London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

US Cruise Ships Could Sail Again By July: Top Health Body

US Cruise Ships Could Sail Again By July: Top Health Body

The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) informed cruise companies on Wednesday of the requirements they would need to meet to begin sailing again.
Cruise ships may be able to resume sailing from ports in Florida in mid-July after being shut down for over a year by the coronavirus pandemic, according to new guidelines from US health authorities.

The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) informed cruise companies on Wednesday of the requirements they would need to meet to begin sailing again.

At least 98 percent of the crew and 95 percent of passengers will need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to the letter obtained by AFP on Thursday.

"Ships may now bypass simulated voyages and move directly to open water sailing with passengers if a ship attests that 98 percent of its crew and 95 percent of its passengers are fully vaccinated," the CDC said.

Cruise lines were asked to submit their plans "as soon as possible to maintain the timeline of passenger voyages by mid-July."

The multi-billion dollar cruise industry employs thousands of people in Florida and is critical to a state that relies largely on tourism.

The three largest cruise lines in the world -- Norwegian, Carnival and Royal Caribbean -- run operations out of south Florida.

Norwegian announced on April 5 that it would require proof of vaccination for passengers and crew in the hope that the CDC would lift the sailing ban in July.

A Norwegian spokesman said the company "is encouraged by the ongoing constructive dialogue (with the CDC) that resulted in recent meaningful modifications to previously issued technical guidelines and the incorporation of vaccines."

Jonathan Fishman, a Royal Caribbean spokesman, said the company was encouraged "that we now see a pathway to a healthy and achievable return to service."

A Carnival spokesperson said the company is still reviewing the new CDC guidelines.

Cruise operations were suspended on March 14, 2020 when the CDC issued a "no sail order" to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus.

Several ships had already had deadly outbreaks on board.

Some cruise ships resumed operations in Europe and elsewhere last year but the ban remained in place in the United States.

The CDC issued a roadmap in October for cruise ships to resume operations and updated it in April.

Didier Arino, head of the Protourisme consulting firm in Paris, told AFP this month that the pandemic has caused $48.3 billion in losses to the cruise industry and he doesn't expect it to resume normal activity until 2025.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×