11/07/2020
With ocean and river cruise lines temporarily suspending service around the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping track of the seemingly minute-by-minute changes to the cruise industry can be challenging.
Most cruise lines voluntarily paused sailings for the meantime after being faced with port closures; a lack of suitable infrastructure, including flights; and increased travel restrictions that change on a country-by-country basis.
Adding to voluntary suspensions, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a no sail order on April 9 for all cruise ships over 250 passengers and crew that operate in U.S. waters. The order is expected to remain in place until COVID-19 is no longer a public health emergency. Should 100 days from the official date of issue expire (bringing us to late July) and the COVID-19 pandemic still be an emergency, the CDC would have the option to extend the order.
We're keeping tabs on when each line expects to resume sailings, keeping in mind that for relevant cruise lines sailing in U.S. waters, the CDC order supersedes individual cruise line dates for a return to service.
Note that CLIA, the Cruise Line Industry Association which represents most cruise lines, has announced a further voluntary suspension of service from U.S. ports to September 15, making many of these return to service dates invalid. This suspension only applies to ships leaving from U.S. ports