Two important "cruise recovery" developments happened last week.
First, President Joe Biden signed the Alaska Tourism Restoration Act into law—saving a portion of the 2021 big-ship Alaska cruise season.
Royal Caribbean International said it would return to Alaska this summer with two ships. Others, including Princess Cruises and Holland America Line, are also headed back. Early Tuesday, Silversea Cruises announced that Silver Muse will sail 10- and 11-day voyages from Seattle, starting July 29, 2021.
Second, Celebrity Cruises said that it had received approval from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to become the first line to sail from a U.S. port in more than a year. On June 26, 2021, Celebrity plans to resume cruising from Port Everglades with Celebrity Edge.
One potential sticking point? One CDC requirement for cruise lines to "restart" and receive a Conditional Sail Order (CSO) for sailings from a U.S. port is that 98 percent of crew and 95 percent of passengers must be vaccinated, or, alternatively, the lines must perform test cruises. That vaccination mandate conflicts with a new Florida law that bans any business from requiring vaccination for service.
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Carnival Cruise Line also received good news from the CDC, which approved port agreements needed to "restart" operations at Miami, Galveston, TX, and Port Canaveral, FL. The line has said it plans to restart first with Carnival Horizon from Miami and Carnival Breeze and Carnival Vista from Galveston. Plans for a Port Canaveral restart are expected next.
Also, this past week:
- Oceania Cruises announced that it will begin operating three more ships globally.
- Small-ship Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic will return to Alaska this summer with two additional ships.
- Victory Cruise Lines, a small-ship line owned by American Queen Steamboat Company, will operate three ships in 2022.
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