The cruise industry is one of the most affected industries during the pandemic. Since CDC released its no sailing order in March 2020, cruises temporarily stopped operations. This time, CDC is engaging in a constructive dialogue with the cruise industry leaders according to Royal Caribbean Cruises CEO Richard Fain. The industry leaders are hoping that the dialogue will allow the resumption of their operations.
According to the Royal Caribbean Cruises CEO, “over 400,000 people have taken cruises”. He considers this as strong evidence proving the safety of cruising as an activity. 30 countries granted the industry permission to operate again.
According to Fain, lots of travel advisors and small businesses want to see the cruising industry operational again. Fain said that there is a “strong desire to see cruising treated like so many other businesses and operate under safe guidelines”. The current conditional sailing order allows ships to sail but with less than 250 capacity including the guests and the passengers. Because of this, only small ships cruises were able to operate in the US.
Cruising Set to Return Mid-July?
The Royal Caribbean Cruises CEO mentioned that CDC is currently “engaging in a constructive dialogue” and using data gathered from abroad. If things play out well, it is possible to see the cruising industry come back as early as mid-July.
The federal government is facing opposition not only from the cruising industry but also from states that are affected. Florida and Alaska filed a lawsuit against the CDC for stopping the cruise industry. They argue that more people are traveling nowadays. TSA recorded millions of air travelers daily for weeks since spring break. Unfortunately, the cruise industry is being held down by the conditional sailing order. Despite the industry’s willingness to provide safety guidelines, an exact date for the industry’s resumption remains unclear.
And lastly, you have cruises that are now looking to operate elsewhere and leave US homeports. If the CDC won’t allow the industry to operate soon, this could mean losing billions.
