Will the CDC and the Cruise Lines Finally Reach an Agreement this Week?

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The back and forth between the cruise lines and the CDC continued last week. Both the cruise lines and its opponents made public statements regarding the resumption of cruising in the United States. How will this all end? We dive into when the CDC and cruise lines might finally reach an agreement with a recap of all the recent events.

Latest Updates on the CDC and the Cruise Lines

Norwegian Cruise Line Sent Second Letter to CDC

It has been two full weeks since Norwegian Cruise Line submitted its Sail SAFE proposal to the CDC. And guess what, the CDC has yet to respond. Of course, we were not the only ones to notice this lack of acknowledgement.

On Thursday of last week, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ CEO sent a reminder letter to the CDC. With this gentle nudge, NCLH requested a prompt response from the CDC to the company’s previously submitted plan to resume cruise operations from U.S. ports in July.

Now, NCLH strongly believes that requiring mandatory vaccinations for guests and crew on initial voyages goes well beyond the “spirit and intent” of the CSO. Also, this plan involves other comprehensive protocols including universal COVID-19 testing, mask requirements, and cruise-sponsored shore excursions.

With these measures, the Sail SAFE program extends well beyond the protocols of other travel sectors. Of course, these other sectors like restaurants, hotels, and even theme parks are open. Yet, cruises are still not able to operate in the United States.

In this second letter, CEO and Chairman Frank Del Rio went on to state that he was frustrated that it has been close to two weeks with no response from the CDC. He was careful to acknowledge that the CDC does have several public health issues to deal with during the health crisis.

Yet, he was following up now as he believed that the cruise company’s proposal “should be the model for how the travel and hospitality industry operates in a COVID-19 environment”.

We applaud Del Rio’s attempt to finally put some pressure on the CDC to actually work with the cruise lines. Will this be enough to get the CDC to reconsider the Conditional Sailing Order? After all, if cruising is to resume this summer, the brands need answers now to allow them time to get ships up and running.

CLIA Offers Insight

At the end of last week, several media outlets reported that CLIA, the CDC, and cruise representatives met for a virtual listening session. This meeting was an opportunity for the industry to address its concerns about the CSO.

During this meeting, the cruise industry reiterated its claims that the current order does not permit for a realistic resumption of cruising by July. Now, this is contrary to the CDC’s claims that cruising “could” be operational by mid-summer.

Ideally, the cruise lines are asking for the CDC to replace the current framework. Now, this request is within reason given the significant medical advancements since the CSO was issued.

Thankfully, the outcome of the meeting appeared to be positive. CLIA indicated the cruise industry felt like their concerns were finally recognized by government officials.

CDC Continues to Ignore Industry Progress

Perhaps the most frustrating issue is the CDC’s failure to acknowledge the progress cruise lines have had in other countries. To date, over 400K cruise passengers have successfully sailed with these robust health and safety measures. In fact, these sailings have resulted in COVID-19 transmission rates that are much lower than those on land.

However, the CDC reportedly left the meeting indicating it was “committed to working with the cruise industry”. Likewise, CLIA reports that the CDC will evaluate the changes in science and the impact vaccines could have on a cruise restart.

The New CRUISE ACT

While the CDC and cruise lines were working behind the scenes, some lawmakers began taking action as well. It started on Tuesday in a joint statement by Florida Senators Rick Scott, Marco Rubio, and Alaska senator Dan Sullivan who introduced a new bill.

The aptly named Careful Resumption Under Improved Safety Enhancements (CRUISE) Act would allow cruising to start in July.

So, it is not surprising that the new CRUISE Act would revoke the CDC’s current Conditional Sailing Order. Also, the act would call for a switch in the CDC’s role and oversight of cruising.

The legislation would require the CDC to issue recommendations for how to mitigate the risks of COVID-19 to passengers and crew onboard cruise ships.

It would also establish an interagency “Working Group” that will develop recommendations. These recommendations should facilitate the resumption of passenger cruise ship operations in the United States by July 4th.

Still, it would ensure that HHS and CDC retain all appropriate authorities to make and enforce regulations necessary to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases on any individual cruise ship.

Other Lawmakers Weigh In

Now, in a response to that move, additional legislators urged the CDC to not change course.

Congresswoman Doris Matsui and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal are doing what they can to ensure that cruising does not resume any time soon from the United States.

These legislators sent a letter to the CDC’s Director urging her to strictly enforce recently issued safety guidance. In addition, they call on her to immediately halt cruises if outbreaks occur on board.

In the letter, the congresswoman and senator claimed that “prematurely lifting restrictions on cruising – with thousands of people in close proximity and conditions ripe for spread of infections – threatens a serious setback” in the U.S. progress toward beating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, these two lawmakers have no love loss for cruising.

The two legislators have been long time advocates for improving safety, health, and security standards onboard cruise ships. Together, they are lead sponsors of the Cruise Passenger Protection Act (CPPA) in Congress.

So, it is not surprising that they would issue this statement. Of course, these comments disregard all of the current evidence that demonstrates cruising can be done safely.

This letter blatantly ignores all of the findings from sailings in other parts of the world that have been successful. It also does not acknowledge NCL’s proposal for fully vaccinated cruises.

To be fair, the CDC has not responded to this letter yet either, at least not publicly.

Will We Hear From the CDC This Week?

The battle between the CDC and the cruise lines has now come to a crossroads. Last week, NCL further intensified the action with the release of its docuseries, EMBARK. The first episode of this series showcased all of the improvements and changes NCL is making in response to the global health crisis.

Will all this recent media attention move the CDC to expedite its response? Could the two sides finally reach an agreement to get cruising restarted in the U.S.? Like many avid cruisers, we are anxiously waiting for a compromise that would get us cruising this summer. We are optimistic that all these recent headlines are a step in the right direction and are hopeful that we get some good news from the CDC sooner rather than later.

We will continue to follow this story as more details unfold, hopefully this week. Of course, we will update you as soon as we hear more from the CDC and the cruise lines.

Comments

Do you think the CDC and the cruise lines are on the verge of reaching an agreement? Do you believe we can begin cruising from the U.S. soon? Drop us an anchor below with your predictions of when we will cruise again from local homeports.