The esteemed Engelbert Humperdinck once sang, “Please release me, let me go; for I don’t love you anymore.” Fifty-plus years later, CLIA is channeling its inner crooner and urging the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to lift its “Framework for Conditional Sailing Order” (CSO) and allow for the planning of a phased resumption of cruise operations from US ports by the beginning of July.
CLIA, which represents 95 percent of global ocean-going cruise capacity notes that the early-July timeframe is in line with US President Joe Biden’s forecast for when the United States will be “closer to normal.”
“Over the past eight months, a highly controlled resumption of cruising has continued in Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific, with nearly 400,000 passengers sailing to date in more than 10 major cruise markets,” says CLIA president and CEO Kelly Craighead, adding that additional sailings are planned in the Mediterranean and Caribbean later this spring and summer.
Indeed, cruise lines including Crystal, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity have in the past week taken matters into their own hands and announced cruise dates in the summer from homeports in the Bahamas, Bermuda, and St. Martin in order to provide options that don’t require sailing from US ports like Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Galveston.
According to the trade association, the very small fraction of reported COVID cases (fewer than 50 based on public reports) is dramatically lower than the rate on land or in any other transportation mode.
“This is a testament to the industry’s unparalleled expertise, gained over more than half a century, in coordinating movements of guests and crew, efficiently organizing complex embarkations and excursions, and designing vessels that are more technologically advanced and operationally agile than any other mode of transportation,” says Craighead.
She adds: “The cruise industry has adopted a high bar for resumption around the world with a multi-layered set of policies that is intended to be revised as conditions change. Our members continue to follow this multi-layered approach to enhancing health and safety that has proven effective, making cruising one of the best and most adaptable choices for travel.”
The CLIA boss also believes that the accelerated rollout of vaccines is a “gamechanger” in providing for the health and well-being of the public, particularly in the United States where President Biden has said he expects all adults to be eligible for vaccinations by May 1.
Following the industry’s voluntary suspension of operations one year ago, cruise lines have been prevented from operating in the US by a series of “No Sail Orders” issued by the CDC. The CSO was issued last October, but since then the CDC has not released any further guidance, as called for in the CSO, to support the resumption of US cruise operations.
CLIA claims the CDC’s inaction has effectively banned all sailings in the largest cruise market in the world, maintaining that cruising is the only sector of the US economy that remains prohibited, even as most others have opened or continued to operate throughout the pandemic.
“The outdated CSO, which was issued almost five months ago, does not reflect the industry’s proven advancements and success operating in other parts of the world, nor the advent of vaccines, and unfairly treats cruises differently.
“Cruise lines,” says Craighead, “should be treated the same as other travel, tourism, hospitality, and entertainment sectors!”