Havana - The arrival in Havana of the Empress of the Seas cruise ship is a further sign of the favorable image the island has as a destination and the growing interest of US companies in doing business on this activity.

The 48,563-ton vessel with a capacity for 1,680 passengers and a crew of 668 belongs to the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., with homeport in Miami, Florida. It is the second ship of this cruise corporation to dock at Sierra Maestra Terminal. In its first port of call to Havana it carried 1,500 passengers.

Cuba that surpassed the 4 million tourist arrivals in 2016 and eyes a 15% increase this year is witnessing a progressive boom of the cruising activity, the general manager of Aries Transportes Co., Angel Diaz, told Prensa Latina.

He pointed out that still one big barrier for the normal development of this kind of activities lies on the economic, commercial and financial restrictions imposed by the ongoing blockade of the US Government on the island, even hurting Americans who still can not freely travel to Cuba as regular tourists.

Due to those economic restrictions, only citizens who fall within 12 categories can board the cruisers making ports of call in Cuba.

The Empress of the Seas is the largest vessel to dock in Havana ever from the US, Diaz said, adding that the Cuban capital as well as the other cities where the vessel will be making ports of call have the adequate infrastructure and facilities for receiving this type of activity.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is the four US company that sails to Cuba following the route of Carnival Cruise Line, Pearl Seas Cruise and Norwegian Cruise Line Holding.