First US Cruise Ship Docks in Havana, Cuba, After Decades of Tense Relations

The first United States cruise ship to travel to Cuba in almost 40 years docked on May 2 in Havana, restarting commercial sea travel between the U.S. and the island nation.

Carnival's Adonia cruise ship arrives from Miami in Havana, Cuba, Monday, May 2, 2016. The Adonia's arrival is the first step toward a future in which thousands of ships a year could cross the Florida Straits, long closed to most U.S.-Cuba traffic due to tensions that once brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa

The first United States cruise ship to travel to Cuba in almost 40 years docked on May 2 in Havana, restarting commercial sea travel between the U.S. and the island nation.

Carnival’s cruise “Adonia” left the port of Miami on May 1 carrying 700 passengers.

Although the distance from Miami to Havana is a short 90-mile trajectory, the trip is a big step among relations between the U.S. and Cuba. The countries have had a tense relationship for decades. The U.S. cut diplomatic ties with the communist country and Cold War enemy in 1961.

People waving Cuban flags greet passengers on Carnival's Adonia cruise ship as they arrive from Miami in Havana, Cuba, May 2, 2016.  AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa