From an tour operator standpoint, the last thing you want is hassle. My position on Cuba has always been practical, not political. I have assumed even when Obama opened things up, that there would be hitches in the overall process and I was in no rush to be among the first to go down there because I simply didn't want to have to deal with the glitches nor have you suffer them either. And while the addition of two Aggressor boats - Jardines Aggressor I & II - made it tempting, I was still in no rush.

The Trump administration has given many indiciations that they will reverse course with regards to Cuba.Trump tweeted shortly after being elected, "If Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the Cuban people, the Cuban/American people and the U.S. as a whole, I will terminate the deal."

That gives someone like me great pause. The last thing I would want to do (or need to do), is to plan a trip, collect deposits from you, send money to whomever for said trip, and then find out pre-trip that the embargo has been re-instated and the trip has been cancelled. How do I get the money back? What do I do if I can't get the money back? How do I refund you?

Of course, none of this prevents you from planning a Cuba trip on your own. I would simply urge you to do so with your eyes wide open. Anytime we're planning these trips and then traveling, we keep an eye on any developing political situations. Going to the Red Sea in 2015 (from Egypt) and then the Maldives (and having to go through Turkey) in 2016 are two good examples. From a trip leader standpoint, you try to find out as much as possible, mitigate problems ahead of time, and be aware of potential complications the entire time you're there.

But it just seems that the current climate pushes a Cuba group trip beyond the comfort zone for me and Reef Seekers. And since people have asked about this trip, I wanted to let you know where we stood.