The cruise industry in the U.S. now seems to finally be heading in the right direction on restarting operations. This due to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) changing some of its technical instructions in a letter sent to the cruise industry late Wednesday night.
As a result, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has responded with a statement sent to Cruise Hive. It also comes after a reaction came out on Thursday from Port Canaveral, the second busiest cruise port in the world.
CLIA Reacts to CDC Letter
The cruise industry in the U.S. has new hope in resuming operations this summer thanks to a letter from the CDC sent to cruise lines late on Wednesday, April 28. The letter details some new changes to make it easier for the industry to return to service, including bypassing simulated voyages.
Related: CDC Agrees Cruise Lines Can Bypass Test Voyages With Mid-July Start Possible
CLIA’s technical experts are now reviewing the changes and looking into how that will impact the resumption of cruise operations. No doubt individual cruise lines are also doing the same so that cruises can resume as quickly as possible.
CLIA provided Cruise Hive with the following statement:
“We are encouraged by the communication from the CDC Wednesday evening and look forward to learning more. Our technical experts are currently reviewing the information and its implications, but we are optimistic that these clarifications show positive progression—and, importantly, a demonstrated commitment to constructive dialogue, which is key to restarting cruising as we have seen with other governments and health authorities around the world.”
The pressure on the CDC seems to have paid off, and cruise lines are working with the agency on a safe return. In fact, the industry already met with the CDC on how this can be done. There have also been positive words from Royal Caribbean on constructive talks. CLIA went on to say:
“It also shows that the voices of community leaders and the wider cruise community are being heard—and we are very grateful for that.”
“Plenty of work remains in order to achieve our mutual goal of responsible resumption from U.S. ports this summer. Doing so will put hundreds of thousands of Americans back to work and further support the nation’s economic recovery from the pandemic.”
Even though the CDC has loosened its grip on the cruise industry, there are still instructions and guidelines that need to be worked through for the safe return of operations. The aim is to have this all done by mid-July.
You can take a look at the details of the letter in our earlier post.
