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Reports from the USA say that the cruise industry has renewed its call for cruise ships to be able to sail again, calling a new set of federal instructions issued last week as disappointing and unworkable.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued new technical instructions after many months of silence, but in a statement, CLIA called on the U.S. government to once again lift the Conditional Sail Order (CSO), rather than continue with these steps.

The CLIA described the technical instructions above as unduly burdensome, largely unworkable, and that they seem to reflect a zero-risk objective rather than the mitigation approach to COVID that is the basis for every other US sector of our society.

The technical instructions can be read in full by CLICKING HERE

CLIA says that there are glaring double standards facing the cruise industry compared to every other form of travel, adding, “The instructions are at odds with the approach the CDC and governments in other parts of the world apply to all other travel and tourism segments in mitigating the risk of COVID-19.”

They added, “On the same day CDC issued new onerous requirements for the cruise industry, five months after the original order, CDC issued relaxed guidance for domestic and international travel due to vaccination progress and recognition of the improved public health environment.”

CLIA reiterated not only its call to lift the CSO, but also reminded the CDC about the working examples of cruise ships that have been able to operate around the world with extremely low cases onboard, adding, “The irony is that today an American can fly to any number of destinations to take a cruise, but cannot board a ship in the U.S.”, with CLIA saying it believes a joint effort can restart sailings faster and with the health and safety in mind of all passengers, crew, and local communities than continuing with the CSO, adding, “CLIA urges the Administration to consider the ample evidence that supports lifting the CSO this month to allow for the planning of a controlled return to service this summer. If anything, the announcement last Friday is a clarion call for closer cooperation and coordination among stakeholders to achieve the President’s goal of reaching a ‘new normal’ by the Fourth of July.

CLAI added, “Working together, we can avoid the negative consequences that come when cruising, and the workers who support it, are not afforded the same opportunities as other workers in industries with far fewer practices in place to provide for public health and well-being.”

In the meantime, in Australia, procrastination in relation to the restart of cruising, even domestic cruising appears to continue.

A report by John Alwyn-Jones