Before the entire cruise industry shutdown, Royal Caribbean had lots of plans for the next few years, but those have since been curtailed for economic reasons.

Nonetheless, Royal Caribbean will push ahead with at least two projects based on comments from the Port of Galveston Port Director.

Rodger Rees talked at a webinar about the short term future of the Port of Galveston, and he said Royal Caribbean outlined the top two port project priorities for the cruise line.

Royal Caribbean was forced to delay construction of a brand new terminal by a year.  Despite the major setbacks financially, Royal Caribbean remains committed to the Port of Galveston cruise terminal project, as well as the Freeport, Bahamas port expansion.

Mr. Rees said he was told by "the President of Royal Caribbean" that the cruise line had about 20 projects on the drawing board prior to the global health crisis, and they have whittled it down to two projects.

"One of them is us, here in Galveston. And then the other one is actually a a development over Freeport, Bahamas."

The project in Freeport that Mr. Rees alluded to in his conversation is the presumed purchase of the Grand Lucayan resort and Freeport Harbour project.

"The one hundred million dollar contract with Royal Caribbean is still on the table. We're having conversations with them right now to start construction in April."

"April 1, we're slated for construction to begin on the new cruise terminal."

Mr. Rees' comments echo that of previous statements where Royal Caribbean has indicated to him that they are onboard to begin construction.

At a meeting in December 2020, Mr. Rees said Cruise Terminal 3 is still scheduled to begin construction in April 2021 so that it can be ready to open in October 2022. 

"They revealed to me that they had, in fact, set aside some equity on their balance sheet, encumbered some equity on their balance sheet for the cruise terminal, construction and other work."

The new Terminal 3 in Galveston will be built on 10 acres of land at Pier 10, and will be used exclusively by Royal Caribbean.

Vaccine is the key factor

Mr. Rees also talked about the role of the COVID-19 vaccine, and he believes it will be the major factor to move things forward.

"I think the biggest I think the biggest thing that's going to help the cruising start back up again is obviously going to be the vaccine."

"The cruise lines are starting to lean towards that as the as the key factor to starting up."

Mr. Rees said the cruise lines and the ports are working on a series of agreements to ensure medical care is adequate to meet the needs.

"Covid's here. vaccine's not going to eradicate it 100 percent."

"Every now and then you're probably going to get one or two, three cases on these cruise ships. The important thing is not to get 50 to 500 cases on them."

"They're doing the same thing on the cruise lines that we'll be doing here in airports and what we do in our daily life, distancing and masking."

The man who dropped his granddaughter from the window of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship has been sentenced three years’ probation.

Salvatore “Sam” Anello plead guilty to negligent manslaughter in October 2020, and accepted a settlement that would allow for a reduced sentence. His sentencing was delayed in December 2020 and rescheduled to February 2021.

Mr. Anello will serve his probation from his home state.

In July 2019, 18-month-old Chloe Wiegand fell to her death after her grandfather dropped her from an open window on Freedom of the Seas.

Initially Mr. Anello claimed he did not know the window was open and said he would not plead guilty after his granddaughter fell from a top deck of Freedom of the Seas.  He then changed his plea in order to avoid jail time and serve probation instead.

According to the maternal grandfather's testimony, Chloe asked be raised up by her grandfather. He put her on a rail by a window, thinking the glass would hold her. However, the window was open.

Royal Caribbean said that surveillance video shows Anello leaning out the window for about eight seconds before lifting the girl by and out of the open window for 34 seconds before he lost his grip. 

After the initial accident occurred, Royal Caribbean issued a statement that the company was "deeply saddened by the tragic incident."

"Our hearts go out to the family. We have made our team available to assist them with the resources they need. Out of respect for their privacy, we do not plan to comment further on the incident."

The parents of Chloe have an ongoing civil case against Royal Caribbean.

We have a new update to share of Royal Caribbean's next new cruise ship, Odyssey of the Seas.

