If you were hoping to enjoy a cruise in the next few months, it’s time to reset your expectations. The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) announced today that they were voluntarily extending the suspension of cruising beyond the deadline of the CDC’s No-Sail Order. The CDC’s order allowed U.S. cruise lines to resume operations beginning September 30 but with CLIA’s announcement, cruises will remain suspended until “at least” October 31.
Committed to the health and safety of passengers and crew, CLIA ocean-going cruise line members are announcing a third voluntary suspension of U.S. cruise operations until 31 October 2020. pic.twitter.com/vg8nG96HB3
— CLIA | Cruise Lines International Association (@CLIAGlobal) August 5, 2020
CLIA made this statement on behalf of its members:
Despite the valuable alignment between CLIA’s previous voluntary suspension to 15 September and the CDC’s current No-Sail Order date of 30 September, we believe it is prudent at this time to voluntarily extend the suspension of U.S. ocean-going cruise operations to 31 October. This is a difficult decision as we recognize the crushing impact that this pandemic has had on our community and every other industry. However, we believe this proactive action further demonstrates the cruise industry’s commitment to public health and willingness to voluntarily suspend operations in the interest of public health and safety, as has occurred twice prior. CLIA cruise line members will continue to monitor the situation with the understanding that we will revisit a possible further extension on or before 30 September 2020. At the same time, should conditions in the U.S. change and it becomes possible to consider short, modified sailings, we would consider an earlier restart.
What Does This Mean For Disney Cruise Line?
While Disney Cruise Line is a member of CLIA, they have not made an individual announcement on how CLIA’s suspension will affect their sailings. However, a quick search for sailings on Disney’s Cruise Line site provided an answer. All sailings between now and October 31 are currently unavailable.
November 2020 sailings are still available for booking at this time. However, given the state of Coronavirus infections in the U.S., we would not be surprised if yet another suspension is announced at a later date.
Outbreak on Recent Sailings
Though cruising has largely been on hold, that hasn’t been the case in other parts of the world. Hurtigruten, a Norweigan cruise firm that left CLIA in 2016, was the first company to resume cruises back in mid-June and has already seen a Coronavirus outbreak on recent sailings. Its ship MS Roald Amundsen has had at least 36 crew members and five passengers test positive for Coronavirus. The infections were spread out across two sailings, one that departed July 17 and another from July 24. In total, there were 387 passengers on the two sailings and at this point, five have tested positive. Local authorities scrambled to track down passengers who had already disembarked, making sure that they went into quarantine and received testing.
As a result of the outbreak, all of Hurtigruten’s sailings have been suspended and Norway is banning cruise ships with more than 100 people from disembarking passengers at its ports for 14 days. Even before the pandemic began, cruise ships were considered uniquely prone to infectious diseases by the CDC due to the social nature of cruising and the congregating of travelers from many different places. While Hurtigruten’s CEO Daniel Skjeldamsaid has admitted there were mistakes made in the recent outbreak, it really emphasizes the importance of CLIA’s decision to continue suspending cruise operations.
Let’s Hear From You
Have your plans been impacted by the suspension? When will you consider sailing again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!