Pressure Ramps up on US Government To Restart Cruising

U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow has issued a statement echoing other organizations such as CLIA and ASTA calling on the government to allow cruising to restart.

“The standard of evidence should be exceptionally high for rules that effectively single out certain industries as other parts of the economy are allowed to reopen,” said Dow. “Restrictions have taken a disproportionately heavy toll on the travel industry and our millions of workers, and the rule preventing cruise operations is uniquely specific.

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“It is economically imperative to find the pathways to reopening, and the evidence is clear that a layered approach to health and safety allows the safe resumption of travel. We join the calls to identify the way toward lifting the Conditional Sail Order and allowing the phased resumption of cruise operations as quickly as possible.”

CLIA and ASTA have also called for the restart of cruising, and Florida’s governor has threatened to sue if cruise lines are not allowed to sail again.

“With the vaccine rollout gaining momentum and President Biden's projection that the U.S. will be ‘closer to normal’ by early July, the case for the resumption of cruising in the U.S. has never been stronger,” read a statement from CLIA.

Several cruise lines have found a workaround to sailing out of states such as Florida and have decided to homeport their ships in the nearby Caribbean rather than wait for the U.S. to reopen ports.

So far, the CDC has not budged on its guidance. Last week, it issued a statement regarding its Framework for Conditional Sailing Order.

“On October 30, 2020, CDC issued Framework for Conditional Sailing Order (CSO) that remains in effect until November 1, 2021,” the CDC said in a statement to TravelPulse. “Returning to passenger cruising is a phased approach to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19. Details for the next phase of the CSO are currently under interagency review.”