The Meyer Werft shipyard released a new photo of Odyssey of the Seas at her outdoor dock, with plenty of snow seen around the ship.

Meyer Werft posts a new photo about once a week to give the public a look at the general progress being made.

In addition to a photo of the ship, we also have a look at progress inside.

The roboscreens were delivered and installed in Two70 aboard the ship.

Royal Caribbean International Vice President of Entertainment Nick Weir shared photos of the giant 36-axis robotic video screens on Twitter.

Mr. Weir indicated that the screens are installed and activated, and they are ready for the new shows planned for the venue.

Read more: New show announced for Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas

Roboscreens are what Royal Caribbean calls the six 100” video screens attached to six industrial robots, developed by ABB RoboScreens.

A RoboScreen is a graphical screen mounted to the arm of an ABB articulated arm robot, which creates a unique viewer experience by bringing virtually unlimited, 6-axis movement to the video media. Available in various sizes, the Two70° RoboScreens feature six ABB IRB 6620 robots, each holding a 100” diagonal Daktronics LED screen.

On Royal Caribbean's Quantum-class ships, the RoboScreens are stored in the ceiling when not in use but during shows in Two70, the RoboScreens extend down on the gantry to a position above the stage, displaying unique video and imagery while performing choreographed movements, all custom produced for the specific performance.  

On the Quantum-class, the RoboScreens will periodically assemble in various formations, such as six screens in a row to form one continuous, long screen; a three by two stack to form one big square screen; or a serpentine row, much like a ‘W’ and a ‘V’ strung together.

Once complete, Odyssey of the Seas will join Royal Caribbean's fleet as the second Quantum Ultra class cruise ship and split her time between Europe and North America.

Odyssey will feature a number of firsts onboard, including the first Quantum Class ship with Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar, a Playmakers Bar location in the SeaPlex, a revamped Adventure Ocean and two-level pool deck.

About a day after Carnival Cruise Line posted its list of new health protocols for when cruises restart, they removed it from their website.  

Carnival posted on Friday their new rules that include wearing masks, social distancing, and restricting shore excursions. 

By Saturday, the protocols were taken down from their website and replaced with basic health requirements stipulated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  

In the limited time the rules were posted, it generated a lot of comments from cruise fans in support and in frustration with the rules. 

Read more: Why shore excursions are the big change to cruises you aren't thinking about

According to Cruise Radio, Carnival says the rules were posted early and are not complete. 

"In our haste to keep guests and travel agents informed, we posted some information that was not finalized. As we have said previously, guests should expect [mask-wearing], testing, distancing and other protocols. We intend to provide more details over the coming weeks as we work to resume operations."

The new rules were similar to many of the new health protocols utilized by the few cruise ships able to restart operations, including Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas in Singapore.

Avalanche of opinions of new rules

In the brief period of time the rules were posted on Carnival's site, there were plenty of opinions by cruise fans on what they thought of the protocols.

Hundreds of comments were posted on social media, including the RoyalCaribbeanBlog Facebook page.

A vocal group of comments came from those who flat out refuse to wear a mask on a cruise ship.  These cruisers have been largely upset masks are required in places like the pool deck, or even at all.

"I am NOT going on a cruise if I have to wear the mask," said Ben Breslin.

"As badly as we want to cruise, there is no way I’m wearing a mask or jumping through all these hoops to do it," added Dawn Thompson.

Read more: What is the best mask to wear on a cruise ship?

Many others were eager to get back onboard and willing to do what it takes to get cruises going again.

"I totally agree to all of these conditions," Christine Dale said.

"I’m ready for it all BRING IT ON!" said Tawny Simone Garcia-Berotte

Emerson Pratt thought the rules were what we should all expect, "I don’t think there is anything there we weren’t expecting. I think this is probably the standard all will adopt with additional protocols added depending on the cruise line/ship/country."

Still waiting on Royal Caribbean's rules

Whether or not Carnival's health protocols are going to include all of this or not, Royal Caribbean has yet to reveal their health protocols for cruises outside of Singapore.

