CDC implements strict health protocols for cruise ship voyages
As the CDC implements new health protocols for the cruise ship industry, financial hardships haunt them as well; Phil Keating reports.
Major cruise operators are ready to get back on the high seas — and now they’re calling on the CDC to make it happen.
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), an association of 50-plus cruise lines including Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian, is publicly calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to lift its Framework for Conditional Sailing Order, which is scheduled to remain in effect until at least Nov. 1.
The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) is publicly calling on the CDC to resume cruises from U.S. ports by July. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Under the CDC’s current order, cruise lines are given a "framework of actionable items" to complete, including the demonstration of coronavirus mitigation factors. In addition to meeting strict criteria for health, safety and testing, cruise operators are also required to stage mock voyages.
The order, first issued in October following the CDC lifting a blanket "no-sail" order, is set to expire Nov. 1 of this year, the CDC says. It could also expire earlier, if the Secretary of Health and Human Services no longer declares the pandemic to be a public health emergency, or later, if the national public health institute modifies the order based on public health considerations.
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The CLIA on Wednesday argued that the "phased resumption of cruise operations" from U.S. ports should instead begin in early July, citing the few observed cases of coronavirus transmission on cruises that have resumed internationally.
"Over the past eight months, a highly-controlled resumption of cruising has continued in Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific — with nearly 400,000 passengers sailing to date in more than 10 major cruise markets," Kelly Craighead, CLIA’s President and CEO, was quoted as saying in a press release. "These voyages were successfully completed with industry-leading protocols that have effectively mitigated the spread of COVID-19."
Of these passengers, less than 50 cases of coronavirus had been reported among operating member cruises thanks to a "multi-layered approach to enhancing health and safety" enacted by the industry, Craighead says.
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The CLIA also called the current Conditional Sailing Order "outdated," alleging that it does not account for the "advent of vaccines, and unfairly treats cruises differently" than other modes of transportation.
The CLIA’s latest announcement comes only days after Royal Caribbean Richard Fain called for the CDC to review its Conditional Sailing Order in light of vaccination efforts and overseas voyages.
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"We don’t know what the CDC is contemplating to address this very different set of circumstances... but just as they and other public health officials are doing elsewhere, we expect they will adjust to the changes that have been and are taking place today," Fain said. "The Conditional Sail Order was a very positive step at the time, but that time has passed."
Janine Puhak contributed to this report.