In the two days since Royal Caribbean said it would need volunteers for test cruises, there has been an outpouring of cruise fans who would love to sign up.

On Wednesday, Royal Caribbean Senior Vice President, Sales, Trade Support and Service, Vicki Freed, told travel agents that a combination of cruise line employees and volunteers would be used onboard a series of test cruises in order to test out the new health and safety protocols.

Since then, cruise fans have taken to social media to let the cruise line know that they are willing and able to be one of those volunteers.

Royal Caribbean has no option as of now to take volunteer sign ups.

Freed told travel agents that it has not been decided how they would pick volunteers, "We haven't decided how we're going to select people at this point. I know it will be our employees. You must be 18 or older, but we will be looking possibly for volunteers."

Regardless of the cruise line's plans, many cruise fans have begun posting on social media and even contacting the cruise line to sign up.

I posted a question asking cruise fans if they would volunteer for a test cruise, and in less than two days almost 200 people have replied enthusiastically that they would want to be a subject for any test cruise.

LibertyMoonbeam wrote back, "Where do I sign up? I absolutely would love to be a volunteer. I miss cruising!"

bhageerah mentioned not seeing much risk in volunteering, "In a heartbeat, I can assure you that I know that I have less of a chance of contacting it onboard that ship than I would  at work.

RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader Michelle reached out to Royal Caribbean directly about signing up as a volunteer, but the cruise line informed her that currently the test sailings "are limited to current employees and members of our operational teams."

To be clear, there has been no means of actually signing up to be a volunteer on any test Royal Caribbean sailing.

Pent-up demand

All of these volunteers are a sign of the pent-up demand that Royal Caribbean has been seeing with its bookings during its voluntary cruise shutdown.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley told Wall Street analysts they were surprised by the level of demand for cruises to return in Singapore on Quantum of the Seas, and there is plenty of demand to go around.

"We were really quite surprised by the level of demand that came into the product of the winter season that we've got it open," Mr. Bayley shared during the call with investors.

Earlier this summer, Bayley spoke about the fact many people want to make up for the lost 2020 fun with vacations in 2021.

"I think a lot of people have written off this summer. They've decided that there's not going to be a big summer vacation for all of the reasons that we know. But people certainly want to have a vacation next year."

Royal Caribbean released a new update to its app that introduces the highly anticipated Muster 2.0 virtual safety drill feature.

Version 1.26.0 has been released to the Apple App Store, which adds two core features that will be critical for guests on cruise ships that need to foster social distancing.

The app update comes just weeks before Royal Caribbean is set to restart cruises in Singapore on Quantum of the Seas.

While there are no firm plans yet announced for when cruises might restart in the United States, test sailings could start as early as December.

Virtual safety drill

Earlier this summer, Royal Caribbean announced a new patented approach to use its smart phone app to conduct the safety drill onboard.

The Muster 2.0 feature has been added to the app, which Royal Caribbean describes as a "completely re-imagined onboard guest safety briefing".

The app features information and sends notifications to make sure you complete the briefing prior to the ship sailing. 

Travelers will be able to review the information at their own time prior to setting sail, eliminating the need for the traditional large group assemblies. 

After reviewing safety information individually, guests will complete the drill by visiting their assigned assembly station, where a crew member will verify that all steps have been completed and answer questions. Each of the steps will need to be completed prior to the ship’s departure, as required by international maritime law.

One on the cruise ship, guests have a set time (indicated by a timer in the app) during which muster drill must be completed by all of the passengers and, in response, a message is transmitted to each mobile device that the muster drill has commenced.

Read more: 6 really interesting facts about Royal Caribbean's new cruise safety drill

Excursion tickets

Another shift to digital comes in the form of shore excursion tickets are now available in the app.

Traditionally, Royal Caribbean would distribute paper tickets to guests for their excursions that were purchased through the cruise line.

With the app, guests can now avoid having paper tickets and rely on the app to provide that information to tour operators.

The app's version history notes that the digital excursion tickets replace "the need for paper tickets when possible", which sounds like paper tickets could still be utilized in some scenarios.

