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Carnival Cruise Line in discussions with CDC to return to sailing in July

Carnival President Christine Duffy speaks with NBC’s Lester Holt

Carnival President Christine Duffy spoke with Lester Holt, host of NBC Nightly News about cruises possibly restarting in July.

NBCNews reported, “Carnival Cruise Line is in talks with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is “working towards” restarting sailing in July, Carnival President Christine Duffy said Monday.

With their close confines and larger share of passengers who are older and more vulnerable, cruise ships were the sites of some of the first coronavirus outbreaks outside China.

 

Cruises were largely shut down under a CDC “No Sail Order” from March to October. Some cruises resumed under conditional sail orders in the fall. On May 5, the CDC issued updated guidance allowing cruise ships to conduct “trial” voyages and apply for certificates for restricted passenger trips.

Carnival — the largest cruise line in the world by revenue, bringing in $8 billion annually — confirmed that it is in active discussions with the CDC about reopening after a hiatus.

“We are again,” Duffy said about the negotiations in an interview. “So for a while we weren’t, and we respect that. Obviously, at the beginning, the focus really was on getting vaccine in arms, but they’ve come back to the table with us, and in early spring, I think, in earnest with us and with other inner-agency groups, to really get clear on what guidelines and protocols are going to be required for us to sail again from U.S. ports.”

A key point in the discussions is the requirement for passengers and crew members to be fully vaccinated. The CDC has said cruise ships can resume open-water sailing if 98 percent of crew members and 95 percent of passengers are fully vaccinated.”

It still remains to be seen if the CDC will work with the cruise industry to allow cruising to resume, but we can remain hopeful!

Click on the link for the full story and video of Christine Duffy’s interview:

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/travel/carnival-cruise-line-active-discussions-cdc-return-sailing-july-n1267707

About Scott Lara

President of MilitaryFares.com. Navy Veteran, Travel Agent, love to cruise!

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