The United States Considering Ways to Discourage Travelers from Taking Cruises

   March 7, 2020 ,   Accidents

The USA is currently considering ways to discourage US travellers from taking ship cruises as part of the broader effort to limit the spread of Coronavirus. The discussions are taking place ahead of a meeting between VP Mike Pence (in charge of leading the US response to the virus) and the cruise shipping industry over the weekend.

The US administration could advise some/all US tourists to temporarily avoid voyages in the face of a growing number of COVID-19 cases on cruise ships. The administration is debating measures aimed at reducing outbreaks onboard cruise liners with a number of officials confirming the administration had reviewed potential restrictions on U.S. cruise travel.

Earlier this week Grand Princess was barred from returning to her homeport of San Francisco CA on coronavirus fears after at least 20 people onboard fell ill.

Grand Princess cruise ships

Shares in Carnival Corporation, NCCL-Norwegian and RCCL-Royal Caribbean have fallen around 50% since January 2020.

CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) said this week that cruise companies would take steps to limit Coronavirus concerns, denying boarding to tourists who had travelled from hotspots in Iran, South Korea, China and Italy. Cruise lines would conduct illness screening for US citizens who have recently visited these destinations.

For Coronavirus updates on cruise ship quarantines (infected passengers and crew) and top-pandemic countries (COVID-19 cases and deaths, daily updated statistics) see at CruiseMapper's Norovirus page.