The past week has been a wild one for cruising in the US: The cruise industry pleaded with the CDC to stop it's months of radio-silence on it's Conditional Sailing Order. The CDC then finally provided technical instructions as a 'next step', but with no clear end in sight. Some cruise lines announced they'd sail the Caribbean without the US support. NCL proposed US fully-vaccinated sailings in July. The Florida governor said that private business can't require vaccines.  With all this, cruising from the US remains uncertain, while packed bars, flights, and hotels have gone with little or no regulation. Now, the State of Florida announced that it is suing the federal government over the shutdown of the cruise industry... read more

Just a day after the CDC finally provided updated guidance on the next steps to return to cruising, one of the three largest cruise companies has taken a bigger step.  In a letter to CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky, Frank Del Rio (CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings) outlines the steps the COVID-19 safety measures the company’s three lines have taken, and explains how they plan to sail from the US starting in early July. read more

After pressure from politicians and the public came to a head over the past week, finally there are signs of potential progress on the return of cruising to from the US.  Following a call on Thursday with CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky and other officials, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava  seemed optimistic.  "We were very encouraged by our call today with CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Division Director Dr. Martin Cetron and the CDC team to discuss the safe return of cruising in the US." read more

As many of us start to see the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel”, when it comes to cruising from the US, the situation remains quite dark.  It’s not because of what the CDC or any government agency is doing, but what they’re not doing.  The Conditional Sail Order is stalled, the CDC doesn’t know what to do next, and you can help. read more