CDC Hopeful of Cruises Restarting By Mid-Summer
As growing pressure mounts, the CDC says cruises could resume mid-summer but is this just false hope for the cruise industry?
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As pressure mounts on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) to allow the resumption of cruise operations, there has now been a response. The CDC says that there is a possibility of cruises being able to resume in mid-summer.
However, could this just be false hopes or a genuine hint of a full lifting of the Conditional Sailing Order that was first introduced at the end of October 2020?
When can we go on a cruise again?
It’s been a year since the cruise industry was in the eye of the Covid storm as leisure ships proved themselves ideal places for the disease to spread.
On March 13 last year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a no-sail order for ships plying American waters while major industry body Cruise Lines International Association voluntarily suspended all operations.
The resulting scramble to get passengers and crew members home dragged on for several months. Ports closed their doors to virus-hit vessels, on-board Covid cases spiraled and when passengers were returned home, crew members still stuck at sea were hit by a mental health crisis.
CDC: U.S. Cruises Could Resume by Mid-Summer with Restrictions
April 07, 2021
It appears that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shifted its stance on the return of U.S. cruising.
In a newly issued statement, initially reported by Bloomberg, the agency indicated a limited resumption of domestic U.S. cruises may be achievable by this summer.
“CDC is committed to working with the cruise industry and seaport partners to resume cruising following the phased approach outlined in the conditional sailing order,” a spokesperson told TMR. “This goal aligns with the desire to resume passenger operations in the United States expressed by many major cruise ship operators and travelers; hopefully, by mid-summer with restricted revenue sailings.”
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Frank Del Rio, Norwegian Cruise Line parent CEO, told CNBC that cruises will become the safest place on earth.
On Monday, Norwegian sent a letter to the CDC detailing its plans to resume cruising from the US by July.
This includes mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for both guests and crew.
Frank Del Rio, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings president and CEO, says cruise ships will become the safest place on earth as cruise like Norwegian continue to ramp up health protocols, Del Rio told CNBC s Jim Cramer on Mad Money on Monday.
On Monday, Norwegian Cruise Lines Holding sent a letter to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention detailing its plans to safely resume cruising from US ports by July 4. This July return would be several months sooner than the CDC s current cruising return timeline of November 1 as stated in the agency s Framework for Conditional Sailing Order, a list of protocols needed for cruises to saf
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