Thanks to Iuliana Scott for giving us a heads up on this news.

People that cruise a lot are the backbone of the cruise industry, and just like any seasoned veteran, they tend to have an unique way of looking at things.

Repeat cruisers have "been there, done that" and if you spend enough time on the RoyalCaribbeanBlog message boards or a Facebook group, you may notice certain idioms that repeat cruises love to repeat.

From one repeat cruiser to another, here are the most common things I see repeat cruisers posting all the time.

"I wish there was a no kids cruise"

Royal Caribbean has always been a family cruise line, and yet there are a certain contingent of cruisers who clamor for a mythical no children sailing.

This comment usually pops up on Kids Sail Free deal threads, or when family cruising is being discussed.

Most seem to just prefer times of the year when there are less children on a ship, while others really do wish for a Virgin Voyages approach.

"The sales are all the same"

When there is a new promotion or offer announced by Royal Caribbean, repeat cruisers tend to roll their eyes as they say that all the sales are the same.

There is a bit of truth to what they say, in that every new Royal Caribbean promotion does not necessarily mean additional savings. The price of a sailing varies, and unlike a sale on jeans in a retail store where a fixed discount is applied across the board, cruise fare pricing is much less generic.

The price of a sailing can fluctuate considerably, and promotional offers tend not to have a wide ranging effect on prices across the board.

When there is a new offer, there are absolutely certain cruises that become cheaper, but not every sailing. 

Repeat cruisers also know the importance of tracking prices of the long haul, and repricing when possible to lock in savings.

The mask sun tan meme

Ever since the cruise industry has shutdown and the idea of having to wear a mask on a cruise ship popped up, the photo of a couple with sun tan lines around their face where their mask was has been posted over and over again.

Like all memes, it is funny to some people, but this one gets shared a lot.

"When is ___ of the Seas coming back to ____?"

New ship deployments are a big deal, because it means potentially new itineraries to book.  

Repeat cruisers have a long memory, and will usually post about how they wish a certain Royal Caribbean ship would return to a specific homeport.

This is most commonly stated among British cruisers, who have a strong affinity for certain ships, but Americans also miss their favorite ships sailing from ports near them.

"The main dining room isn't as good as it used to be"

Perhaps no topic is as subjective as food, and cruisers are not shy about sharing their opinion on the state of food on a cruise.

Whether they yearn for the midnight buffet to return, or think the main dining room has gone downhill, repeat cruisers do not hesitate to talk about the state of dining.

The rise of specialty dining across Royal Caribbean ships (and the whole cruise industry) has convinced some people that the quality of the food in the main dining room has degraded as a result.

I certainly do not agree with this trope, but it is a hotly debated topic.

"I book directly with Royal Caribbean because I want to be in control of my reservation."

Old habits are the hardest to break, and this applies to how repeat cruisers book their cruises.

The most common hesitation from loyal cruisers that I hear why they do not want to use a travel agent to book their cruise is because they value being able to pick up the phone and call Royal Caribbean to book, cancel, or alter their reservation.

While it is true that using a travel agent means the agent is the one that can modify a reservation, I believe that is a positive change.  I take no joy in dialing the cruise line and having to talk to a representative to make changes to a sail date or reprice a cruise, when instead I could text my travel agent to do it on my behalf.

Using a good travel agent is a great idea, and I believe you only stand to benefit by using one.

How many cruises they have booked right now

I am guilty of talking about how many upcoming cruises I have booked, as it is not only a source of pride but also excitement.

Something that only repeat cruisers think is normal is having a bunch of cruises reserved, with multiple cruises in one calendar year.

While people that do not cruise a lot are often surprised to hear how often cruise fans go on a cruise, those of us that cruise all the time see nothing odd about it at all.

Wishing for new smaller cruise ships to be built

Whether their idea of "small" is a Radiance Class, Voyager Class, or Empress of the Seas, folks that have cruised a lot tend to have favorite size of ships and lament the bigger and bigger trend in cruises.

