Cruise industry calls for CDC to open US
Port Canaveral officials raise alarm over lost business
The trade group that represents most cruise lines including Disney, Royal Caribbean and Carnival has called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to open back up U.S. ports to business after more than a year of their shutdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the same time, Port Canaveral officials detailed how cruise lines are moving forward with business around the world, including planned sailings from the Bahamas, Bermuda and other Caribbean home ports, a move that takes business away from Florida.
Cruise Lines International Association released a statement Wednesday calling on the CDC to remove its current guidance for cruise lines to return to sailing from U.S. ports, the Framework for Conditional Sailing Order that was put
in place on Oct. 31 after nearly eight months under a no-sail order. The group wants the order lifted and exchanged for a planned, phased-in resumption of service by the beginning of July.
The framework order, which is in place until Nov. 1, 2021, and features 74 points cruise lines must address before the CDC would consider letting them sail with paying passengers, was based in large part on suggestions from the Healthy Sail Panel formed by both Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line.
It features aspects such as testing and safeguards for crew members, and then simulated cruises to make sure the lines can manage COVID-19 risk. If lines get through those steps, they can apply to sail with passengers, who will be required to take and pass with negative results on COVID-19 tests on both the day they arrive and the day they depart, the CDC states.
Cruise lines, through, have been awaiting more guidance from the CDC to move on to the latter steps, such as the simulated sailing, and now the companies that operate globally have already started or are planning on returns to business in Europe, Asia and now the Caribbean.
“The outdated (Conditional Sail Order), which was issued almost five months ago, does not reflect the industry’s proven advancements and success operating in other parts of the world, nor the advent of vaccines, and unfairly treats cruises differently,” CLIA President and CEO Kelly Craighead said in a press release. “Cruise lines should be treated the same as other travel, tourism, hospitality, and entertainment sectors.”
Florida’s theme parks, for instance, reopened last summer. CLIA’s stance focuses on President Joe Biden’s statement that he expects all adults in the U.S. to be eligible to be vaccinated by May 1, and that the global efforts already taken to return to sailing have seen nearly 400,000 passengers but fewer than 50 publicly reported COVID-19 cases.
Royal Caribbean announced this past week that it plans to begin service from both the Bahamas and Bermuda, sailing to its private Bahamas island Coco Cay. The cruise line has already been sailing from Singapore, China and Israel.
The Bahamas and Bermuda sailings as well as the Israel itineraries follow a business plan that calls for all crew and all adults 18 and older to be vaccinated.
Crystal Cruises will begin sailing from the Bahamas as well starting in July, again with a vaccination requirement. And Virgin Voyages, which has yet to sail its inaugural voyage, is going to announce vaccination requirements, according to Port Canaveral CEO John Murray.