’s Heathrow airport.

“The Department of Transportation came out very strongly. … They said they would not allow discrimination for anybody who is leaving an American port,” said de Leon.

The airline eventually suspended the flight altogether.

In a similar case, Norwegian Cruise Line canceled all port calls into Tunisia after the Tunisian government refused to allow entry to a group of Israeli citizens.

“The cruise ship had to balance its commercial interest verses its interest not to discriminate,” said de Leon, who is Cuban-American.

Kerry: ‘Carnival needs to not discriminate’

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry weighed in on the controversy last week during a visit to Miami-Dade College, telling the Miami Herald: “Carnival needs to not discriminate.”

“The United States government will never support, never condone discrimination. And the Cuban government should not have the right to enforce on us a policy of discrimination against people who have the right to travel,” Kerry told CNN en Español.

“We should not be in a situation where the Cuban government is forcing its discrimination policy on us. So we call on the government of Cuba to change that policy, and to recognize that if they want full relations and a normal relationship with the United States, they have to live by international laws, not exclusively by Cuban laws,” he said.

A spokesman for the State Department later clarified Kerry’s remarks, explaining that Kerry “in no way meant to convey that Carnival is supporting policies that are discriminating against Cuban-American travelers.”

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By Lizette Alvarez

MIAMI — When two Cuban-Americans here recently tried to book a trip on Carnival Cruise Line’s maiden voyage to Cuba — the first American cruise ship to visit in at least 50 years — the result was not what they had in mind. It turns out Cuban law prohibits people born on the island from traveling there by ship, and Carnival rejected their reservation.

The two, Amparo Sanchez and Francisco Marty, responded in the most American of ways: They filed a federal lawsuit accusing Carnival of violating civil rights laws by discriminating against United States citizens. On Monday, with the cruise ship tentatively scheduled to sail from Miami to Cuba on May 1, lawyers for the two filed a request in federal court for a preliminary injunction seeking to bar the company from refusing to sell cruise bookings based on a person’s national origin.

As legal and political pressure has continued to mount, Carnival softened its stance on Monday. The company announced that it would begin accepting bookings from Cuban-born people in the hopes that the Castro government will overturn its Cold War-era directive by May 1. The directive prohibits Cubans from traveling to and from Cuba by sea. If Cuba does not rescind the directive — Carnival is trying to persuade the government to do so — the company said it would delay the May 1 voyage.

“We remain confident that we will reach a positive outcome and we continue to work full speed ahead in preparing for our every-other-week sailings from PortMiami to Cuba,” Arnold Donald, Carnival’s president and chief executive officer, told employees in a letter Monday.

In Miami, which is particularly sensitive to changes in the United States-Cuba relationship, Carnival’s initial decision to move forward with the cruise, despite prohibitions on Cuban-born people, sparked a furor among Cuban-Americans. The first one to highlight the issue was Fabiola Santiago, a Miami Herald columnist, who tried to book a trip on the cruise and was told she could not because she was born in Cuba. She wrote a column about it this month.

Democrats and Republicans alike have criticized the cruise line’s decisions to bar American citizens based on their nationality, saying the company, which is headquartered in nearby Doral and is one of the county’s largest employers, was prioritizing profit over the rights of citizens. Many demanded that Carnival, which became the first American cruise company to obtain Cuban approval to sail to the island in late March, cancel all cruises to Cuba until the government lifts the regulation.

“I think they wanted to be the first ones to go there,” said Mayor Tomás Regalado of Miami, who is Cuban born. “This backfired on them. It’s really a public relations nightmare for Carnival. This is going to haunt them for the future, if they don’t take a very strong position.”

American companies cannot discriminate for any reason, including nationality, Mr. Regalado said. “They have been good neighbors,” Mr. Regalado said of Carnival, “but this is one huge mistake where they valued more the dollar than the moral issue and a legal issue. You cannot discriminate against American citizens.”