Whenever Royal Caribbean announces it has ordered a new ship, or a new ship is delivered, it is not uncommon to run across a comment from someone that wishes Royal Caribbean would build a new ship that is significantly smaller than an Oasis or Quantum Class ship.

While the economy of scale that makes bigger ships so much more profitable will likely prevent that wish from ever coming true, you can always sail on a smaller new ship on a sister brand, such as Celebrity Cruises, Azamara, or SilverSea.

Royal Caribbean's November offer begins today, with 60% off the second guest, kids sail free and instant savings available.

The November offer must be booked between November 6, 2020 – December 1, 2020 and applies to select sailings departing on or after December 1, 2020.

It includes:

• 60% savings off the price of cruise fare of the second guest booked in the same stateroom as first, full-fare paying guest.
• 30% cruise fare savings for third guests and higher booked in the same stateroom as the first two qualifying guests.
• Kids Sail Free
  • Kids Sail Free provides free cruise fare for 3rd guests and higher who are 12 years old or younger as of cruise departure date, booked in the same stateroom as the first two qualifying guests in a triple or quad-occupancy stateroom.
  • Kids Sail Free applies to select 3-night or longer Alaska, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Caribbean, CaribNE, Coastal, Europe, Hawaii, and Repositioning sailings departing between December 1, 2020 – December 17, 2020 and January 8, 2021 – December 17, 2021.
  • Offer excludes 2021 President’s Day Sailings (Sailings between February 12 – 15, 2021), 2021 Spring Break and Easter sailings (Sailings between March 13 – April 4, 2021), 2021 Thanksgiving Sailings (Sailings between November 19 – 26, 2021), SR and RD Cruisetours.
• Summer 2021 Kicker Sale offers instant savings of up to $150 USD per stateroom on select sailings departing between April 1 – September 30, 2021.
  • Savings amount determined by category booked and sailing length:
    • Sailings 5 nights or less, $25 savings for Interior and Ocean View, $75 for Balconies and Suites
    • Sailings 6 nights or longer, $50 savings for Interior and Ocean View, $75 for Balconies, and $150 for Suites

BOGO60 and Kids Sail Free + Summer are combinable with each other as well as promotional OBCs, NextCruise offers, instant savings, restricted discounts (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military), Promo Code driven offers, Free Upgrades, Crown and Anchor discounts and Shareholder Benefits. Summer 2021 Kicker is combinable with BOGO60 and Kids Sail Free + Summer as well as with promotional OBCs, NextCruise offers, Instant Savings, restricted discounts (for example, Seniors, Residents, Military), Promo Code driven offers, Free Upgrades, and Shareholder Benefits, but not combinable with Crown and Anchor discounts. Resident rates apply to select states on select sailings; valid address must be entered at time of booking to redeem savings.

Offer are not combinable with any other offer or promotion, including, but not limited to, Standard Group, Interline, Travel Agent, Travel Agent Friends and Family, Weekly Sales Events, and Net Rates. Promo Code driven offers are based on select ships and sail dates and must be applied at time of booking; limit one promo code per booking.

Offer available to residents of United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and select countries in the Caribbean. 

While there is a lot of enthusiasm over booking new Royal Caribbean cruises, you will have to wait a few more weeks before some of them become available.

Royal Caribbean updated its 2022-2023 opening deployment schedule by two weeks for Europe Summer 2022 cruises.

Originally, Europe Summer 2022 was set to open the week of November 9, 2020, but will now open on the week of November 30, 2020.

It is not unusual for the deployment schedule to be altered, and the challenges of planning cruises for almost two years from now with all the upheaval in the cruise industry is no simple feat.

The rest of the deployment schedule will remain as-posted, with Alaska Summer 2022 going on sale at some point during the week of November 9, 2020, and 7-night Caribbean Summer 2022 cruises going on sale during the week of November 16, 2020.

More changes are possible, and the deployment schedule notes the remainder of the deployment is "coming soon."

What is a deployment schedule?

The deployment schedule is the plan for when Royal Caribbean will open select sailings for sale.

There is no indication of which day, just the week the new itineraries will become available to book, but it could be on any day of the noted week.

