To resume sailing from Covid impacts, the US government has set strict standards for cruise lines, says an article published in USA Today.
Longing for Cruise Resume
It’s been a hard year for cruise passengers. Last March, the cruise industry all but shut down and remained beached for the rest of 2020. Now, passengers are eager to know when it will be safe to cruise again.
In November, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued a Framework for Conditional Sailing Order, which defined the requirements for resuming operations in U.S. ports. Most major cruise lines won’t start their schedules until late spring.
Cruising Questions
But when will it be safe for you to cruise? That’s a difficult question to answer, and it depends on your health and how much of a risk you’re willing to take, according to experts.
Cruising could resume soon, but industry watchers say most people won’t feel completely safe on a cruise ship until later this year. Cruise lines are going to extraordinary lengths to keep their vessels coronavirus-free. So how do you know if cruising is safe? Look for a green light from the CDC – and lots of extra safety precautions.
Measures in need
“The lines have to be able to successfully, quickly and cheaply screen passengers before they board,” says Andrew Coggins, a professor at Pace University’s Lubin School of Business. Cruise lines must also have CDC-approved procedures and facilities to identify, isolate and treat any cases that may get through the screening.
Coggins expects some cruise ships to meet those standards in the first half of the year, but most passengers won’t feel safe planning a cruise until the CDC procedures are proven effective.
“The next couple of months will give an indication of whether the industry can return to operations this summer or fall,” he says.
Sailings Booking
If you’re interested in booking a cruise for late 2021, there’s no need to wait, says Tanner Callais, editor of the cruise site Cruzely.com.
“The good news through this pandemic is that passengers haven’t been out any money, despite the turmoil,” he says. Cruise lines have either refunded passengers or offered a generous credit.
‘Pent-up demand’: With bookings strong for late 2021, many cruisers are ready to sail.
Windstar President’s Resume talk
Cruise lines have had months to figure out how to keep passengers safe. When Windstar Cruises resumes operation in May, passengers will notice a difference, says Chris Prelog, the company’s president.
“We have a very robust, multilayer safety protocol,” he says. Windstar developed the program, called “Beyond Ordinary Care,” with the University of Colorado’s epidemiology department. It includes hospital-grade elements such as HEPA filters and UV-C germicidal irradiation to filter and sanitize the air, as well as electrostatic sprayers to sanitize all surfaces throughout the vessels.
“We will also add nurses to our onboard medical teams,” Prelog says.
The wait to sail
Just because the cruise industry says it’s safe doesn’t mean it is. Marcella Rappoport, a cruise adviser with Ovation Travel Group, is telling her clients to avoid cruising until May. “We need the ships to get their safety protocols up to where they need to be,” she says. “The cruise lines are committed to taking the time to train their crews on safety and health protocols, and they are conducting a number of trial sailings to test those protocols in real-world conditions.”
