Latest Cruise News – Will CDC Order Be Lifted?

Will the CDC allow cruises to resume before year-end? The CDC has a no sail order in place until October 31, 2020 at this time. So what makes us think the CDC order will not be extended past this date? Last week Royal Caribbean hinted that a big announcement was coming this week. Then Bahamas Paradise CEO announced they will resume cruising in December. We know cruise lines have set dates and then had to change them but it was his comment that perhaps held the key. “We’re very pleased with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) decision to lift its No Sail Order on October 31st, 2020,” Bahamas Paradise CEO Oneil Khosa said in a statement.

We all know that the situation with COVID continues to change and until it is formally announced by the CDC, no one can be sure when cruises will resume. There are also many unknowns. Will there be rapid testing, how many guests can each ship sail with & which ports will allow cruise ships to dock there? The cruise lines have already put new health & safety protocols into place, and we are confident the cruise lines will be adhering to whatever the CDC terms are in order to resume cruising safely.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) member lines stated last week that they are ready to start sailings and could have ready in 30 days or less.

Although Hawaii welcomed back trans-Pacific travelers without quarantines to island airports this past week, as long as arriving passengers have tested negative for COVID-19 72 hours prior to travel, the future of the cruise ship industry remains murky. NCL Cruises Pride of America sails the Hawaiian islands year-round, but it is looking like the port will not open in Hawaii for the remainder of 2020.

A Carnival Cruise Line ship, the Carnival Sensation, rescued 24 people, including two children, from a sinking boat 37 miles (about 60 kilometers) off the coast of Palm Beach, Florida. They were given food, water & blankets while awaiting a Coast Guard vessel.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 2021 is considering adding Mexican Riviera cruises to their line up. This could mean they would sail out Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego or San Francisco. Royal Caribbean remains the biggest U.S. brand without a west coast cruise presence, while rivals Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Princess Cruises have significant deployment sailing to the Mexican Riviera. Royal will have 4 ships in Alaska, do 1 or more could cruise the Mexican Riviera in the winter.

Windstar Cruises announced today that they have expanded their loyalty program. Cruisers will earn one point per cruise day for most bookings, 1.5 points per cruise day for bookings on Wind Class suites or Deluxe Suites on Star Plus Class, and 2 points per cruise day for Owner’s and Classic Suites on the Star Plus Class and the Bridge Suite on Wind Surf after you complete your first cruise.

The new Windstar Yacht Club program will have four tiers:

• One Star tier level (1 to 15 points), customers will get a 5% discount on laundry service, Wi-Fi and Windstar merchandise.
• Two Star tier level (16 to 39 points), customers will get all of the perks from the one star level, plus a 5% discount on shore excursions and beverage packages, plus a $50 per person onboard credit.
• Three Star tier level (40 to 89 points) receive a 10% discount for laundry service, Wi-Fi, shore excursions, and Windstar merchandise plus a $75 per person onboard credit.
• Four Star tier level (90-plus points), laundry and Wi-Fi are free, the discounts for shore excursions and Windstar merchandise increases to 15%, and the discount on beverage packages is 10%. The onboard credit increases to $100 per person.

Carnival Cruise Line is optimistic about resuming cruises in December out of Port Canaveral & Miami, but the Miami Herald reported that a U.S. District Judge may not allow it. Judge Patricia Seitz who has handled cases against the company for environmental crimes, announced she would require the company to comply with their probation obligations 60-days before ships re-enter U.S. waters. The issues range from failing to have the correct pollution-prevention equipment, lacking environmental spares, staffing issues, and faulty voyage planning. According to the judge, the company has failed to maintain these throughout their years on probation. This order would require each ship to carry certification regarding its environmental compliance status and serve a 60-day notification period before re-entering. Carnival Corporation lawyers scrambled to have a delay of at least 24 hours put in place so the company could review the judge’s order. Carnival Corporation owns Carnival Cruises, Princess Cruises, Holland America Cruises, Costa, Seabourn Cruises and Cunard Cruise Line.

Bahama Celebration Cruise line announced it will resume sailing with one ship. The cruise line plans on resuming operations on December 18th, 2020, with the Grand Classica cruise ship. The ship will sail between West Palm and Freeport. Their 2nd ship, the Grand Celebration will not begin cruising until sometime in early 2021.

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