New CDC Guideline allows Cruise Ships resume sailing in the US Waters

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The new guideline from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shown a green signal for the cruise ships industry. The ships bearing thousands of vacationing passengers can resume operations so long as the overwhelming majority of those on board are vaccinated against COVID-19. A number of news outlets have confirmed the latest move, as a letter issued to cruise companies on Wednesday. The CDC instructs that cruise ships can run in the US waters by mid-summer so long as 95% of customers and 98% of the crew are vaccinated against COVID-19. The new guidance provides cruise lines a way out of a prior requirement that first mandated trial voyages before paying customers could board the ships. The agency also loosened some of its previous testing and quarantine requirements.

The recent announcement is considered a major victory for a multi-billion-dollar industry that had been clamoring to be allowed to set sail again from US ports. A more accommodating stance from the CDC follows Alaska last week joining Florida, in suing to overturn the CDC mandate prohibiting an immediate resumption in cruise operations. Major cruise lines have paused excursions from the US in March 2020, when the CDC issued a ‘No-Sail’ edict that continues to bar passenger cruise ships from leaving domestic ports. The effective pause to operations has harmed major cruise lines, as Royal Caribbean Cruises reportedly faced a net loss of $1.1 billion in the first quarter. The CEO of Royal Caribbean, Richard Fain referenced the CDC letter that the company now foresees sailing from the US again during the Alaska cruise season.

On Thursday, Fain said, “We believe that this communication really helps us to see a clear and achievable pathway forward to safe and healthy cruising in the near future. It could be possible to restart cruising by mid-July”. He added that a restart would not mean an immediate re-launch into full operations and details can be worked out with the CDC. It is noteworthy that cruise ships are often settings for disease outbreaks because of their closed environment and close contact between travelers from many countries. The agency says cruise lines have long contended with outbreaks of the coronavirus, one of which sickened more than 300 passengers and crew on a Princess Cruises ship in February 2020. There were at least 200 confirmed cases from 3^rd February to 13^th March 2020, of COVID-19 among returned cruise travelers from multiple ocean voyages.