Guests will commonly misconstrue the new cruises to come out on the exact day, rather than at some point during the week.

When the new sailings are available, it is common for the new itineraries to be entered into the booking system first, and the website second. This means in some cases cruises are bookable earlier if booked over the phone or with a travel agent, even if they do not appear on the website.

What can you do now while you wait?

If you think you might book one of these cruise when they are released, you will want to monitor Royal Caribbean's website for when they are available to book.

Royal Caribbean typically allows Crown and Anchor Society members a 24 hour head start on the general public, but since anyone can sign up for Crown and Anchor Society, there is no excuse for waiting.

It is a good idea to speak with your travel agent soon to discuss which types of cruises you might be interested in to expedite the process of booking the right booking for you.

Booking your cruise as early as you can is a great way to save money in the long term, as prices tend to be lowest when they first become available to book.  In addition, if you are looking for a hard-to-find cabin, such as certain suites, this is a great time to book.

Planning on booking a cruise in 2022-2023? These stories will help:

• What is the best time to cruise to the Caribbean?
• 7 tips for a great Mediterranean cruise
• What is the best time to cruise to Alaska?
• What is the cheapest month to go on a cruise?

Earlier this summer the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asked the public for their input on if cruises should be able to restart, and an immense amount of people thought they should.

The CDC shared in their new framework for conditional sailing that a majority (approximately 75%) of the public comments were in support of cruises being able to restart.

Over 13,000 comments were received during the 60-day period where the CDC was soliciting public input through a Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register related to cruise ship planning and infrastructure, resumption of passenger operations, and additional summary questions.

Comments were open between July 20 and September 21, 2020.

Approximately 25% of respondents, including many previous cruise passengers, were in favor of delaying the resumption of passenger cruising because of the current state of the pandemic, and supported waiting until a vaccine is widely available. 

Essentially, the CDC said that the willingness of the public to accept measures to mitigate the risk of transmitting COVID-19 onboard cruise ships is "noteworthy."

As a result, the agency felt the need to give cruise lines a chance to restart sailings.

Cruisers wanted new health protocols

While the CDC has given cruise lines the opportunity to restart cruises, the onus is on the cruise industry to demonstrate cruises can be done safely despite the current public health emergency.

The CDC noted that "most" of the commenters told the agency they saw a need for increased public health measures, including health screening, testing, mask use, social distancing, travel insurance, refunds, and shipboard public health capacity as important steps to take before cruising resumes.

Approximately 98% of respondents supported cruise ship operators denying boarding to passengers with COVID-like illness or confirmed COVID-19 infection, while approximately 65% of respondents supported denying boarding to passengers with known COVID-19 exposure in the previous 14 days before embarkation.

A majority of respondents (74%) also supported requiring that cruise ship operators test passengers and crew prior to embarkation.

Furthermore, approximately 90% of respondents supported cruise ship operators reducing passenger and crew loads to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, while approximately 85% supported the wearing of face masks by passengers.

Between the public's support for new health protocols and the science behind how easily the virus could spread, the CDC felt appropriate public health oversight was necessary.

CDC considered allowing cruises with no restrictions

Given the fact the public clearly wanted cruises to restart, the CDC did consider alternative options than the conditional sail order.

One alternative considered was allowing cruise lines to return to unrestricted passenger operations without any public health oversight. The CDC felt this alternative was unacceptable because, "cruise ship travel is known to contribute to COVID-19 transmission."

Anti-cruise group tried to swing the vote

Towards the end of the open comment period, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley warned that "a small anti-cruise group" was trying to flood the comments with anti-cruise rhetoric.

He did not mention the group by name, but sifting through recent comments in the CDC's database of public comments showed one such post by a member of the group Stand.Earth.

The group went as far as to not only provide instructions on how to access the comments, but also a series of talking points to that bring up a few tropes about cruise ships.

Mr. Bayley implored cruise fans to fight back by submitting their own thoughts on if cruises should restart.

Before Royal Caribbean can restart cruises with paying passengers, they will need to conduct test sailings and it is not clear yet how volunteers will be selected for that process.