The new protocols will be crafted by the Healthy Sail Panel, a joint venture between Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.

Many expect Royal Caribbean's rules to be very similar to the protocols on Quantum of the Seas, with a few tweaks that are not specific to Singapore's laws.

In summer 2020, the Healthy Sail Panel came up with 74 recommendations for cruise ships to operate safely during the health crisis, and they have since become the cornerstone of the cruise industry's approach to a healthy return to sailing.  

The next step is to turn those recommendations into cruise line policies.

Read more: 5 things you've probably overlooked with the new cruise protocols

Happy weekend! We hope you are in the midst of a wonderful weekend full of things to do to pass the time between cruises.  We have a summary of all of this week's Royal Caribbean news in case you missed any of it!

The cruise world was surprised when Canada announced a year-long ban on cruise ships from its waters.

Canada's Minister of Transport announced all cruise vessels are banned from Canadian waters until February 28, 2022.

According to Canada's government, cruise ships, "pose a risk to our health care systems."

Not only does the ban affect Alaska cruises, but New England cruises in the fall visit Canadian ports as well during the popular leaf peeping season.

Just like Alaska cruises, New England cruises rely on a stop in Canada to make the visit legal under U.S. law.

Royal Caribbean News

• Royal Caribbean releases Spring 2022-2023 deployment schedule
• CDC hasn't provided technical instructions to cruises lines four months after lifting the No Sail Order
• Royal Caribbean removes 2021 Alaska and Canada cruises from website
• Carnival announced new health protocols including masks, social distancing, testing and more
• Florida Ports: Significant cruise ship numbers may take another year to return
• Mailbag: What's worth paying extra for on a cruise?
• Save up to 45% off pre-cruise add-ons with Royal Caribbean's new sale
• 10 ways to overcome common cruise ship mistakes
• Yes, it does sometimes snow on cruise ships
• What you need to know about visiting Barbados on a cruise ship
• What is the best mask to wear on a cruise ship?
• Odyssey of the Seas construction photo update

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 392nd episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available and this week, Matt talks about cruise ship rumors he hears all the time these days.

Having seen so many of these discussions on social media, there seems to be a few of these "predictions" that are passed around as the truth. Here is a list of some commonly shared cruise ship rumors that have not been verified or announced by Royal Caribbean.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! We’d appreciate it.

New RCB Video: Unwritten rules of going on a cruise ship

Have you subscribed to the Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel? We share some great videos there regularly, all about taking a Royal Caribbean cruise! This week, we are sharing our latest video — Unwritten rules of going on a cruise ship — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

Royal Caribbean Group CEO admits he still doesn't know when cruises will resume

Not even the head of Royal Caribbean Group is sure when cruises will restart in great numbers.

Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain provided a new video update where he talked about the current state of affairs related to the global health crisis, as well as addressing cruises resuming.

Towards the end of this new video update, he tackled the question he is most commonly asked: "when cruising will resume in strength?".

While we wait for Royal Caribbean to reveal their health protocols for cruises from North America or Europe, rival cruise line Carnival shared their plans.

Carnival Cruise Line revealed its new health protocols for its cruise ships once they restart that include a variety of comprehensive changes for guests and crew members.

Carnival is calling it its "CruiseHealth Program", and it applies to all of Carnival Corporations brands as well. These rules are evolving, and Carnival expects them to change with new insight into public health evolves.

The goal of these protocols is to keep guests, crew members, shoreside employees, and ports ships visit healthy from the global health crisis.

Check-in

• Only booked guests are permitted to enter the terminal and boarding area
• Guests must arrive within their selected time to facilitate physical distancing during the check-in and boarding process 
  • Guests arriving earlier than their scheduled time will not be allowed to enter the terminal until the time of their arrival appointment
  • This also applies to VIFP Diamond/Platinum and Casino guests.

