Norwegian Sky docked in Havana cruise terminal (Photo credit: Teijo Niemela)

A decision of the U.S. to ban cruises from the country to Cuba will affect the cruise industry at least in three aspects.

Firstly, itineraries that have included calls at Cuban ports have commanded a premium over ones that do not. Revised itineraries of the ships involved should lose this premium.

Many Cuban ports have restrictions to the size of cruise ships they can accept alongside. This has provided attractive utilisation for smaller and older tonnage. The cruise ban may accelerate disposals of older vessels from major fleets, given high order books.

The ban should also negatively impact Global Ports Holding, the Istanbul-based port operator that in May 2018 signed a 15-year agreement to operate cruise facilities in Havana. The plan was to increase the number of cruise ship berths to six in 2024 from the present two.