Speaking to travel agents, Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President, Sales, Trade Support and Service, Vicki Freed, said that test sailings will be conducted with a combination of Royal Caribbean employees and volunteers, although they are not sure how volunteers will be picked yet.

"We're going to be doing a series of sailings using our employees and other volunteers to test out the new protocols and make tweaks and modifications to ensure that everything is running smoothly and still deliver that Royal Caribbean amazing vacation experience," Ms. Freed explained.

After receiving questions from travel agents who can volunteer to help test out the sailings, Ms. Freed said Royal Caribbean is still deciding how they might pick volunteers.

"We haven't decided how we're going to select people at this point. I know it will be our employees. You must be 18 or older, but we will be looking possibly for volunteers."

"We do not have all of the details yet fleshed out."

It is also not clear when the test sailings might actually start, but Freed thinks test sailings in December is a possibility, although not confirmed.

"I do believe they will take place next month. But I'm not confirming that to be absolutely certain, because, again, we're working through all the details."

"We hope to have the trial cruises in December, but more to come."

UPDATE: You can sign up to be a volunteer for a test cruise.

Volunteers will be required to do a lot of tasks

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued 40 pages of requirements for cruise lines to be able to conditionally restart sailings, and running test sailings with volunteer passengers is a major component of the plan.

As Ms. Freed indicated, Royal Caribbean employees will have the opportunity to volunteer to test out the new health protocols. The CDC will require these volunteers be at least 18 years old and sign a waiver to acknowledge that there are risk associated with a test cruise.

In addition, all volunteer passengers and crew members must follow testing protocols, which include rapid testing prior to both embarkation and disembarkation.

"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."

Simulated sailings will need to meet CDC expectations for certification, which includes passengers wearing masks, wash and sanitize hands, and practice social distancing. 

During the test cruise, the following activities must be simulated:

• embarkation and disembarkation procedures, including terminal check-in, 
• on board activities, including at dining and entertainment venues,
• private island shore excursions (if a port is visited)
• evacuation procedures,
• transfer of symptomatic passengers or crew, or those who test positive for SARSCoV-2, from cabins to isolation rooms,
• quarantine of all remaining passengers and non-essential crew, and
• other activities as may be listed in CDC technical instructions and orders.

Royal Caribbean must modify meal service and entertainment venues to facilitate social distancing during the simulated voyage.

Would you want to volunteer for test cruise?

As soon as the CDC stipulated that volunteers would be needed for simulated cruises, many cruise fans expressed their interest in volunteering.

Cruise fans wrote on the RoyalCaribbeanBlog message boards if they were interested in going on a test sailing as a volunteer.

princevaliantus would love to be a volunteer, "Yep! Life is too short. Can't live in fear."

nhilding10 agreed that it would be worth giving a test sailing a try, "I would. I'm in a lucky position that I'm still relatively young enough and healthy enough that even if a worse-case scenario played out for me, I feel confident that it wouldn't be life or death for me."

At one point, USFFrank would have volunteered, but has changed his mind, "now that I'm 9 days into being covid positive with minimal symptom's, no. I'll now wait till there's a successful vaccine and I can get it."

The voters of Key West approved a referendum during last night's election to limit cruise ship traffic to the city.

Three different referendums to limit cruise ship traffic passed, which will ban large cruise ships completely, as well as limit small cruise ship traffic.

The new rules for Key West that passed are as follows:

• Limit the number of daily cruise ship visitors at 1,500
• Prohibit cruise ships with 1,300 passengers or more from docking
• Give docking priority to cruise lines that have the best health and environmental records

All three were approved by majorities of more than 60 percent, with the "giving priority to cruise lines that have the best environmental and health records" proposal passing at over 80%.

All three proposals passed with 63.34%, 60.7% and 81.19% voting yes, respectively.

Safer, Cleaner Ships is the organization that lobbied and pushed for the referendums.

Key West was a minor port of call for Royal Caribbean, with a few ships stopping there periodically, primarily smaller or older ships, such as Brilliance of the Seas or Majesty of the Seas.

