HAVANA, June 5 -- As the last U.S. cruise ship sailed away from here Wednesday after new regulations by Washington banned this type of travel to the Caribbean nation, many were left wondering what's next for the former Cold War enemies.

Royal Caribbean's "Empress of the Sea" left Havana with hundreds of its passengers on the top deck waving Cuban flags and cheering, while many locals onshore said goodbye to the latest symbol of the deteriorated bilateral ties.

The scene came just a day after the U.S. administration banned U.S. citizens' group people-to-people educational travel to Cuba, and stopped permitting visits to its southern neighbor by passenger and recreational vessels as well as private and corporate aircraft.

"I'm really not surprised but definitely disappointed. U.S. citizens should have the right to travel where we wish, it's ironic that (U.S. President Donald) Trump is banning us from coming here, when supposedly we're the freest nation in the world," Kira Clark, a U.S. passenger onboard the last cruise ship, told Xinhua.

Major U.S. cruise companies like Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines said Wednesday that they were either cancelling their Cuba itineraries or rerouting them to new ports in the Caribbean.

The new regulations have affected nearly 800,000 bookings that have been scheduled or already underway, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Cruise Lines International Association.

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