TRAVEL NOTICE: Learn more about COVID-19

CDC Extends Its No-Sail Order to September 30

Exterior on Norwegian Breakaway

July 16, 2020

Aaron Saunders

Contributor

By Aaron Saunders

Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter

(7:05 p.m. EDT) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention has issued an extension of its No Sail Order that was due to expire July 24, extending it until September 30, 2020, for all cruises out of U.S. ports of call.

The order, which

first was issued March 14

and extended for 100 days in April, comes on the heels of Cruise Lines International Association, the industry's largest trade organization, announcing that its member lines

would voluntarily suspend all cruise

operations until September 15.

The CDC notes its order is in effect until either: the expiration of the Secretary of Health and Human Services' declaration that COVID-19 constitutes a public health emergency; the CDC director rescinds or modifies the order based on specific public health or other considerations; or until September 30.

"CDC supports the decision by the Cruise Line

sic

International Association (CLIA) and its members to voluntarily extend the suspension of operation for passenger cruise ship travel," notes

the CDC report

. "However, because not all cruise ship operators subject to the No Sail Order are members of CLIA or have made similar commitments, CDC is extending its No Sail Order to ensure that passenger operations do not resume prematurely."

Which Lines Are Affected?

Carnival Panorama (Photo: Carnival Cruise Line)

As with the CDC's previous guidance, the No Sail Order affects vessels with the capacity to carry more than 250 people on voyages with overnight stays sailing from, to or within U.S jurisdictional waters are affected.

Most of the lines that would be affected by this ruling -- Carnival, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean brands -- have already voluntarily suspended sailing into September and beyond.

What About International Cruises?

International cruise operations are not affected at this time, as they fall outside of the jurisdiction of the CDC. Only voyages from, to or within the United States are affected.

New verbiage in the CDC's extension, though, makes it clear that ships operating outside of the United States cannot enter any U.S. waterway or call on any U.S. port while the CDC's No Sail Order is in effect.

What Progress Has Been Made For Cruise to Resume?

The Balcony Cabin on Norwegian Bliss (Photo: Cruise Critic)

The CDC states it has spent roughly 38,000 hours on the cruise ship COVID-19 response since March 14. It also says other government agencies, including Health and Human Services, additionally have invested thousands of hours.

"CDC continues to have regular conversations by phone and email with cruise lines, often daily," according to the CDC.

The CDC, though, places much of the onus for the continued suspension of service squarely on the cruise lines, citing myriad infractions in social distancing protocols during the time since sailings have been suspended.

The CDC was also critical of cruise lines that attempted to transfer crewmembers outside of U.S. waters while noting that only one cruise line -- Bahamas Paradise -- had met the criteria set forth on its color-coded crew repatriation chart.

Numerous lines, like Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises, utilized their private islands in the Bahamas to sail crewmembers to their home countries when the CDC prevented repatriation by air.

"Alleged instances of non-compliance included not adhering to social distancing protocols; unauthorized crew transfers while outside of U.S. waters; not submitting weekly surveillance data (through the EDC form); not relocating all crew to single-occupancy cabins with private bathrooms; not cancelling all social gatherings; and not closing all crew bars, gyms, or other group settings," the CDC report stated.

Many of these recommendations would be difficult to adhere to on ships, particularly when crew morale is at a low ebb and repatriation efforts have been ongoing.

"Lack of Consensus Among Cruise Ship Operators and Need for Additional Industry-led Efforts Regarding Safely Resuming Passenger Operations" is the headline of one subhead of the CDC document issued July 16.

The CDC notes that for the period from March 1 to July 10, a total of 2,973 COVID-19 cases or "COVID-like illnesses" were found on cruise ships, in addition to 34 deaths.

COVID-19 cases in the United States

are now increasing

at a rate of 63,000 new infections per day.

Cruise Critic will update this story with more information as it emerges. A list of currently expected resumption of service dates

can be found here.

How was this article?