Now that the referendums have passed, they are binding, meaning they will change the city’s charter. 

The Miami Herald reports that a court case could be coming between the city and the private ownership of the pier.

In 2019, Key West had its busiest year with 417 cruise ship visits that brought 965,000 passengers.

Cruise line impact

Naturally, many are curious what impact cruise lines had economically on Key West.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) commissioned a study of the comparative visitor economic impacts for Key West in August 2020, and it appears cruise passengers brought 7% of the total spend to the island.

"Cruise visitors contribute about $73 million in visitor spending, or about 7% of the $1.2 billion of total visitor spending in Key West."

The study did note that while cruise passengers do not pay for hotels or flights, they do "contribute a decidedly higher proportion of visitor spending in the food and beverage, retail, and recreation sectors."

"Of these sectors, cruise visitors contribute about 12% of direct visitor spending."

CLIA concluded that "the drastic reduction in cruise visitor spending would irreparably harm the long-term economic health of the community."

Cruise fans react

The news that Key West has banned large cruise ships was a mix of surprise and disdain among cruise fans.

Many cruisers shared on the RoyalCaribbeanBlog message boards they felt Key West's voters made a foolish decision in the long run.

monctonguy thinks the long-term effect may prove to be a bad decision, "wonder if after a few years they will regret this especially with the hit that tourism is taking worldwide currently."

rjweber3 feels there may be a larger legal battle looming, "The privately owned pier would probably be litigating with the city.  The owners of the pier just took a terrible hit to their bottom line."

Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain spoke in a recorded video to travel advisors on when cruises might restart following the CDC lifting the no sail order.

After imploring everyone watching the video to vote on election day in the United States, Mr. Fain had a lot of exuberance for the outlook on cruising, following seven months of being shutdown.

"This is really a big deal and we are really very excited about what the future holds for us."

While the CDC's decision to provide a framework for cruises to restart is a big step, it is not the end of the cruise shutdown saga.

"It's not the end of the journey, but it is an important milestone on that journey and it provides a clear pathway for our resumption of service."

"Our industry has suffered over the long seven months, but now we finally have a pathway forward."

Mr. Fain believes the 74 recommendations of the Healthy Sail Panel were instrumental in getting the CDC to understand that the cruise lines had a clear path to restart cruising safely, without putting the public at risk.

"The plan's main goal was to define a way to make a cruise ship a healthier environment with less risk of disease than Main Street USA."

It will take time to get cruises back

Mr. Fain was quick to point out that getting cruise ships operational again will not happen overnight.

The framework established by the CDC will require a lot of work for passengers to be able to get back onboard.

"It will take some time to go from where we are to our first commercial sailings," Mr. Fain said in his video. "I can't wait, but it will take some time because the order calls for a lot of details that will need to be specified, clarified or adjusted over the coming period."

Mr. Fain also alluded to the fact that cruise lines have to undertake a variety of steps to come close to restarting their businesses, whereas on land, businesses there had no such oversight.

"We have to train our crew in the new procedures and we have to get them safely back to our ships. This includes having every one of them take multiple covid tests before they leave home and after they arrive to their home port and then engaging in a quarantine period after they've done all the testing."

"We have to reposition our ships, update their certifications, provision them, make physical modifications to support the physical distancing and upgrade the medical care on board. "

"And most significantly, we are committed to and the framework calls for a series of trials, sailings where we will road test all of our new protocols using employees and other volunteers to stand in for guests."

While this process will be anything but quick, Mr. Fain recognizes that the public, travel agents, and the cruise lines are all eager to see ships sail again.

"We are significantly closer to resuming service than at any point since March, and we are so much better prepared for that moment than we have ever been."

New case spikes around the world

The CDC's announcement to provide a way for cruises to restart coincided with a significant rise of new cases in the United States, and around the world.

Mr. Fain commented that the while this second wave is not good news, he sees positive signs that this may be the "virus's last big surge".