Last week, Secretary of State John Kerry weighed in on the issue, telling The Miami Herald that the Cuban government needs to change its directive. “We should not be in a situation where the Cuban government is forcing its discrimination policy on us,” he said.

In his letter to employees, Mr. Donald expressed optimism that the company’s discussions with the Cuban government would lead to a resolution. The weeklong cruises on the Adonia, a 704-passenger luxury ship, are scheduled to call in three cities. Mr. Donald stressed that Carnival simply wanted the same treatment that airlines receive: Cuban-born citizens are allowed to travel to Cuba by air, and more than 400,000 do so regularly.

The Cuban government issued the directive decades ago to thwart Cubans from fleeing the island by boat and to prevent exiles from retuning to create trouble.

This is not the first time a cruise company has faced a similar problem. In 2014, Norwegian Cruise Line learned that around 20 Israeli citizens could not disembark in Tunisia. Soon after, the cruise line stopped going to Tunisia.

Tucker Ronzetti, a lawyer for one of the plaintiffs, said hundreds of Cuban-born citizens have contacted his law office to inquire about the Carnival policy.

“The laws of some other nations that promote discrimination don’t trump the laws of the United States that forbid discrimination,” Mr. Ronzetti said.

Ric Herrero, the executive director of Cuba Now, a group that favors engagement with Cuba, said the showdown should also serve as a cautionary tale to the United States, which until recently limited American travel to Cuba.

“We need to be consistent,” he said. “We should stand against all travel restriction, for Cubans or Americans.”

Click here for the original article.

Carnival remains “optimistic” Cuba will allow cruise ships to operate in the same manner as charter flights

Faced with protests, political pressure and a lawsuit, Carnival Corp. announced Monday it will allow Cuban-born passengers to book cruises to the island but will delay the trips if Cuba does not change its policy barring nationals from returning by sea.

Carnival CEO Arnold Donald said in a written statement that the cruise line is continuing negotiations with Cuba aimed at resolving the issue prior to a scheduled May 1 cruise by its Fathom brand from Miami to Cuba, the first such sail in more than 50 years that is part of the ongoing thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations.

The 704-passenger Adonia plans to sail every other week to three Cuban ports: Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba.

“We want everyone to be able to go to Cuba with us,” Donald said. “We remain excited about this historic opportunity to give our guests an extraordinary vacation experience in Cuba.”

The decision follows protests last week by Cuban-Americans outside Carnival’s headquarters in the suburb of Doral. Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who was born in Cuba, also suggested in a letter that Carnival might be violating the county’s human rights ordinance by discriminating against a specific class of people.

In addition, two Cuban-Americans who were prevented from buying tickets on the May 1 cruise because they were born in Cuba filed a potential class-action civil rights lawsuit in Miami federal court last week. And Secretary of State John Kerry said during a visit to Miami on Friday that Cuba should change its policy and that Carnival nevertheless should allow anyone to travel on its ships.

Miami Lawyer Tucker Ronzetti, who filed the class action lawsuit, released the following statement:

“While Carnival’s change of mind is encouraging, it does not moot the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction. Words are easy, minds can change, and Carnival has not yet agreed to a consent order mandating the end of its prior practice of discrimination. In light of Carnival’s announcement, however, we are no longer asking the Court to expedite its hearing. Negotiations with Carnival are ongoing, and we hope this is the first step to the final termination of its discrimination against Cuban-born people.”

U.S. cruise ships stopped sailing to Cuba shortly after its 1959 revolution. Restarting them was an important element of the Obama administration’s attempt to increase tourism to Cuba after the Dec. 17, 2014, decision to restore diplomatic relations and move toward normalization. Cruises were seen by Cuban authorities as an easy way of bringing American visitors to spend badly needed dollars in Cuba without further straining the island’s overbooked often decrepit hotels.

However, the idea of massive, gleaming cruise ships discharging thousands of Americans into the streets of Havana has provoked negative reactions from some Cuban officials who fear that the U.S. is trying to re-exert control of the island through a new strategy of building closer economic ties.

