Ready to set sail? Carnival Cruises opened their business and sawa 600% increase in bookings
Carnival Cruises is among the businesses ready to risk the health of their customers and staff when they announced they would begin to phase-in cruises starting Aug. 1. Eight of their ships will leave from Port Canaveral, Miami and Galveston.
Carnival Cruises was forced to cancel their trips after the CDC issued a no sail order in March, which is set to expire at the end of July.
On May 4, they announced their plans to resume sailing. Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative, reported that on that day, bookings shot up 600% compared to the same date last year.
According to a statement, the CDC does not “have enough information to say when it will be safe for cruise ships to resume sailing.” But they did say they will work with cruise lines to CDC will continue to assure public health concerns and procedures. However, the CDC has not consulted with any of the cruise organizations on an estimated timeline to resume travel.
In a news release, Carnival restated that they will continue to work “with federal, state, local and international government officials” to ensure public health safety. Adding that “any return to service will also include whatever enhanced operational protocols and social gathering guidelines that are in place at the time of the resumption of cruise operations.”
The travel industry took a huge hit when the outbreak first hit but is it safe to open these cruise lines when experts say a resurgence is inevitable?
And the risk of death is even higher for the Black and Latinx community.
A handful of states like Illinois, Michigan, Louisiana, New Jersey and North Carolina have gathered data based on race – and data shows the Black and Brown communities have been effected at disproportioned rates.
Dr. Martin Cetron, CDC Director for Global Migration and Quarantine, told CNN that they’d learned a lot about the virus and it’s contagion levels. Cruise lines pose a high risk because:
it is a closed space environment
serves the elderly population and those with previous medical conditions
joint living activities among the crew/staff
“Unlike the passengers, [the staff] stay on board from one sailing to the next … so they can serve as a reservoir: both the asymptomatic and the mildly infected who don’t recognize that they have any serious concern,” said Dr. Cetron.
Dr. Cetron called it “a tall order” to make cruise ships safe during a global virus outbreak.
For now, cruise lines are working with the CDC to develop and implement procedures to prevent, detect, counter and contain Covid-19 onboard – so that when sailing does resume, all is in order.
The CDC has the right to extend the “No Sail Order,” but for now, eight Carnival cruise ships are making plans to set sail.