Testing

• All guests and crew will be required to test negative for COVID-19 prior to embarkation
  • Every guest 2 years of age or older will be required to provide documentation of a negative SARS-CoV-2 test taken between 5 days to 24 hours prior to the date of embarkation
  • Guests must provide the original document confirming a negative test result that is legible, identifies the approved and licensed testing entity, sample collection date and type of test, and identity of the tested individual
• Any guest who fails to provide the required documentation or testing at the terminal or on board will be denied boarding or disembarked, and no refund or credit will be issued.
• If at any time within 14 days prior to embarkation, or at any time during the cruise, a guest tests positive for COVID-19, exhibits signs or symptoms of COVID-19, has had close contact with a person confirmed or suspected of having COVID-19, or Carnival otherwise determines in its sole discretion that guest is unfit to board due to risk of any communicable illness, guest shall be subject to denial of boarding, denial of re-boarding, quarantine, isolation and/or disembarkation.
• Under these circumstances, unless the guest has failed or refused to comply with these Policies and Procedures, they will be provided with a Future Cruise Credit. 

Health Screening

• All guests will be required to complete a health questionnaire beginning 72 hours before the date of embarkation
  • Identification of symptoms or potential exposures does not automatically result in denial of boarding
• All guests will have their temperature taken as part of the boarding process
• Any guest who refuses to be tested, screened, or to follow these Carnival COVID-19 Policies and Procedures will be denied boarding, and no refund or credit will be issued
• All guests, but especially those with an increased risk as identified by the CDC, should consult with their own physician about their own risk factors and tolerance

Environmental Sanitization

• Routinely use a safe disinfectant proven to quickly kill novel coronaviruses
• Staterooms and public areas sanitized more frequently with cleaning and disinfection protocols developed in coordination with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)
• Ships and terminals undergo more thorough sanitization between cruises
• Expanded disinfection methods using emerging and advanced technologies that are proven effective against coronavirus and other germs

Onboard the ship

• Guests may be required to undergo at least daily temperature checks and must submit to any requested medical screening during the cruise
  • Temperature checks may also be conducted prior to disembarking at a port of call and before participating in certain onboard activities
• Responsible physical distancing for all guests and crew managed by adjusting the flow, timing and size of groups
• Hand Hygiene – Additional hand washing facilities and hand sanitizing stations positioned in high-traffic areas throughout the ship 
• Health Information – providing regular health reminders about the ways to stay healthy onboard and when ashore

Face masks

• All guests over the age of two will be required to wear a mask when indoors except
  • Inside their own stateroom
  • Eating and drinking seated at a table
  • When using the cardio equipment at the gym and physical distancing is maintained
• Guests are required to wear a mask outdoors when physical distancing cannot be maintained
• Masks should have two or more layers and be worn over the nose and mouth.
• Gaiters and bandanas are not allowed, and face shields are permitted when used with a mask.

Social Distancing

• Access to public spaces will be limited and venues/activities will operate at reduced capacity
• Carnival may use a reservation system for our public areas, such as pools, gyms, casinos, restaurants, bars, and entertainment
• Social distancing means staying at least six (6) feet (2 meters) apart from other people who are not the guest’s cruise companions (family or immediate travel group).
• Guests can expect appropriately distanced seating in theaters, dining facilities and other common venues, modified entertainment showings and meal services to control capacity

Contact Tracing

• All guests may be required to provide identifying information and information about certain activities engaged in during the cruise so Carnival can perform contact tracing in the event any person on board is suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19.
•  Various location tracking technologies may be used to assist in the collection of contact tracing information such as wearables, video surveillance, transaction data, and photographs taken during the cruise.

