The Cruise Lines International Association has announced its members have agreed to voluntarily extend the pause on operations from the U.S.
Cruise Lines Cancel More Cruises
The CLIA has announced that its members have voluntarily extended their pause on cruise operation in the United Staes for the third time. The suspension will be through October 31 which means the first cruises are now set to begin in November.
Here is the statement released by the CLIA:
Despite the valuable alignment between CLIAโs previous voluntary suspension to 15 September and the CDCโs current No-Sail Order date of 30 September, we believe it is prudent at this time to voluntarily extend the suspension of U.S. ocean-going cruise operations to 31 October. This is a difficult decision as we recognize the crushing impact that this pandemic has had on our community and every other industry.
However, we believe this proactive action further demonstrates the cruise industryโs commitment to public health and willingness to voluntarily suspend operations in the interest of public health and safety, as has occurred twice prior. CLIA cruise line members will continue to monitor the situation with the understanding that we will revisit a possible further extension on or before 30 September 2020. At the same time, should conditions in the U.S. change and it becomes possible to consider short, modified sailings, we would consider an earlier restart.
Cruise lines will continune to montier the developing sutuation on the global health crises and how it impacts travel. We could see further extentions before the end of the year or even operations restarting earlier than expected.
The suspension is having a huge impact on the cruise industry and major cruise lines are needing to sell off older ships to help ride out these difficult times. Until cruises do resume cruise lines are also working with the relevant authorities such as the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in implementing new health measures.
When cruises to restart the experience will be much different from usual and it’s not known how long into 2021 the new restriction on cruising could go.
Carnival Cruise Line has already posted an announcement in-line with CLIA extended suspension which you can read about right here. In mid-July, the CDC also announced an extended “No Sail Order” on U.S. cruises through September so this also has an impact on when cruises can restart.
The CLIA members include major cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line along with many more.