travel to Cuba?
By William E. Gibson, Washington Bureau
10:07 p.m. EST, March 5, 2011
WASHINGTON — 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.
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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.
Ports gear up
"Eventually, somebody is going to make this happen. And Tampa would be
the right fit," said Wade Elliott, senior director of marketing for the
Tampa Port Authority. "We're ready. We have the terminal facilities.
Whenever we get the green light, we will look for an opportunity to do it."
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.
"It could be an explosion in the market once people see the convenience
of being able to drive to the port, get on a ferry and — after a nice
dinner and a bit of sleep — arrive in Cuba," said Carlos Buqueras,
director of business development at Port Everglades.
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, has joined the push. She cites census
data indicating that 110,000 Cuban-Americans live in Central Florida, 71
percent of them within an hour's drive of Tampa's airport and seaport.
"We must continue to focus on creating jobs and diversifying Florida's
economy," Castor said, "which is why I support the new business that is
interested in launching a ferry service to Cuba and Mexico from the Port
of Tampa."
Traffic surge
President Barack Obama set off a surge of traffic to Cuba in 2009 when
he allowed Cuban-Americans to make unlimited trips to see their families.
He ignited another potential burst of travel in January with new rules
that allowed more airports to establish flights to Cuba and made it
easier for non-Cuban-Americans — especially educational and religious
groups — to visit the island.
Air-charter operators with service from airports in Miami, New York and
Los Angeles estimate the number of passenger trips per year since 2009
has roughly doubled to about 400,000.
"Business is booming," reported Tessie Aral, president of ABC Charters
in Miami, which flies to Havana five times a week. "The flights are
full. We have more demand right now than we have flights."
The demand intensifies pressure to allow ferry service from Florida's
seaports, which already have Customs and immigration facilities to
process cruise line passengers.
"We need to open more gateways. The desire to travel is such that with
the new regulations there just are not enough seats," Silvia Wilhelm of
Miami said last week while packing for one of her frequent trips to Cuba
to visit relatives and escort cultural and religious groups.
Wilhelm, a longtime advocate for unlimited travel, said passengers now
arrive at a remodeled terminal in Havana, a sign the Cuban government
would welcome more visits.
Political objections
Some Cuban-Americans are appalled by the rush to Cuba, which they say
sustains the Castro regime with a crucial infusion of American dollars.
They and other defenders of the five-decade U.S. embargo hope to choke
the Cuban economy and force political reforms, much like what is
happening in parts of the Arab world.
When asked about the prospect of a ferry, U.S. Rep. David Rivera,
R-Miami, cited a recent Cuban crackdown on human-rights activists. "Now
is not the time to be giving unilateral concessions to this terrorist
dictatorship," he said. "The Obama administration should immediately
rescind its recent lifting of sanctions and send a clear message that
the U.S. will not tolerate Cuba's lawless behavior."
Sources with ties to the administration say the ferry proposal was
considered when officials devised the new rules in January, but it was
shelved for the time being because of security concerns.
Impatient to begin, Nierenberg said a ferry would simply offer consumers
a different mode of transportation at a lower cost.
"The market is sitting there waiting to be activated," he said, "and we
would like to be the first."
Staff writer Doreen Hemlock contributed to this report.
wgibson@tribune.com or 202-824-8256.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/fl-ferry-cuba-florida-ports-20110305,0,1668481,full.story
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