Tag Archives: CDC

US ‘no sail’ order for cruises extended until October 31

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A ‘no sail’ order imposed on US cruise lines due to Covid-19 has been extended by a month until October 31.
Reports had suggested that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wanted the order to be extended until February 15, 2021.
However, the new edict in a 29-page document from the CDC came as cruise industry body Clia in the US volunteered to continue to suspension of sailings until the end of October.
The CDC had previously extended the order first made in March, to April, July and September “to protect public health”.
A Clia US spokesperson said: “We look forward to engaging in a thoughtful and productive dialogue with our partners and regulators in the United States to return to cruising in the region.”
The latest move follows cruise lines putting forward series of health and safety protocols as part of lobbying efforts to allow a return of operations. These include crew and passenger testing, the wearing of masks, enhanced cruise ship ventilation, stringent response procedures and shore excursion protocols to make it safe to sail during the pandemic.
Efforts are also being made in the UK to persuade the government to lift its ban on cruising from British ports at a time when limited sailings have resumed in the Mediterranean by companies such as MSC Cruises, Costa and Tui Cruises.
Clia president and chief executive Kelly Craighead said: “Based on what we are seeing in Europe, and following months of collaboration with leading public health experts, scientists, and governments, we are confident that these measures will provide a pathway for the return of limited sailings from the US before the end of this year.”
The extension of the US cruise ban came as the CDC revealed 3,689 confirmed cases of the virus on cruise ships and 41 deaths between March 1 and September 28.
The data also showed a total of 102 outbreaks on 124 ships, meaning more than 82% of ships within US jurisdiction were affected by Covid-19 during this time.
Four vessels still have “ongoing or resolving” Covid-19 outbreaks on board.
“Recent outbreaks on cruise ships overseas continue to demonstrate that reduced capacity alone has not diminished transmission,” the CDC said.
This highlighted the need for “further action prior to cruise ships safely resuming passenger operations in the United States”.
CDC said it supported a decision by Clia and its members to voluntarily extend the suspension of operations for passenger cruise ship travel through to October 31.
“CDC further supports the decisions of numerous cruise ship operators that have voluntarily cancelled scheduled voyages involving US ports beyond the date specified by Clia, including Cunard, Crystal Cruises, Holland America, Oceania Cruises, Princess Cruise Lines, Viking Ocean Cruises and Windstar Cruises.
“However, because not all cruise ship operators subject to the no sail order are members of Clia or have made similar commitments, CDC is extending its no sail order to continue to protect the public’s health by ensuring that passenger operations do not resume prematurely.”

MSC Grandiosa Departs Genoa For First Cruise With New Protocols

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MSC Grandiosa

The MSC Grandiosa departed Genoa on Sunday night for the start of MSC’s first cruise since it paused operations in March due to COVID-19.

Sailing with trimmed occupancy and 10 per cent of staterooms set aside for isolation, MSC’s flagship will visit Civitavecchia/Rome, Naples, Palermo and Valletta.

Gianni Onorato, MSC Cruises’ CEO commented: “It is a real pleasure for me to be here and sail onboard the first of our ships to return to service and to be able to welcome back our guests. Our main goal during these last months has been to put in place the right measures that will protect the health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit. But at the same time, we have worked to ensure that we are able to provide our guests with a cruise holiday that they can enjoy and still experience all of the elements that they know and love from entertainment and activities onboard through to protected ashore visits.”

MSC becomes the third big-ship line to restart operations, following TUI Cruises, which restarted from Germany in July, and Dream Cruises, sailing in Taiwan.

In addition, MSC clarified it will only restart operations in the U.S. when the time is right, following approval by the CDC and other relevant authorities across the region in observance of their requirements and guidelines

A second MSC ship, the MSC Magnifica, will debut into operation later this month sailing cruises to the Eastern Mediterranean.

Among health, protocols are universal health screening of guests prior to embarkation that comprises three comprehensive steps: a temperature check, a health questionnaire and a COVID-19 swab test. Depending on the screening results and according to the guest’s medical or travel history, a secondary health screening or testing will take place. Any guest who tests positive displays symptoms or a temperature will be denied boarding.

The ship will also see elevated sanitation and cleaning measures supported by the introduction of new cleaning methods, the use of hospital-grade disinfectant products and the sanitation of the air on board with UV-C light technology that kills 99.97% of microbes.

Ongoing health monitoring will also be conducted throughout the cruise. Guests and crew will have their temperature checked daily either when they return from ashore or at dedicated stations around the ship to monitor the health status of every guest and crew member.

Guests and crew will only go ashore as part of an organized MSC excursion.

Holland America and Seabourn extend cruise cancellations

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Holland America Line | Bolsover Cruise Club

Holland America Line and Seabourn are the latest cruise lines to cancel sailings.

Holland America said it would pause its sailings on departures through Dec. 15, joining sister brand Princess Cruises. Holland America had already cancelled select sailings in Hawaii in early 2021.

Seabourn had announced a stop in its operations through Nov. 20, but now it said that the Seabourn Encore will be paused through Nov. 25, the Seabourn Ovation through Dec. 20 and the Seabourn Sojurn through May 24, which includes its world cruise.

The CDC’s latest No Sail Order expires at the end of September, but CLIA lines have agreed to voluntarily pause operations in the U.S. until at least Oct. 31. Some, like Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ brands and Crystal Cruises, have already extended their cancellations.