In a survey Travel Agent conducted last month, 49 percent of all front-line travel agents and agency owners reported increased Caribbean cruise sales.
Carnival wants to bring at least seven of its cruise lines to the island and has asked for thousands of port calls, he said.
The number was buoyed in large part by the debut of Carnival’s $85 million Amber Cove port project in Puerto Plata, which has seen an average of 5,000 cruise visitors arriving weekly to the area.
The first U.S. cruise ship in nearly 40 years crossed the Florida Straits from Miami and docked in Havana Harbor on Monday.
Photo Gallery of the MV Adonia in Havana
Germany's Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is sending its EUROPA 2 to Cuba for the first time on two sailings in October and November of 2016.
The CEO also spoke of the anticipation many people feel about going to Cuba, an enigma to many Americans because of the travel ban.