ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman and his family were on their way to Cuba when an order from the Trump administration threw off their plans.
Kriseman was on a Norwegian Cruise Line vessel bound for Havana that stopped first in Key West before getting diverted to the Bahamas.
He and his wife were taking in the sunset on the back of the ship when word came down about their drastic change in itinerary.
The mayor said an announcement came over the loudspeaker informing passengers of the travel restrictions. A short time later, they learned they would instead visit the Bahamas.
Kriseman, who was traveling with a group of 15 family members celebrating his in-laws' birthdays was especially disappointed because he had arranged all the plans for his family in Cuba.
"I had planned the whole day out, the places we were going to go, places we were going to eat, there were a couple paladars that we wanted to go to. Paladars are privately owned restaurants, not a government restaurant."
Kriseman had visited Cuba three times prior to the cruise, and showing his family around the country was the primary reason they selected that itinerary. Now, the entire essence of the cruise would have to change.
"This is a ship whose whole purpose is going to Cuba. There’s posters that are the old fashioned posters from back in the day when there was open travel. They have a store on that ship that’s a Cuba store," explained Kriseman.
Kriseman and his family returned to Florida on Friday.
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