Shore Excursions

• Guests will only be allowed to participate in excursions or activities executed and escorted by vetted tour operators who maintain Carnival’s level of COVID-19 controls during the initial return to sailing.
• Shore side visits may be also limited to port areas that have no public access. 
• Self-exploration or non-Carnival sponsored excursions will not be permitted. 
• Carnival may, in its sole discretion, avoid a pre-planned destination should a concern arise regarding the level of COVID-19 community spread in that destination or impose certain restrictions on shore excursions relating to capacity, participation, locations, times, eligible venues and persons with whom the guest may come into contact
• Carnival may offer indoor excursions only if physical distancing, use of masks, and other recommended protective measures can be implemented.
• Any noncompliance by guest or members of guest’s traveling party with Carnival COVID-19 Policies and Procedures shall be grounds for refusal to re-board after going ashore, or other steps deemed necessary in Carnival’s sole discretion to protect the health and safety of others.
  •  If a guest is denied boarding or disembarked due to failure to comply with Carnival COVID-19 Policies and Procedures, they will not be entitled to a refund, credit, or compensation of any kind. Guests will be responsible for all costs and fines, including without limitation travel expenses.

You can read them all here.

What about Royal Caribbean's rules?

Thus far, Royal Caribbean has only announced its health policies for cruises on Quantum of the Seas from Singapore, although most are likely to be carried over to sailings elsewhere in the world.

The Healthy Sail Panel, a joint venture between the Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, has been working since summer 2020 to craft policies for cruise ships to use onboard.

The panel's 74 recommendations have become the cornerstone of the cruise industry's approach to a healthy return to sailing.  But those recommendations need to be converted into policy.

Royal Caribbean has said the new protocols would be issued "relatively soon" for a while, although no timeline for its announcement has been shared.

The delay in seeing Royal Caribbean's rules may be a product of the ever changing approach to the current health crisis.

Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain spoke recently how the arrival of a vaccine has changed their outlook on the current situation.

"Previously, we expected cruising to resume based on creating a virtual bubble of safety on a ship, even if the rest of the country was experiencing significant spread," he admitted to viewers.

"Today we envision that the key, but not the exclusive factor, will be the vaccines rather than purely the protocols."

Royal Caribbean's work in the two months that Quantum of the Seas has been sailing in Singapore has provided invaluable experience to run through a real-world situation that luckily had no repercussions.

"The false positive gave us a real world chance to test our procedures, and they performed well."

"Such experiences really allow us to test our processes and prepare better for a full operation."

There has been very little news on progress being made by any cruise line to conducting test cruises, and the reason might be because they are still waiting on what to do.

When the U.S. Center for Disease Control Control (CDC) lifted the No Sail Order at the end of October and replaced it with the Framework for Conditional Sail Order, the agency outlined a series of steps required for cruises to be able to progress towards restarting.

The first step was to provide technical instructions on what each ship needs to do in order to prepare itself for test cruises.

Cruise Critic reported that cruise lines were still waiting for those instructions.

In a statement from the CDC to RoyalCaribbeanBlog, the agency confirmed they have not yet delivered that first step.

"Returning to passenger cruising is a phased approach and our current focus is on the protection of crew and working with cruise lines to implement the initial phase requirements of testing all crew and developing onboard laboratory capacity."

"Future orders and technical instructions will address additional activities to help cruise lines prepare for and return to passenger operations in a manner that mitigates COVID-19 risk among passengers, crew members; including simulated voyages, certification for conditional sailing, and restricted voyages."

"We anticipate the next phase of technical instructions (Technical Instructions for Port and Local Health Authorities Agreements) to be released in the next few weeks."

Nearly four months after the No Sail Order was lifted, cruise lines are not much closer to restarting sailings in the United States as they were in the fall.

The realization that progress was slow in terms of getting test cruises going became apparent in various statements by cruise line industry officials.

Read more: Everything you need to know about Royal Caribbean test cruises

Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald told investors during an earnings call that they were still waiting on additional guidelines from the CDC for future phases.

Florida Ports Council Vice President of Governmental Affairs Michael Rubin told Florida's Senate Transportation Committee cruise lines are working to meet an “onerous” list of requirements from the CDC.

Prior to cruise ships sailing again from the United States, test cruises will need to be conducted to demonstrate the cruise line's new protocols are effective.

These simulated voyages will require volunteers to be onboard to help go through the variety of scenarios cruise lines need to test.

