CDC Says Cruise Ships Can Restart In Mid-July With 95% Of Passengers Vaccinated

By: Alana DeRose

cruiseindustrynews.com

After over a year since the CDC shut down the cruise industry they officially state in a letter that a mid-July is possible, if certain requirements are met.

The letter was sent to the cruise industry and shared by USA Today, which provides a much more realistic future for the cruise industry.

"We acknowledge that cruising will never be a zero-risk activity and that the goal of the CSO’s phased approach is to resume passenger operations in a way that mitigates the risk of COVID-19 transmission onboard cruise ships and across port communities"

CDC's head of the Maritime Unit, Aimee Treffiletti wrote in the letter.

USA Today also gained confirmation that cruise might be able to start up mid-July from a CDC spokesperson.

"CDC looks forward to continued engagement with the industry and urges cruise lines to submit Phase 2A port agreements as soon as possible to maintain the timeline of passenger voyages by mid-July."

The letter also had five key points showing the expectations of cruise lines this time around.

1. Ships can skip over the required test cruises if 98% of crew and 95% of passengers are fully vaccinated.

2. CDC will review and respond to cruise line applications for test voyages in 5 days now instead of 60.

3. The CDC will update it's testing and quarantine requirements for passengers and crew to align with the CDC's guidelines for fully vaccinated people.

4. Cruise lines are allowed to enter a multi-port agreement instead of the single-port agreement as long as all port and local authorities sign the agreement.

5. The CDC has changed it's quarantine guidelines for passengers that may be exposed to Covid-19 allowing them to drive home if they drove or stay at a hotel if took a plane.

"The updated information in the CDC's letter follows blow back on the CDC after they released updated technical guidance for its Framework for Conditional Sailing on April 1."

Royal Caribbean Blog stated.

Which some people seen as lacking and impractical.

However, even before the letter was released many cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Carnival are requiring full vaccination of all passengers before boarding.