The idea of Cubans moving back and forth between the two countries by sea also is particularly charged, given Cuban exiles’ history of returning to attack the government, and Cubans crossing the Florida Straits in the other direction on rafts to emigrate to the U.S.

Cuba does permit Cuban-born people to arrive by air to the island. Donald said Carnival was continuing discussions so that travel on its ships would “be on a level playing field” with airlines and air charters.

“Again, we remain confident that we will reach a positive outcome and we continue to work full speed ahead in preparing for our every-other-week sailings from PortMiami to Cuba,” he said.

Carnival, the world’s largest cruise line, operates 10 cruise brands around the world with 100 ships that visit some 700 ports, according to the company statement.

Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez issued a statement supporting the decision:

“I am glad to see Carnival Cruise Line has heard the echoes of this community. As Mayor of a predominantly Cuban-born population and City, I am glad to see them take this position of opening bookings for Cuban-born guests pending a change in Cuban policy,” said Mayor Carlos Hernandez, “I will also like to thank Mayor Carlos Gimenez for his role and leadership in this manner, and stance with this issue.”

Cuban dissident Rosa Maria Paya said she is glad the Cuban-American community spoke out against the issue, “It was stopped because of the bravery and the determination of the Cuban-American exile here in Miami.”

Moving forward, Paya also has a message for other companies who are interested in doing business with the Cuban government: “Behave like democratic institutions. Behave as a company that actually believes in democracy and in the rule of law.”

Cruise prices for the seven-day sailing start at $1,800 per person, excluding Cuban visas, taxes, fees and port expenses.

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By Jacob Gershman

Carnival on Monday said it would allow Cuban-born passengers to board its historic cruises to Cuba, announcing a change in policy after protesters and a lawsuit accused the company of discrimination.

The company said it might be forced to delay its voyages to the island unless Cuba’s governmenilt softens its travel restrictions against Cuban nationals.

The Associated Press reports:

Carnival CEO Arnold Donald said in a written statement that the cruise line is continuing negotiations with Cuba aimed at resolving the issue prior to a scheduled May 1 cruise by its Fathom brand from Miami to Cuba — the first such sail in more than 50 years that is part of the ongoing thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations.

The 704-passenger Adonia plans to sail every other week to three Cuban ports: Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba.

The decision follows protests last week by Cuban-Americans outside Carnival’s headquarters in the suburb of Doral. Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez — who was born in Cuba — also suggested in a letter that Carnival might be violating the county’s human rights ordinance by discriminating against a specific class of people.

In addition, two Cuban-Americans who were prevented from buying tickets on the May 1 cruise because they were born in Cuba filed a potential class-action civil rights lawsuit in Miami federal court last week. And Secretary of State John Kerry said during a visit to Miami on Friday that Cuba should change its policy and that Carnival nevertheless should allow anyone to travel on its ships.

“We want everyone to be able to go to Cuba with us,” Carnival CEO Arnold Donald said in a statement Monday. “We remain excited about this historic opportunity to give our guests an extraordinary vacation experience in Cuba.”
The federal lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Florida accuses the world’s largest cruise-ship company and its new Fathom subsidiary of unlawful national-origin discrimination in a public place of accommodation. Law firm Kozyak Tropin Throckmorton LLP is representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

“It has been 58 years since I visited my native country, and I was looking forward to planning a surprise trip with my three children,” wrote one of the plaintiffs, Francisco Marty, in sworn statement filed April 15. “Sadly, Carnival will not allow my Cuban-born daughter and I to go on this ship only because we were born in Cuba. I feel as though I am being treated as a second-class citizen.”

The exclusion of Cuban-born passengers had also drawn a rebuke from the Cuban American Bar Association.
Carnival won U.S. Treasury Department approval for the trips in July last year, days after U.S. and Cuba announced a resumption of diplomatic ties.

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