Popular with cruisers like you

Which Cruise Ships Will Be Scrapped Or Taken Out of Service Because of the COVID-19 Pandemic?

(Updated 1:28 p.m. EDT) -- Faced with declining revenues and a lack of passengers during the global COVID-10 pandemic, some cruise lines are taking an unpopular but necessary step: Selling off older vessels for scrap.

Most modern cruise ships have service lives of 40 years or more. While it is not uncommon to see cruise ships built in the 1970's and 1980's go to the breakers, older vessels are usually transferred first to another, smaller cruise operator -- a market that is often referred to as "secondhand tonnage."

It's more unusual is to see relatively young vessels head to the breakers. Yet that is precisely what is beginning to happen, due to the coronavirus pandemic. On June 25,

Early Efforts To Resume Cruises Fall Prey to COVID-19, Lessons Learned

(2:15 p.m. EDT ) -- Last week was a discouraging one for cruisers, with COVID-19 cases popping up on the few small ship and international lines that have resumed service.

Norway, where cruising had re-emerged first from the pandemic, has put a two-week docking ban on ships with more than 100 people after Hurtigruten spawned an outbreak that is now past 50 infected passengers and crew. SeaDream I passengers were also forced to quarantine, after a passenger from a previous sailing tested positive for COVID-19.

Despite French Polynesia having some of the most rigorous COVID-19 testing requirements for entry, an American passenger turned up positive, forcing

CroisiEurope Resumes Bordeaux Sailings: First River Cruise Line To Welcome Non-Domestic Passengers

CroisiEurope has resumed sailings through the French wine region of Bordeaux -- and confirmed British passengers will be welcome back onboard from next month.

Europe's largest river cruise line operates more than 50 ships and canal barges, is already offering sailings to people living in mainland Europe.

To date, other lines -- including German-based A-Rosa, Nicko and Viva -- have started operating selected itineraries that are only available to domestic passengers.

Cruise Critic is onboard this week's CroisiEurope sailing -- with 124 cruisers from France, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco and Northern Ireland --

Royal Caribbean Releases Q2 Earnings; New Cruise Ships Delayed 10 Months

(2 p.m. EDT) -- Royal Caribbean Group released its second-quarter earnings results on Monday, detailing a net loss of $1.6 billion and announcing that most newbuild projects will be delayed by approximately 10 months.

The Group, which counts Azamara, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Silversea among its portfolio of cruise line brands, also gave an update on its Spanish subsidiary Pullmantur and revealed that demand for bookings across the Group remains "within historic ranges" for 2021, particularly for the second quarter and beyond.

"We continue to take substantial actions to bolster our financial position," said Jason Liberty, Royal Caribbean Group executive vice president and CFO. "We

MSC Given Green Light To Restart Cruises In the Mediterranean This Month

(12:15 p.m. EDT) -- MSC Cruises has been given the green light by Italian authorities to resume limited cruises in the Mediterranean this month aboard MSC Grandiosa and MSC Magnifica.

MSC's flagship, MSC Grandiosa, will return to service on August 16, offering voyages to the Western Mediterranean from Genoa. The slightly-smaller MSC Magnifica enters service from Bari on August 29, where it will sail primarily to the Eastern Mediterranean.

Both vessels will initially offer cruises only for Schengen (European Union) residents and will travel throughout Italy, Greece and Malta. The Greek and Maltese governments have also reviewed and signed-off on MSC's restart plans, according to the co

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Has No Plans to Sell Its Ships

(1:05 p.m. EDT) -- Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) President and CEO Frank Del Rio announced it has no plans to sell any of its ships from its three cruise brands, as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

"We absolutely have no plans to divest of any of our vessels," Del Rio said during NCLH's second quarter earnings call with investors and media Thursday morning.

The corporation, which counts Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania and Regent Seven Seas as its brands, reported an adjusted net loss of $666.4 million in its second quarter. Due to the complete suspension of sailings during the quarter, revenue decreased to just $16.9 million across all brands, compared with $1.7 bi