Read more: Top 14 things the CDC requires cruise ships do on test sailings

The new protocols would apply to crew and passengers and include things such as rapid testing, requiring face masks, social distancing and more.

What are the technical instructions?

When the CDC issued the Framework for Conditional Sailing Order that said any cruise line that wants to restart from the United States needs to apply for a conditional sailing certificate 60 days before a voyage.

First, ships must implement testing and other protocols for the safe return of crew. Non-revenue test sailings will follow, with vessels then required to request and receive approval to resume sailing with passengers onboard.

The CDC promised that further technical instructions will be posted on the CDC's website at a later date.

Read more: Royal Caribbean's Chief Medical Officer explains what needs be done to get approval to cruise again

On its website, the CDC says the instructions are meant to ensure health and safety protections for the crew prior to resuming passenger operations in a way that mitigates the risk of spreading COVID-19.

"The cruise ship operator must conduct a monitored observation period and laboratory testing of volunteer passengers, as directed in CDC technical instructions or orders, prior to embarking volunteer passengers on a simulated voyage."

Other activities as may be listed in the forthcoming CDC technical instructions and orders.

Less than 24 hours after Canada announced it banned cruise ships for a year, Royal Caribbean's website no longer shows cruises to Alaska or Canada available to book.

Canada announced it was extending its ban on cruise ships for an entire year, through February 2022.

While Royal Caribbean has not officially informed guests that sailings that visit Canada in 2021 are cancelled, all potentially affected sailings have been removed from being able to be booked on the cruise line site.

When searching for Alaska sailings, no dates in 2021 are available to search, and New England/Canada cruises are also missing from the available cruises to book.

If cruise ships cannot visit Canada, Royal Caribbean cannot legally operate sailings that do not visit a "nearby foreign port" during the sailing, due to the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886.

Canada made the sweeping ban on Thursday that prohibits any cruise vessel carrying more than 100 or more people from operating in Canadian waters.

Cruises to Alaska or New England that sail from the United States are required to make at least one stop in a foreign port in order to satisfy U.S. law.

Without the possibility of visiting Canada, the Alaska and New England cruise season is effectively cancelled.

There are only two possible ways these cruises could be salvaged:

First, Canada could lift the cruise ship ban if the health situation improves. Canada added in its announcement that if the global health crisis sufficiently improve to allow the resumption of these activities, the Minister of Transport has the ability to rescind the Interim Orders. 

Second, the U.S. could provide a temporary waiver of the Passenger Vessel Services Act.  The chances of that happening seem low based on recent comments by the new U.S. Transportation Secretary.

During confirmation hearings, Pete Buttigieg told the Senate committee that he supports the Jones Act, which is the part of the law that applies to cargo vessels.

"[The Jones Act] is so important to a maritime industry that creates hundreds of thousands of jobs, as well as a shipbuilding industry here in the U.S.," Buttigieg said in response to questioning from Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the Senate Commerce Committee’s ranking member.

The 2021 Alaska cruise season looks to be in serious trouble with a new ban just announced.

Canada's Minister of Transport announced on Thursday it has banned all cruise vessels from Canadian waters until February 28, 2022.

Citing the need to keep "Canadians and transportation workers safe and healthy", the government announced two interim orders that prohibit pleasure craft in Canadian Arctic waters and cruise vessels in all Canadian waters until February 28, 2022. 

Specifically, cruise vessels carrying 100 or more people are not allowed in Canadian waters.

According to Canada's government, cruise ships, "pose a risk to our health care systems."

"As Canadians continue to do their part to reduce the spread of COVID-19, our government continues to work hard to ensure Canada’s transportation system remains safe. Temporary prohibitions to cruise vessels and pleasure craft are essential to continue to protect the most vulnerable among our communities and avoid overwhelming our health care systems. This is the right and responsible thing to do."

Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra added that if the global health crisis sufficiently improves to allow the resumption of these activities, the Minister of Transport has the ability to rescind the Interim Orders. 

