The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) in the US has indicated for the first time the possibility that US cruising might resume sometime this summer.
In a statement issued today, April 7, the CDC said it was “committed to working with the cruise industry and seaport partners to resume cruising following the phased approach outlined in the conditional sailing order”.
“This goal aligns with the desire to resume passenger operations in the United States expressed by many major cruise ship operators and travelers; hopefully, by mid-summer with restricted revenue sailings.”
The statement also made clear that vaccinations will be key to the resumption of cruising in a safe manner, “especially as more variants emerge and spread around the world.”
In response to the CDC’s conditional sailing order (CSO), which effectively closed US waters to cruise ships for the duration of the pandemic, some of the major cruise lines have relocated their homeports to the Caribbean or bumped up their European sailing schedules; this shift by the CDC could prompt a reevaluation of the 2021 schedule by some companies as the possibility of sailing out of Port Canaveral opens up.
