The CDC has approved more test cruises, as well as restricted passenger voyages as of June 1^st.

In documents filed with the U.S. District Court in Florida yesterday, we learned that the CDC currently has provisional approvals or approvals for several ships that have not been made public yet.  

This filing was in support of a lawsuit brought against the CDC by the state of Florida. As part of a motion submitted in support of ending the lawsuit, lawyers for the defendants revealed details about the current status of CDC approvals.  

In all, the CDC reported in the motion that they have approved port agreements with 22 vessels. In addition, the CDC is actually reviewing port agreements for six additional vessels.

To date, we have heard about only a handful of ships that have approved agreements. For example, Carnival Cruise Line announced last week that the CDC approved port agreements with 3 ports of call.

Further, the CDC disclosed that it has approved or provisionally approved four requests to conduct simulated voyages, also known as test cruises. They are also reviewing plans for an additional 6 ships.

Last week, Royal Caribbean announced that Freedom the Seas will be conducting a test cruise from Miami on June 20th. It is still not known if that test cruise will include volunteer passengers or employees that work for the brand.

Then, we learned that Disney Dream will be conducting a test cruise on June 29th from Port Canaveral, FL. This two-night simulated voyage would consist of volunteer passengers.

Next, Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line revealed its test cruise approval for Grand Classica. This ship will embark on a two-night roundtrip cruise from the Port of Palm Beach on June 25th.

Finally, Royal Caribbean’s CEO and President, Michael Bayley, revealed via social media that Allure of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas have also been approved for test cruises. Allure of the Seas will sail July 27-29th from Port Canaveral, FL. Symphony of the Seas will conduct its test cruise August 1st-3rd from Miami, FL.

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Now, this accounts for 5 out of the 10 ships approved (or conditionally approved) for test cruises.

We can’t help to think that some of these requests are for Carnival Cruise Line.

If you recall, the cruise line was supposed to announce on May 31st its return to service plans. All along Carnival Cruise Line has indicated that it will return to sailing in the U.S. with three ships. These ships are Carnival Horizon in Miami FL, and Carnival Breeze and Carnival Vista sailing from Galveston, TX.

The CDC Has Approved More Cruises

In addition, this federal document indicated the CDC has already given approval for two restricted passenger vessel cruises.

We learned a few weeks ago that Celebrity Edge would be the first ship sailing from the United States. This ship will depart June 26th from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on a 7-night Caribbean cruise.

The motion indicated that there was a second ship as well. This second approval most likely refers to Silversea Cruises’ Silver Muse. That cruise line announced sailings in Alaska yesterday, and reporting by the Points Guy indicates the cruise line has CDC approval already.

Several other cruise lines have already announced that they will be sailing in Alaska this year as well. These cruise lines include Princess Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Norwegian Cruise Line.

These cruises will consist of 95% (or more) vaccinated passengers. Thus, they do not need to undergo test cruises to sail. Still, no other cruise lines sailing in Alaska have officially announced that they have a CDC provisional sailing certificate.

Stay tuned for the latest cruise news updates as the CDC approves more cruises in the United States.

Comments

Which ships do you think will receive CDC approval next? Will cruise lines announce more updates soon? Drop us an anchor below with your feedback regarding which cruise ships will be sailing from the U.S. in 2021?