At what point do you sit back and wonder if the cruise industry, here in April of 2021, is being forced to pay for the sins of its past?
And at what point do you sit back and wonder, is this insistence by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to continue layering guideline upon guideline upon guideline on cruising starting to look less and less prudent and diligent, and more and more vengeful and vindictive?
That's what it seems like from this viewpoint.
This determination by the CDC to hold down a $55 billion industry is spiteful in comparison to other aspects of travel and tourism.
Look, we get it. To me, there are two powerful factors at play here - history, and recent history.
We all know the cruise industry has a bit of a checkered past that goes back decades. From unscrupulous crew and guests to dumping garbage in the high seas, to medical maladies onboard due to oversight and carelessness, cruising's many transgressions sometimes challenge its unparalleled popularity.
Further, and let's be honest, more recently the industry took a beating 13 months ago with the COVID-19 outbreak aboard the Diamond Princess when 14 died and hundreds contracted the virus - a beating that continues to this day thanks to the HBO documentary "The Last Cruise."
As a result, the CDC earlier this month updated its guidance for a return to cruising. It lifted its 'no sail' order and replaced it with a 'conditional sailing order.' In reality, it's one and the same.
The new guidance forces cruise lines to increase how frequently they report the number of COVID-19 cases onboard, from weekly to daily; all crew members must undergo routine testing; and companies must have agreements in place with ports of call and their local health departments to coordinate quarantines, isolation and treatment if another coronavirus outbreak takes place.
When, and only when, those points of guidance are met can cruise lines then do a mock sailing with volunteer passengers before returning to the waters.
I am in agreement with the Cruise Lines International Association, which called the new guidance "unduly burdensome, largely unworkable."
The cruise industry has done its own due diligence. Sure, it might be years too late and it might have been forced upon them by the deadly virus, but cruise lines nonetheless helped forge their own health and safety protocols. It did so with the help of a respected physician, former head of the Food and Drug Administration Dr. Scott Gottlieb, and it did so to the point where at least multiple cruise lines will require passengers must be vaccinated.
Yet airlines have unblocked middle seats. Hotels, even with capacity restrictions, are hosting hundreds of people at a time. Restaurants are almost back to full capacity. And in Texas, the Texas Rangers' baseball team last week swung open the doors to their magnificent ballpark and allowed all 40,000+ plus seats to be used by ticket-buyers for the Opening Day game.
This is not a good look for CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
The concern is admirable. The fear is understandable. But the pettiness toward this one industry is disingenuous, at best, and spiteful, at worst.
It's time to stop punishing the cruise industry based on its past.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
