The battered cruise industry is hoping for a return in short order, with some of the major companies announcing itineraries that begin in June. However, the CDC's "No-Sail" order is still in place and effective through July 24, 2020, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
According to CDC's website, it has "reason to believe that cruise ship travel may continue to introduce, transmit, or spread COVID-19." The No-Sail order states that “cruise passengers are at increased risk of person-to-person spread of infectious diseases.”
RCCL-Royal Caribbean (world's 2nd-largest cruise shipowner) recently announced that its suspension of voyages ends on June 12, while NCL-Norwegian (world's 3rd-largest) plans to restart cruises on July 1. CCL-Carnival Cruise Line (subsidiary of Carnival Corporation) announced starting operations on August 1, though it tweeted that “Any resumption of cruise operations - whenever that may be - is fully dependent on our continued efforts in cooperation with federal, state, local and international government officials.”
Cruise ship operators are gearing up with no policies on how they intend to deal with social distancing protocols or keep ships perfectly sanitized.