Cruise lines are afraid of another lost summer

“I never thought I’d be in a food line for a few hours,” said James Cox, a 50-year-old porter who used to earn $ 27 an hour fighting passengers and their luggage. “It simply came to our notice then. You say, “Wow, I’m really in this moment.” ”

Like the rest of the maritime tourism industry, Port Canaveral was dizzy at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. At one year, as other parts of the economy come back to life, the US cruise industry is looking forward to Washington sailing again – and is worried that a second summer season is about to be lost.

Other countries, including Singapore, Italy and the United Kingdom, have authorized cruises or set a clear target date for them to leave. Nearly 400,000 passengers have sailed since some countries began allowing cruises in July 2020, according to the industry’s trade group.

But to get started in the US, the cruise industry needs the direction of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC lifted its no-navigation order in October and replaced it with a conditional set of rules; Industry officials say the 40 pages of rules are indecipherable or impractical, such as a measure that requires cruise lines to make “simulated journeys” with volunteer passengers.

“I refer to this as an ‘impossible-to-navigate order,’ because no business could operate profitably,” said Captain John Murray, Port Canaveral’s chief executive.

The CDC said the guidelines will come soon. “Future orders and technical instructions will address additional activities to help cruise lines prepare for and return to passenger operations in a manner that mitigates the risk of Covid-19 among passengers and crew members,” the spokesman said. Jason McDonald in a statement, refusing to comment further.

A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

The order was written before the vaccines were approved, and the CDC did not say whether it would review guidelines to incorporate vaccinated crew and passengers.

Without the direction of the CDC, cruise lines cannot begin the monthly process of implementing safety measures and recalling thousands of workers around the world, industry officials said.

Washington’s hesitation may partly reflect the troubles of the cruise industry since the beginning of the pandemic.

Cruise lines continued to sail despite known risks of coronavirus, according to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal. The ports refused to enter ships with passengers sick with Covid-19, and giant ships were stranded at sea.

As the US launch of Covid-19 vaccines rises, President Biden predicts a return to a sense of normalcy by July. Theme parks, casinos, airlines and hotels operate with restrictions and security measures, and the cruise industry says it can do the same.

“I hate to speculate, but I think the CDC is looking at this and feels that ‘Is this a risk we really have to take? “” Said Brian Salerno, senior vice president of global maritime policy at the Cruise Lines International Association, the leading commercial group in the cruise industry. “Having an industry set aside like this, based on a bad perception, is very demanding.”

Competitors take advantage of the vacuum. Hong Kong-based Genting Cruise Lines said in a March 12 financial statement that Crystal Serenity would begin sailing from the Bahamas in July, landing in America – but bypassing US and CDC jurisdiction. One week later, the Royal Caribbean Group said it would send its own cruise from Nassau in June, similarly avoiding US ports.

Cruises to Alaska face an additional hurdle. Most of these ships have a foreign flag, so they should call at Canada, as US law prohibits these ships from carrying passengers between US ports. Issue: Canada banned cruises until February 2022.

About 60 percent of all visitors to Alaska arrived by cruise ship in 2019, according to an October Maritime Commission report.

Alaskan Republicans Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski have called on the Canadian government to reconsider its ban and introduce legislation to allow cruise ships bound for Alaska to bypass Canada. Any plan is based on the CDC, allowing the resumption of cruises.

“CDC – the best scientists in the world. What they are not designed for is to be a regulator of tourism in America. I don’t know how to do that, “Mr. Sullivan said in an interview. Despite the fact that his office arrived at the agency almost daily, he said they” have no answers. ”

The pandemic eliminated, at least temporarily, what was a growing industry. In 2019, approximately 14 million cruise ships left the United States, generating a record $ 55.5 billion for the U.S. economy and supporting more than 436,000 jobs in the United States, according to the cruise line association.

“Big 3” in the industry – Carnival of cruise line operators worldwide Body.

CCI 2.44%

, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

NCLH 2.59%

“He had major financial successes.”

With deeply depressed revenues during 2020, companies have raised cash with huge bond and stock issues, according to industry analysts and corporate records. The big three told investors they had enough money on hand to reach the 2022 cruise season.

They also have aggressively reduced costs, worked and in some cases sold older, less efficient ships that are not as profitable to operate.

Even sitting still is expensive. Carnival Corp. told investors in February it expects to spend an average of $ 600 million in cash per month just to keep ships maintained, support corporate operations and invest in preparations to return to sea.

“There’s been a tremendous amount of lending in the industry over the last year,” said Melissa Long, director of Standard & Poor’s, which covers the cruise industry.

The trade group and cruise lines spent $ 4.4 million on federal lobbyists last year, the largest such investment in the industry since 2008, the beginning of the last recession, according to lobby records.

Carnival Corp CEO Arnold Donald told investors in January that the company and its rivals were in “constant communication” with federal officials, including the CDC, about the reopening process.

Cruise-related companies, including ports, say they have tried to draw Washington’s attention to their plight over the past year, putting pressure on lawmakers and administration officials.

Unions representing port workers on both coasts say workers have lost hundreds of thousands of hours since the pandemic struck.

In Port Canaveral, Phil Charlton, who has worked in the industry since 1985, took over a part-time flower delivery job with his wife, Olivia, also employed at the port. Bob Baugher, who owns hotels and transit buses in the area, said his business lost $ 16 million in revenue last year.

Nearly 5 million passengers passed through Port Canaveral in 2019, becoming second only to Miami for cruise business. Many US ports are a mix of cruise and cargo, but here the cruise side usually accounts for about 80% of revenue.

Now, ships without passengers enter the terminal several times a month for supply and maintenance. None of the skeleton crews are allowed to land. On a recent March afternoon, Disney DIS -0.59%

Fantasy threw a few melancholy stalks of “When You Want a Star” as it passed Jetty Park in Port Canaveral.

Mike Horan is monitoring the cruise-related Facebook pages for any sign that his dying transfer business could be revived soon.

“This is our port,” he wrote recently on his Facebook page, sharing a photo of an anchored ghost ship. “Cruise ships are now just decorations.”

Write to Julie Bykowicz at [email protected] and Ted Mann at [email protected]