On April 2, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) outlined its Phase 2 of the Conditional Sail Order (CSO), frustrating the cruise industry by its slow response and seeming neglect of cruise lines’ mitigation measures.
In response, several cruise lines voiced their frustration, since it’s been over a year since cruises were postponed, and there is no end date to Phase 2, which doesn’t begin test cruises.
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Several cruise lines are already considering requiring American passengers to be fully vaccinated before boarding; Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises have already proposed their joint plan to the CDC.
Others, like Royal Caribbean, Crystal and Celebrity Cruises, are bypassing the United States completely this year due to the CDC’s slow guidance and instead are sailing out of Caribbean ports.
Cruise Planners’ CEO Michelle Fee responded to these new developments: “Finally, the cruise industry is standing up with a collective voice to the CDC’s apathy of the cruise industry, and we are glad Norwegian’s leadership is taking the lead in requiring vaccinations for domestic cruises creating a safe environment at sea. I can’t fathom how the CDC can ignore all the great work, including scientific-based research, the cruise industry has been doing to assure cruising is safe.”
“It’s important to get ships back in U.S. and Caribbean waters, and if that means on the onset everyone has to be vaccinated, then so be it. The pent-up demand for cruises and volume of requests our travel advisors are getting will fill the ships with vaccinated passengers in the near future, no problem. Many of our clients are vaccinated and ready to sail,” Fee added.