CDC Ends Cruise No-Sail Order October 31, Allowing Safeguards & Simulated Cruise Testing

Ok, cruise fans! We are one step closer to sailing away on the big blue! CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) is ending the cruise no-sail order as of October 31, 2020. No, this doesn’t mean we can grab our Mickey ears and board the Disney Cruise Line on November 1… but it does allow for safeguards and simulated cruise testing to begin.

As shared by OrlandoSentinel: The CDC released on Friday a new “Framework for Conditional Sailing Order” that outlines steps cruise lines can take to get back to voyages with passengers from U.S. ports.

The CDC’s no-sail order began on March 14 and had been extended three times, but will now end on Oct. 31. Cruise ships cannot simply begin sailing with passengers on Nov. 1, though. Instead, the CDC framework calls for testing and safeguards for crew members, and then simulated cruises to make sure the lines can manage COVID-19 risk.

“CDC will ensure cruise ship operators have adequate health and safety protections for crew members while these cruise ship operators build the laboratory capacity needed to test future passengers,” reads the framework order. Then the lines will have “simulated voyages to test cruise ship operators’ ability to mitigate COVID-19 risk, certification for ships that meet specific requirements, and a phased return to cruise ship passenger voyages in a manner that mitigates COVID-19 risk among passengers, crew members, and U.S. communities.”

If lines get through those steps, they can apply to sail with passengers, who will be required to take and pass with negative results COVID-19 tests on both the day they arrive and the day they depart, the CDC states.

Source: OrlandoSentinel