The FINANCIAL — On July 16, 2020, CDC extended the No Sail Order and Suspension of Further Embarkation. This order renews the No Sail Order and Other Measures Related to Operations signed by the CDC Director on March 14, 2020, as further modified and extended effective April 15, 2020. While cruise ban is extended in the USA, German cruise lines are set to resume cruising from the end of July.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday extended its ban on passenger cruising from U.S. ports through Sept. 30, citing “ongoing” coronavirus outbreaks aboard ships. The CDC’s no-sail order was previously due to expire on July 24. The Cruise Line International Association, which represents the largest cruise lines in the world, announced last month that its members had agreed to suspend operations until Sept. 15, as reported by CNBC.
However, CDC is allowing crew members to disembark from all cruise ships in U.S. waters. Cruise ships with complete and accurate No Sail Order response plans are able to disembark their crew members without a signed attestation if they use non-commercial travel and follow all CDC requirements to prevent interaction of disembarking crew members with the public.
This Order is in effect until one of the following occurs:
- The expiration of the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ declaration that COVID-19 constitutes a public health emergency,
- The CDC Director rescinds or modifies the order based on specific public health or other considerations, or
- September 30, 2020.
If unrestricted cruise ship passenger operations were permitted to resume, it would increase the risk and impact of the COVID-19, says CDC.
The shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd, Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd continued to dip in the after-hours session Thursday, as the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention extended its ban on cruise sailing in the United States, Yahoo wrote.
Meanwhiele, German cruise lines are set to resume cruising from July. The first of the German cruise lines to continue service is TUI Cruises with its Mein Schiff brand. Mein Schiff 2 will return to service on July 24. Hapag-Lloyd Cruises also announced plans to return two of its cruise ships to service. The expedition cruise ship Hanseatic Inspiration will start sailing on July 31. Also, AIDA’s ship AIDAperla will sail from Hamburg on Aug. 5.
Also, Europe’s airline fleet is progressively returning to the skies despite COVID-19. For the 1st time since March daily flights increased to almost 15K in Europe.
The cruise industry has struggled to manage the coronavirus pandemic since the start, when the Diamond Princess, part of the cruise giant Carnival Corporation, moored in the Japanese harbor of Yokohama, Japan, amid an outbreak that eventually infected 712 people and killed nine of them. Even as warnings were issued about the dangers of cruise-ship travel, passengers kept boarding and ships kept sailing, as reported by The New York Times.
Diamond Princess cruise “failed” quarantine and ship became floating incubator for the coronavirus
