Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidelines Friday, which will eventually allow cruises to fully resume in U.S. waters, although it did not include a date for which ships will be allowed to sail.
The CDC first issued a no-navigation order in March 2020 and the industry, which has been operating under a “conditional navigation command” (CSO) since the end of October, has requested a meeting to sail again.
Instead, the agency provided technical guidance on Friday on how to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and how to manage outbreaks at sea.
According to the CDC, this phase of the conditional navigation order will include simulated voyages that will allow port crew and personnel to practice new COVID-19 operational procedures with volunteers before sailing with passengers.
The CDC update includes a requirement to increase the COVID-19 reporting frequency from week to day. It also updates a color coding system used to classify ships related to COVID-19 and addresses routine crew testing based on a ship’s color status.
“Safe and responsible navigation during a global pandemic is difficult,” the CDC said in a statement. “While the cruise will always present a certain risk of COVID-19 transmission, after the CSO phases it will be ensured that the operations of the passengers of the cruise ships are carried out in a way that protects crew members, passengers and port personnel, in particular COVID-19 variants emerging concern. “
The update comes after the cruise industry last week asked the CDC to allow resumption of cruises from US ports until early July.
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“The lack of any CDC action has effectively banned all navigation on the world’s largest cruise market,” the group wrote. “The obsolete CSO, which was issued almost five months ago, does not reflect the proven progress of the industry and its success in other parts of the world, nor the emergence of vaccines and unfairly treat cruises differently.
The companies have announced the resumption of cruises in other parts of the world. Royal Caribbean in early March announced that it will hold a “fully vaccinated” cruise. The newest cruise ship, the Odyssey of the Seas, will be launched from Haifa, Israel, for the first time in May.