The CDC has begun asking for recommendations from both cruise operators and employees, as well as the general public, on how to best return cruise ships to active service. So far, more than 2,000 responses have been submitted, and over 1.7k are available for the public to read.
The CDC’s No Sail ban is in place until the end of September, and the Cruise Lines International Association has vowed not to sail until at least November.
The good news is that some cruise operators are working hard to figure out real, tangible ways to make cruising return. For example, Virgin Voyages has pledged to cap capacity on their ships, check temps regularly, and use contract tracing if needed, among other things. While Norwegian and Royal Caribbean have teamed up to form an expert health panel to try and create standards and guidelines to allow cruising to resume in a manner that’s safe for both passengers and crew.
If you’d like to make your voice heard, you can also comment to the CDC here, and let them know what you think about the future of cruising.