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Cruise Industry Execs Meet with Health Officials to Discuss Restart Plans

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FILE PHOTO: Tourists enjoy a ride on a catamaran as cruise ship Carnival Magic is seen near the shores of Cozumel on October 17, 2014./File Photo

Cruise industry executives met with health experts and White House staff earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday, following criticism of its guidelines on restarting voyages.

The discussion, which centred around how the pandemic-battered industry could get back into business, comes after the CDC said passengers and crew would need COVID-19 vaccine shots and more frequent testing, but did not give a timeline on when it will lift its ban on cruises.

Carnival Corp, the industry’s largest player, had said the instructions were “unworkable” and threatened to shift the home ports of its cruise ships to other parts of the world if the United States did not allow it to start sailing.

Industry leaders showed their frustration with the guidelines relating to vaccination requirements and sought to set up a working group with industry and CDC, the agency said in a statement about the meeting that took place on Monday.

The CDC said it wanted to restart sailing in a phased approach but again did not provide a timeline.

The chief executives of Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean Group attended the Monday meeting, CNBC reported.

The companies did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

The state of Florida, where the three companies are based, had earlier this month filed a lawsuit against the CDC, demanding cruise ships be allowed to resume sailing.

“We welcome the CDC’s expressed commitment to working with the cruise industry… to address the changes in the science, including the impact of vaccines, that will move us toward our shared goal of responsibly resuming operations this summer,” the Cruise Lines International Association said in a statement.

White House hosts call with cruise line bosses to discuss Healthy Sail Panel proposals

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Cruise line bosses have held discussions with the White House over plans to resume sailing in a “safe and responsible manner”.
US vice president Mike Pence chaired a call with five cruise line executives; the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Healthy Sail Panel.
Carnival Corporation chief executive Arnold Donald; Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings president and chief executive Frank Del Rio; Royal Caribbean Group chairman and chief executive Richard Fain; Disney Signature Experience president Thomas Malzoum and MSC Cruise’s executive chairman Pierfrancesco Vago was present for the discussions, held yesterday (October 9).
A statement on the White House website said the call had focussed on “the impacts of the coronavirus on the cruise line industry and the maritime economy, the CDC’s No Sail Order, and the Cruise Lines International Association (Clia) and Healthy Sail Panel’s proposal to resume sailing operations in a safe and responsible manner.”
The Healthy Sail Panel has proposed 74 key steps towards the resumption of cruising, and since being announced in September, has received industry-wide adoption.
The proposals are now to be presented to the Coronavirus Task Force with a view to providing a recommendation to the president, Donald Trump, on the next steps on the CDC’s current No Sail Order which currently bans US-based cruising through until October 31.

Pence: Cruise Industry Delivers Comprehensive Proposal

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Mike Pence

The cruise industry delivered a comprehensive health plan to the federal government on Tuesday, according to Vice President Mike Pence, speaking at a Tuesday evening press conference at The White House.

The plan was not made immediately available, but Pence said the government would review it in the next 24 hours.

Pence added that the plan includes advanced screening, improved medical services aboard the ships, airlift evacuation and land-based care protocols, all at the expense of the cruise lines.

Pence said President Donald Trump had an objective to make cruise lines safer.

In addition, Pence said the vulnerable population should not take a cruise.

Later in the press conference, he was asked if a bailout was on the table for the cruise industry, and did not answer the question.

Meanwhile, a separate report said that California Governor Gavin Newsom was reviewing the state’s legal options in regards to restricting the cruise industry.