US health officials announced Friday, October 30 that cruises could resume in the United States from November but on condition that a new strict protocol is followed, including systematic tests of passengers and crew members.
The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) have published a new framework defining the new obligations of cruise passengers, for a gradual resumption of travel.
Companies will first have to organize a “simulation” cruise with volunteers to demonstrate the effectiveness of the new health protocol.
They will have to provide quarantine cabins, test all boarding and disembarkation passengers and test crew members once a week, which will require laboratory analyzes on board.
Cruises can last a maximum of seven days.
And meals should be served while respecting physical distancing.
All cruises were halted in March, and authorities have regularly extended the ban, with the latest now due to expire on October 31.
The American giant Carnival Cruise Line, several of whose liners had been hit by the Covid-19, had already canceled all its cruises still scheduled in November and December, except from the ports of Miami and Port Canaveral in Florida.