Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody are keeping all options open to restart the cruise industry in Florida, and are discussing legal strategies, said the Governor, speaking at Port Canaveral during a roundtable discussion on Friday.
“The Attorney General and I have been discussing what potential options we have on the legal side,” he said.
“Let’s appeal to the CDC and let’s try to get the guidance without having to go down that road,” he said. “Obviously at some point, we need a way forward.”
DeSantis noted a strong effort in 2020 to lift the CDC’s No Sail Order, and admitted he thought they had a plan in place to have it lifted by the end of the year.
“The previous administration was supportive of doing it, but the CDC was not. I think what we’ve seen is a continuation of that,” said DeSantis.
“If you keep this No Sail Order in place, Americans are still going to be taking cruises, they are just going to be taking them from the Bahamas or Bermuda,” he added.
Two-thirds of those who take cruises are willing to do so again within the next year, new Clia research has found.
The US-based association’s 2021 State of the Cruise Industry Outlook also found 58% of those who had never cruised were likely to “in the next few years”.
Clia members plan to debut 16 new ocean ships in 2021, resulting in a total of 270 Clia Cruise Line ocean ships in operation by the end of next year.
The report confirms North America as the biggest market, accounting for 15.4 million passengers cruising in 2019, out of a total of 29.7 million passengers worldwide.
“For the cruise community, there is no denying that 2020 was not the year we anticipated,” said Kelly Craighead, Clia president and chief executive.
The report highlighted the jobs impact of Covid-19. It estimates that in 2020, every 1% loss of cruisers resulted in a reduction of 9,100 industry-related jobs.
“Each day of the suspension caused direct and indirect industry losses of 2,500 jobs,” the report said.
The impact on destinations was also investigated, with passengers spending an average $385 in port cities before boarding a cruise and $100 in each port destination during a voyage.
P&O Cruises Australia earlier this week announced the next stage of its fleet transformation with both the Pacific Adventure and Pacific Encounter (ahead of schedule), arriving in the first half of 2021 in a mark of confidence in the expected rebound of the local cruise industry, according to the company.
The ships are the current Golden and Star Princess. The Pacific Adventure will begin sailing from Sydney on April 30 next year and the delivery of Pacific Encounter is being brought forward by at least six months to ensure the local fleet is poised to drive the resurgence of cruising at the right time, the company said.
The Pacific Encounter is scheduled to call Brisbane home from May 7, 2021 – but additional voyages may be added even earlier, depending on the timing of the return of cruising in Australia.
“The arrival of these much-anticipated ships, Pacific Adventure and Pacific Encounter, in the first half of next year represents a step-change for the fleet and a sign of confidence in the market,” P&O Cruises Australia President Sture Myrmell said.
“This investment in our fleet is a demonstration that P&O Cruises Australia is ready to lead the industry in bouncing back when government and public health authorities agree it is appropriate to begin sailing again with protocols in place.
“It is also a mark of respect for our many loyal guests as well as crew, fresh food suppliers, entertainers and musicians, shore tour operators and port logistics partners who are looking to be a part of the resurgence of the Australian cruise sector over time.
“These have been challenging times for the entire community and, for our part, we have sought to use this operational pause to fast-track our planned fleet refresh. Our pathway to a return to cruising may be unclear but we wanted to give our guests confidence about our future fleet and our commitment to Australia and New Zealand,” Myrmell said.
Key Takeaways:
The Pacific Adventure will call Sydney home. Her first voyage is a three-night Short Break scheduled for April 30, 2021.
The Pacific Adventure was originally planned to debut in November this year but was delayed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Brisbane’s new international cruise terminal will become the new homeport for the Pacific Encounter. At this stage, her first voyage is scheduled to depart Brisbane on May 7, 2021, and is a three-night Short Break. Additional voyages may be added earlier, the company said.
The Pacific Explorer will be homeporting from Auckland, New Zealand from February 6, 2021, to her last voyage on April 25, 2021.
The company, citing COVID-19, also said the watersides will be installed at a later date.
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