Following today’s huge news of the CDC lifting its No-Sail order, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has responded.
CLIA Committed to Resuming Cruises Safely
Today the cruise industry finally had some good news with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) lifting its ban on cruise ships. It now paves the way for a new framework on a Conditional Sailing Order through November 1, 2021, as posted here.
CLIA, which includes major cruise lines such as Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line, has released a statement that it’s prepared to implement multiple layers of protocols to make sure cruises can resume safely. The new order from the CDC is set to go into effect once the current order ends on Saturday, October 31, 2020. Here is the statement:
Guided by the recommendations of leading experts in health and science, including the Healthy Sail Panel (HSP), our members are 100% committed to helping to protect the health of our guests, our crew and the communities we serve, and are prepared to implement multiple layers of protocols informed by the latest scientific and medical knowledge.
We will continue to evolve our approach as circumstances evolve. The economic consequences of the ongoing suspension of service are felt in communities across the United States and with hundreds of thousands of jobs at stake, we are committed to resume sailing in a responsible manner that keeps public health in the forefront. We look forward to reviewing the Order in greater detail and working with the CDC to advance a return to cruising from U.S. ports.
Cruise Lines in the U.S. and those who are members of CLIA have been in a voluntary suspension for over seven months, and since then, the CDC No-Sail order has been extended several times.
Also Read: Cruise Lines Need to Be Strict Once Sailings Resume from the U.S.
Even though there has been a limited return of some ship operations in Europe, it has not been smooth sailing, and implementing new safeguards to stop the spread of COVID-19 is now the big priority in the U.S. too.
CLIA president and CEO Kelly Craighead commented:
“While we look forward to reviewing the new Order in detail, we expect much of the Healthy Sail Panel’s recommendations, which were adopted by CLIA’s Global of Directors earlier this month, have been considered and will serve as an important foundation.
The cruise industry and the CDC have a long track record of working together in the interest of public health, and we look forward to continuing to build upon this legacy to support the resumption of cruising from U.S. ports. With enhanced measures in place, and with the continued guidance of leading experts in health and science as well as the CDC, we are confident that a resumption of cruising in the U.S. is possible to support the economic recovery while maintaining a focus on effective and science-based measures to protect public health.”
CLIA members are working with health experts such as Royal Caribbean’s and Norwegian Cruise Line’s Healthy Sail panel which recently submitted a 64-page report on how cruise lines can resume safely. Carnival and MSC are also working with expert panels and CLIA has even previously announced mandatory health protocols to make sure guests and crew remain safe.
Also Read: Canada Bans Cruise Ships Through February 2021
All eyes will now be on how the cruise lines will resume operations from the U.S. Before sailings do officially restart we could see a number of test cruises first and we already know that Carnival Cruise Line is already planning a limited number of cruises only out of Florida.
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