The CDC released an update of its conditional sailing order for cruise ships on Friday afternoon—but it doesn’t look like regular commercial sailings will immediately resume.
The federal agency, for one thing, stopped well short of giving a green light to the cruise industry.
“Covid-19 vaccination efforts will be critical in the safe resumption of passenger operations,” the CDC said in a release. “As more people are fully vaccinated, the phased approach allows CDC to incorporate these advancements into planning for resumption of cruise ship travel when it is safe to do so.”
The cruise industry has mostly been shut down since March 2020 due to the pandemic, though there have been limited sailings in regions such as Europe and Asia. As a result, cruise companies have been burning through hundreds of millions of dollars each month, forcing them to raise additional capital to stay afloat. They are eager to resume sailings—and believe they can safely do so with the help of new protocols, such as mask wearing and enhanced cleanings.
The CDC’s release calls for, among other steps, developing plans that incorporate “vaccination strategies to reduce the risk of introduction and spread of COVID-19 by crew and passengers.”
Friday’s release marks the second phase of the conditional sailing order, which was initially issued in late October. The CDC says this new phase will include implementing routine testing of all crew, based on a color-coding system that assesses a vessel’s readiness to return to commercial sailing. However, it still remains unclear when cruise ships will resume sailing out of U.S. ports.
The order’s second phase also calls for establishing a timeline for vaccinating both crew members and port personnel. Another part of the update outlines creating “planning materials for agreements that port authorities and local health authorities must approve to ensure cruise lines have the necessary infrastructure in place to manage an outbreak of COVID-19 on their ships.”
That includes having the “healthcare capacity and housing to isolate infected people and quarantine those who are exposed.”
In recent weeks, the cruise industry had expressed frustration with the CDC’s handling of the order. On March 24, trade association Cruise Lines International Association urged the CDC to allow commercial sailings to resume by early July.
The CDC oversees U.S. ports, a crucial gateway for the companies like Carnival (ticker: CCL), Royal Caribbean Group (RCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH).
The CDC said in the release that it “is committed to working with the cruise industry and seaport partners to resume cruising when it is safe to do so, following the phased approach outlined in the conditional sailing order.”
In a statement emailed to Barron’s Friday evening, a Royal Caribbean spokesman called the CDC’s new technical guidelines encouraging and said the company is reviewing the order.
In an updated statement Saturday, the company said: “With a robust and multilayered set of health and safety protocols together with the accelerated rollout of vaccines, we believe that cruising can be done safely. Our successful sailings in other parts of the world further demonstrates that we can resume operations in the U.S. responsibly.”
A Carnival spokesman said the company is reviewing the CDC’s update.
A Norwegian spokeswoman said in an email that “While disappointed in this overdue announcement, we remain optimistic that cruising will resume from U.S. ports before the end of the summer.” She added that the company is working for a “safe resumption of cruising in the U.S. while protecting guests, crew and the communities we visit.”
The next phase of the conditional sailing order is expected to include trial voyages.