Even as other sectors of the economy awake from a COVID-imposed hibernation, the American cruise industry says it could be facing another “lost summer,” The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday (March 22).
“Other countries, including Singapore, Italy and the U.K., have authorized cruises or set a clear target date for them to set sail,” noted the report. “Almost 400,000 passengers have sailed since some countries first began allowing cruises in July 2020, according to the industry’s trade group. But to get started in the U.S., the cruise industry needs direction from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
The CDC revoked its no-sail order last fall in favor of a set of rules that cruise industry officials call confusing and impractical, like one that requires cruise lines to run “simulated trips” made up of volunteer guests. “I refer to it as the impossible-to-sail order,’ because no business could operate profitably,” Captain John Murray, Port Canaveral CEO, told the Journal.
The CDC said that additional guidance is on its way, designed to help cruise lines return to sea in a way that reduces COVID-19 risk among passengers and crew.
This news follows recent remarks by Carnival Cruise CEO Arnold Donald, who predicted that it may take another two years before his industry begins doing business at pre-pandemic levels. Even if his line gets all of its ships on the water by the end of next year, Donald said in a Financial Times interview, it will be with fewer ships, as Carnival retired 19 of them during the pandemic. Cruise ships will also face different obstacles in various port cities.
The cruise industry’s troubles are part of a larger struggle facing the entire travel industry, which ended 2020 with $1.1 trillion in losses, a 42 percent drop from 2019. Travel industry jobs fell as well, from 11.1 million in 2020 to 16.7 million the year before, the U.S. Travel Association announced last week.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More