MIAMI — Cruising from the U.S. will remain suspended through Dec. 31, an industry group announced Tuesday.
The announcement by the Cruise Lines Industry Association followed a move Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control that lifted a seven-month ban prohibiting passenger sailings in U.S. waters.
According to Friday's CDC announcement, lines will have to comply with a series of complex health protocols — some suggested by the lines themselves — to protect both passengers and crew before they will be allowed to sail. Those include passenger and crew testing, trial sailings proving the new measures are effective, and agreements with ports regarding land-based medical care.
On Tuesday, CLIA announced that its members — accounting for 95% of global oceangoing cruise capacity — would extend the cruise hiatus until Dec. 31 as members worked to comply with the new CDC requirements. Previously most CLIA members — including Miami-based Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings — had suspended sailings until Dec. 1. Norwegian, a CLIA member, made a similar announcement Monday.
In its statement Tuesday, CLIA wrote, "As we work to operationalize a path forward, our members have agreed to extend our existing suspension of U.S. operations through December 31. This action will provide additional time to align the industry's extensive preparation of health protocols with the implementation requirements. ... We recognize the devastating impact that the pandemic continues to have on the 421,000 Americans whose livelihoods are connected directly to cruise operations. We will work with urgency to advance a responsible return to cruising while maintaining a focus on effective, science-based measures to protect public health."
According to a Miami Herald investigation, more than 3,900 cases of COVID-19 have been associated with cruises, resulting in 111 deaths.
The industry association previously committed to testing all passengers and crew prior to sailing. But as of last week, no decision had been reached about the type of COVID tests that will be used and how these tests will be administered.
At stake is the $7 billion cruise economy linked to PortMiami and thousands of longshoremen, shuttle drivers, travel planners and crew left unemployed because of the ban.
Nationally, the cruise industry generates more than $53 billion in annual economic activity and supports more than 420,000 American jobs, according to industry estimates. The cruise suspension has cost more than $25 billion in economic activity and more than 164,000 American jobs, according to CLIA.
Most major cruise companies are headquartered in Miami, home of the world's busiest cruise port and the world's three largest cruise companies: Carnival Corp., parent of nine cruise brands; Royal Caribbean, parent of four cruise brands; and Norwegian, parent of three brands.
