It's been a long time coming but the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has officially ended its pandemic-era program of regulations and restrictions for cruise ships sailing from U.S. ports.
The agency updated information on its website on Monday. A banner on one web page signaled the sunset of the "CDC’s Program for Cruise Ships Operating in U.S. Waters," effective July 18, 2022. The CDC said, however, that it will continue to provide guidance to help cruise ships maintain a healthy and safe environment. Details for that guidance are expected sometime this week.
Travel Trade Reaction
Upon learning of the CDC announcement on Monday, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and its member cruise lines issued a press statement. The association said it welcomes the decision in favor of a set of CDC guidelines for public health operations on cruise ships.
"We look forward to reviewing the details, which we understand will be posted on the CDC website in the coming days," said the CLIA statement distributed to the media late Monday. "This is an important step forward in the CDC aligning the guidelines for cruise with those it has established for other travel, hospitality, and entertainment sectors."
CLIA also said that "the sunsetting of the CDC Program effective July 18, 2022 is a testament to the effectiveness of the industry’s comprehensive and robust protocols"
The statement continued: "In fact, cruising has become one of the safest forms of travel and among the most successful industries in mitigating the spread and severity of COVID-19, resulting in few passengers or crew becoming seriously ill or requiring hospitalization compared to hospital statistics for landside patients."
Separately, Brad Tolkin, co-chairman/CEO for World Travel Holdings, said, “The news about the CDC removing the COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships is the most positive indication yet that we are moving further away from the pandemic. While we are still awaiting what changes each cruise line will make to their protocols as a result of this news, this announcement is the most significant to date and is another step to greater consumer confidence in travel. We are already experiencing an increase in calls and bookings due to the pent-up demand for cruise, and we expect to see another uptick as a result of this latest announcement.”
Stay tuned for another update when the CDC issues additional guidance this week.
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