Skift Take
This decision was down to the wire, but Carnival won in the end.
After days of will-they or won't-they, Carnival Corp. announced Friday morning that the cruise line will sail to Cuba on May 1 as planned — with Cuban-born passengers, which wasn't always guaranteed.
The Miami-based cruise operator acknowledged earlier this month that its Fathom brand was not allowing Cuban-born passengers to book cruises to the island in order to comply with a law in Cuba that forbids people born in the country from returning by sea.
Carnival said it was working with the Cuban government to allow Cuban natives to visit by cruise — as they are allowed to come and go by plane — but its initial decision to sail even without that permission faced intense public outcry, lawsuits, pressure from the Cuban exile community, and chiding from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
On Monday, t
