On the east side of the Plaza de San Francisco, there is the buildings of the Terminal Sierra Maestra and the Aduana (Customs House), separated from the square by the Avenida del Puerto. The Customs House that was built by a North American company in 1914, is an eclectic style building with balconies, colonial eaves and watchtowers. In 1996, the northern section of the building that occupied the first dock, was restored as the Terminal Sierra Maestra that currently serves as the cruise ship terminal.

Havana’s cruise terminal will be upgraded and tripled in size by 2024. The management agreement was signed between the Cuban government and the Turkish Global Holding in 2018. The city attracts about 400.000 cruise passengers every year, and it is planned to increase it to more than half million. Upon the easing of travel restrictions by Barack Obama, Carnival, the world’s largest cruise company, was the first U.S. line that visited Cuba after nearly 50 years in 2016, departing from Miami for Havana.

This is one of the few great ports in the world where the harbor is at the heart of the city.