CDC Extends No Sail Order Banning Cruises Until October

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended its no sail order for the cruise industry on Thursday, banning cruises from operating out of U.S. ports through Sept 30. It first issued the order on March 14 that was set to expire next week.

In its extension, the CDC reiterated its belief that "cruise ship travel exacerbates the global spread of Covid-19, that the scope of this pandemic is inherently and necessarily a problem that is international and interstate in nature, and such transmission has not been controlled sufficiently by the cruise ship industry or individual State or local health authorities."

The major cruise industry operators in the U.S. had already voluntarily extended suspended operations until mid-September. Industry insiders told Skift this week they saw this move as a preemption of the inevitable: That no cruise line was ready to sail, and pausing operations before an extension of the No Sai