Prior to this extension, Canada's ban on cruise ships was set to expire on February 28, 2021.

Not only does the ban affect Alaska cruises, but New England cruises in the fall visit Canadian ports as well during the popular leaf peeping season.

Just like Alaska cruises, New England cruises rely on a stop in Canada to make the visit legal under U.S. law.

In case you are wondering, the penalties for violating the ban include $5,000 per day for individuals and $25,000 per day for groups or corporations. 

Canada banning cruise ships means cruise lines cannot legally offer cruises to Alaska because of cabotage laws that require a foreign port to be visited during the sailing.

Royal Caribbean has three cruise ships schedule to sail to Alaska in 2021.  Quantum of the Seas already had her entire 2021 cruise season in Alaska cancelled in favor of keeping the ship sailing from Singapore.

Cruises sailing from the United States must adhere to the Passenger Vessel Service Act of 1886 (sometimes referred to as the Jones Act).

Even if the United States allows cruise ships to sail again, they would not be able to sail to Alaska without Canadian waters and ports open to satisfy U.S. cabotage laws.

There is some talk of a temporary amendment to the PVSA to allow cruise ships to depart without a foreign port stop, although there has been no progress made beyond proposals. 

The Greatert Victoria Harbour Authority issued a statement in support of the Canadian government's decision to extend the cruise ship ban.

"Cruise will resume when it is safe to do so, when border restrictions are removed, and when people may safely enjoy non-essential travel."

The port authority did concede the decision will, "create a devastating impact on the dozens of local, small businesses that are involved with cruise in Victoria," due to a combination of no cruise ships in 2020 and now another year without them.

The road to recovery for cruise lines is not going to be a swift or easy one.

At a meeting of Florida's Senate Transportation Committee, Florida Ports Council Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Michael Rubin, said it will be a while yet before cruise ship operations return to "significant" numbers.

"I’m not sure we’ll have significant cruise operations until perhaps next year and even beyond that," Rubin told the committee.

"Some of the smaller luxury liners … may not be operating till further than that, until there’s actual vaccines available around the world. We are concerned. We’re hopeful that they’ll allow them to operate at least half capacity here maybe in April, maybe in June. Hopefully, before that timeframe, because this is really, really troubling."

Rubin represents the Florida Ports Council, which is a nonprofit group that represents major seaports in Florida. 

Rubin added that cruise lines are working to meet an “onerous” list of requirements from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), with the hope of having some ships operating at half capacity by the summer of 2021.

According to Rubin, one issue that has remained is to figure out is how to handle cruise passengers getting on or off a ship in a port of call.

Mr. Rubin believes some high profile stories about cases on cruise ships from early 2020 are hindering progress to resume operations, "As you know, there was some high-profile incidents of passengers trying to get off and a few deaths out there."

"So, we’re living with those high-profile incidents, and it can’t seem to get past it. … I think all of our ports and the cruise lines are trying to work with the CDC to say, ‘Look, we’re gonna have protocols, we’ll have masks, we’ll sail at half capacity so we can quarantine people if they need to be quarantined.’"

He believes when cruises do restart, the cruise lines will adopt a series of new rules, "I think all of our ports and the cruise lines are trying to work with the CDC to say we’ll have protocols, we’ll have masks, we’ll sail at half capacity so we can quarantine people if they need to be quarantined."

The CDC recently added a new order that requires anyone on a cruise ship to wear a face mask.

Mr. Rubin's comments come a few weeks after Port Canaveral estimated some cruises might return in July. Neither Port Canaveral nor Mr. Rubin's comments are based on any cruise line statements.

Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain tackled the question of when cruises might restart with the answer everyone has known for months: no one yet knows for certain.

"My answer is consistently, I don't know. But more recently, my answer has been, I don't know, but that's the good direction to be going in."

"It's going to take a while and we just need to be patient."

"But it is happening and these early cruises are going to give us information that will help inform how we can operate safely and that's going to give us all confidence in an earlier and safer restart."