It’s a busy day for the CDC after releasing new updates on travel. Travel guidance can impact all industry sectors, including cruises, especially on how they can resume. It seems the focus is shifting on travel, and the CDC has already said that guidelines will soon be released for cruises too.
CDC International Travel Update
The CDC has updated its guidance on international travel, and it comes on the same day there was an update for U.S. domestic travel. The U.S Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has recently focused on the travel situation:
The CDC now recommends delaying any international travel until being full vaccinated. And if you are full vaccinated there is no need to get tested unless the destination requires it and no longer need to self-quanratine.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said:
“With millions of Americans getting vaccinated every day, it is important to update the public on the latest science about what fully vaccinated people can do safely, now including guidance on safe travel.”
“We continue to encourage every American to get vaccinated as soon as it’s their turn, so we can begin to safely take steps back to our everyday lives. Vaccines can help us return to the things we love about life, so we encourage every American to get vaccinated as soon as they have the opportunity.”
It is important to know that the guidance has not changed for non-vaccinated people. And no matter what, precautions should remain on social distancing, washing hands, and wearing a mask.
A Good Sign for Cruises?
Well, it does look like that the CDC is finally focused on the travel side of things, and new guidance for cruise ships has already been confirmed to Miami-Dade Mayor to be coming very soon.
The vaccine rollout across the U.S. is going well, and signs are looking more positive. The industry has been urging the CDC to let cruises resume, and in fact, the four-phased framework on the Conditional Sailing Order has remained in phase 1 since first being introduced at the end of October 2020.
Things do now seem to be happening on the travel side from the CDC. Cruise lines have already met the requirements for the crew and they are ready once the new guidelines come out.
Carnival Cruise Line has already committed to U.S. ports rather than finding alternative homeports outside the United States. Whether its bet on keeping to the U.S. will pay off, remains to be seen.
For now, the CDC recommends no cruise ship travel globally due to a high chance of getting infected. The cruise lines have worked hard on implementing new health protocols and some even ready to issue vaccine mandates.
An update from the CDC is coming thanks to the vaccine rollout so do keep checking Cruise hive for all the latest developments.