by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:20 AM ET, Fri February 5, 2021
With the cruise industry at a standstill, officials representing Cozumel are reaching out to European cruise lines to schedule possible sailings to the Mexican island.
According to the Riviera Maya News, Cozumel mayor Pedro Joaquin Delbouis said the island can't wait for the cruise industry in the United States to restart, especially after the announcement of cancellations through the first quarter of 2021.
"There is constant communication with the United States authorities and the Caribbean Cruise Association and there is nothing scheduled for this first quarter, so together with the Secretary of Tourism, we propose that we be a home port," Joaquin Delbouis told the Riviera Maya News.
As a result, Joaquin Delbouis and other officials in Cozumel have reached out to European cruise lines like MSC Cruises, which successfully sailed through the Caribbean recently without touching North American soil.
Joaquin Delbouis said all possibilities are open, including accepting voyages from Havana, Cuba, as well as launching service to and from Progreso, Yucatan.
The mayor of Cozumel also said they are using MSC Cruises' return to the Mediterranean with strict safety regulations as the precedent for the plans, with the destination hoping to host one or two weekly departures.
"If they cannot leave from the United States, let them make a route to the Caribbean sailing from Cozumel," Joaquin Delbouis said. "We know that supply logistics is not easy at all, and more so from an island, but it can be done."
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