Mr. Fain even went as far as to make a prediction, which is something he noted he has resisted doing in the past, "I'm feeling good enough about the future to make an exception here, about the period that will follow this surge."

He believes there are four reasons for optimism: masks, testing, therapies and vaccines.

"While each of those factors will help contain the spread next year, it's a cumulative combination of all of these taken together that I hope will constrain the risk of the virus causing another comparable surge after we get through this current one." 

Royal Caribbean announced it has cancelled its December 2020 cruises in North America, and the entire cruise industry will be doing the same thing.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which is the industry group representing 95% of cruise lines (including Royal Caribbean), announced on Tuesday it is extended its Voluntarily Extend Suspension of U.S. Operations through December 31, 2020.

In a statement to the media, CLIA indicated the extension was needed for cruise lines to prepare to meet the rigorous health standards needed to restart cruises.

CLIA members will use the remainder of the year to prepare for the implementation of extensive measures to address COVID-19 safety with the guidance of outside public health experts and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"As we continue to plan for a gradual and highly-controlled return of cruise operations in the U.S., CLIA members are committed to implementing stringent measures to address COVID-19 safety, including 100% testing of passengers and crew, expanded onboard medical capabilities, and trial sailings, among many others." 

"We share a common goal with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to protect public health, which has been affirmed and reaffirmed consistently throughout the industry’s response to the global pandemic.  As we work to operationalize a path forward, our members have agreed to extend our existing suspension of U.S. operations through December 31.  This action will provide additional time to align the industry’s extensive preparation of health protocols with the implementation requirements under the CDC’s Framework for Conditional Sailing and Initial Phase COVID-19 Testing Requirements for Protection of Crew."

"We recognize the devastating impact that the pandemic continues to have on the 421,000 Americans whose livelihoods are connected directly to cruise operations. We will work with urgency to advance a responsible return to cruising while maintaining a focus on effective, science-based measures to protect public health."

CLIA also noted the significant economic impact cruises have on the American economy.

"The cruise industry is a vital economic artery in the United States, generating over $53 billion in annual economic activity and supporting 421,000 American jobs spanning almost every sector. Each day without cruise operations in the U.S. results in nearly 1,000 American jobs lost."

"From mid-March through today, it is estimated that the suspension of cruise operations has resulted in a loss of more than $25 billion in economic activity and over 164,000 American jobs."

Yesterday, Royal Caribbean Group, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Carnival Corporation and MSC Cruises all announced independently that they would cancel their December cruises in the United States. 

Preparing to cruise again

While the CDC has opened the door for cruises to start again, there are many requirements imposed on the cruise industry to demonstrate it can be achieved safely.

Following a months-long planning process with the support and guidance of leading public health experts, Royal Caribbean and all cruise lines are taking this extra time to prepare to operationalize enhanced public health procedures.

Before cruises can fully resume, the CDC has outlined a series of steps that need to occur before cruise ships can begin taking passengers onboard.

The Framework for Conditional Sailing requires cruise lines to establish safety and testing protocols for crew members, conduct a series of test sailings, and then request approval to sail with paying passengers.

The CDC believes these new regulations and check points are needed to "prevent the further introduction, transmission, or spread of COVID-19 via cruise ships globally and into U.S. communities."

Bittersweet news

Most cruise fans understand the need by the cruise lines to prepare for all of these new rules, but many believe the CDC has created extremely difficult goals to attain.

On the RoyalCaribbeanBlog message boards, the topic has been discussed at great lengths and whether or not the new Conditional Sail Order is fair.

Tanner believes the new rules are simply too ambiguous, "The biggest lack of clarity is in terms of what will be considered cruising safely. Will the CDC view one case of Covid-19, a statistical outbreak, or failure to adhere to meet the standards as the end all be all. Clearly, not following rules will result in one line being shut down but will it shut down the industry."

Twangster shared he believes the new order is simply a stop-gap measure, "I think the CDC is buying time hoping for a new administration that will accept their findings without interference."

Worst yet, many readers seem to think the first sailings may still be many months away, such as jaullram, "I unfortunately, don't see how sailings will begin until February or March at the earliest."