Another cruise line cancels calls in Argentina

The future of Argentina as a cruise destination was called into question on Thursday as a major line cancelled visits to the country through 2013, citing difficulty with recent arrivals.

UK-based P&O Cruises, a subsidiary of industry giant Carnival Corp., says the 2,016-passenger Arcadia and 710-passenger Adonia no longer will visit Argentina in 2013 as part of world cruises.

The move comes in the wake of several cruise ships being refused entry to ports in Argentina or delayed upon arrival in the latest fallout from a long-simmering dispute between the UK and Argentina over the Falkland Islands.

Cruise ships sailing in the region often follow itineraries that include stops in both Argentina and the Falkland Islands, but Argentine port workers reportedly have begun telling cruise ships calling in Argentina that they must skip calls in the Falklands or face repercussions such as being refused services at Argentine ports. The UK's Foreign Office has accused Argentina of trying to strangle the economy of the Falklands by discouraging cruise ships from stopping there.

Although controlled by the British, the Falklands long have been a point of contention between the UK and Argentina, and were the cause of a 1982 war between the nations. Argentina claims the islands, which are located about 310 miles from the Argentine coast.

Ships from two other Carnival Corp. brands have cancelled calls in recent days in Argentina. Holland America's 1,350-passenger Veendam and Seabourn Cruise Line's 450-passenger Seabourn Sojourn both skipped early December visits to Ushuaia, Argentina, with the lines citing expectations of difficulty in their arrivals. The cancellations came after the Seabourn Sojourn reportedly was delayed for seven hours in leaving Buenos Aires, Argentina on Dec. 4 after port workers demanded the ship not go to the Falklands.

Earlier this year, P&O Cruises' Adonia and Princess Cruises' Star Princess both were refused entry to Ushuaia because they had visited the Falklands.

So far P&O Cruises is the only line to cancel future calls in Argentina. Holland America, Seabourn and Princess still have the country on the schedule for upcoming sailings.

Two other lines that sail in the region, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises, have cancelled upcoming calls in the Falklands while leaving Argentina on the schedule, according to the UK's Daily Mail.

P&O Cruises may face more difficulty than some other lines in sending ships to Argentina as it's based in the UK and its ships are flagged in the British overseas territory of Bermuda. In February, Argentina's transport workers union declared that it would boycott ships flying the British flag because of the dispute over the Falklands.

"As a British cruise company we cannot allow ourselves to be the subject of any political dispute or put our customers and crew into any situation where their enjoyment may be compromised," P&O Cruises says in a statement. "With this in mind, we have had to take the difficult decision to remove all Argentinean ports of call from Arcadia and Adonia's 2013 itineraries."