CDC to Allow Cruise Trips After Ban Expires
U.S. health officials will let cruise ban expire on Oct. 31, setting new requirements for future voyages amid a global surge in coronavirus infections
Federal U.S. health officials are lifting their ban on cruise sailings in U.S. waters Saturday, allowing the industry to prepare to restart voyages amid a surge in coronavirus cases around the world.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has decided to let its “no sail” order expire on Saturday, after imposing the ban amid Covid-19 outbreaks on dozens of cruise ships in the spring.
The regulator’s conditional order presents cruise operators’ the opportunity to generate revenue after they reported billions of dollars in losses this year when the pandemic put brakes on the tourism industry.
The U.S. has set new records for positive coronavirus cases this week and governments around the world are deciding how to manage their economies and the pathogen. On Thursday, Canada extended its sailing ban through the end of February for overnight cruises carrying more than 100 people.
Large operators Carnival Corp. CCL 5.62% , Royal Caribbean Group RCL 4.81% and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. NCLH 5.45% have scrapped their U.S. sailings through the end of November. Royal Caribbean on Thursday posted a quarterly loss of more than $1.3 billion as revenue turned negative.
To restart carrying passengers, cruise operators would first need to conduct simulated voyages demonstrating their ships’ safety, the CDC said.
Itineraries can’t be longer than a week, and operators must test all passengers and crew for Covid-19 on embarkation and disembarkation, the CDC said. Crew members transferred from other ships in the 28 prior days have to test negative for Covid-19, it said.
Ship operators would need agreements with port authorities to determine the number of cruise ships allowed at any port, so as “to not overburden the public health response resources of any single jurisdiction in the event of a Covid-19 outbreak,” the agency added.
The CDC director, Robert Redfield, determined that measures taken by local and state authorities in dealing with Covid-19 cases on cruise ships have been inadequate in preventing the interstate spread of the disease, requiring federal intervention, it said.
Dr. Redfield had recommended in September extending the no-sail order into February but was overruled at a White House meeting of the Coronavirus Task Force, the Journal reported. White House officials didn’t want to see the cruise industry further damaged and lose more jobs in hubs like Miami, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The leveling up of restrictions in Europe has also threatened cruise operators’ ability to sail there. On Thursday, Carnival’s Aida Cruises said it was pausing sailings for November after the German government ordered a one-month partial lockdown starting Monday. Costa Cruises, Aida’s sister brand in Italy, on Wednesday canceled a few sailings and cut short others due to Covid-19 restrictions still in place in Europe.
In Singapore, Royal Caribbean is starting a “cruise-to-nowhere” sailing without ports of call in December. The company plans to return to service gradually in the first half of 2021.
“The cruising without going into new ports is the way we are starting up everywhere,” Royal Caribbean Chief Executive Richard Fain said in an interview.
A cruise industry trade group in September said its members would test all passengers and crew for Covid-19 before embarkation and require the wearing of masks and physical distancing on board, among other measures. Passengers would only be able to go on shore excursions on agreed-upon protocols, the group said.