A letter sent to the cruise industry by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on 28th April said a mid-July start up was possible, provided certain requirements are met. The letter was first shared by USA Today, and provides a much more realistic outlook [Read more...]
Royal Caribbean International (RCI) has suspended incoming crew movements from India with immediate effect, according to the Crew Centre. The company has decided to temporary cancel all assignments for shipboard employees from India or people who reside in the country. According to a letter sent to [Read more...]
The UK Department of Transport has issued protocols for UK cruises under the Government’s current roadmap. No earlier than 17th May, under Roadmap 3, domestic cruises will be permitted in England. They will be able to operate with up to 1,000 people or 50% capacity, [Read more...]
Bureau Veritas (BV) has been contracted by Carnival Corp to provide health and safety services to facilitate the return to cruising and to protect passengers and crew. The support provided, which includes verification of safety and hygiene measures, will be based upon the expertise and [Read more...]
The CEOs of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH), Carnival and Royal Caribbean have made a direct appeal to replace the US Government's phased-in approach to sailings from US ports. A meeting was held with the White House COVID response team on 16th April, according to a report on CNBC. The CEOs stressed [Read more...]
The CRUISE Act was introduced aimed at overriding the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mandate to get cruise ships sailing again from US ports. However, US Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash) (pictured) managed to block the bill from passing through the Senate. The Careful [Read more...]
On 8th April, under the direction of Governor Ron DeSantis (pictured), Florida said it was to sue the Biden Administration in a federal district court to overturn what it alleged to be the unlawful CDC Conditional Sailing Order (CSO). This unprecedented year-long lockdown of an [Read more...]
The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has expressed disappointment in the CDC’s latest instructions (see ICSI website for the CDC announcement). In a statement the association said; “We share the priority of the Biden Administration to control the virus—and commend the significant advancements made in [Read more...]
Idle cruise ships have started to help evacuate some of St Vincent’s population caught up in the recent volcanic activity. At least one Royal Caribbean International ship has taking some of the estimated 16,000 evacuees to St Lucia. Carnival Cruise Line and Celebrity Cruises also [Read more...]
The UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has issued a safety bulletin to the cruise industry to highlight the importance of using anchoring equipment within its intended design parameters. Due to COVID-19, many cruise vessels have anchored off the UK’s south coast. Since October, 2020, [Read more...]