CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) announced the 3rd voluntary suspension of USA homeporting cruise operations.
CLIA (groups ~60 cruise shipping companies) announced on Wednesday, August 5, that its members - including Carnival, Disney and Royal Caribbean would be waiting until at least October 31 prior to setting sail from US cruise ports.
The sail date extension from September 15 through October 31 comes amid multiple COVID outbreaks aboard some of the first voyages to set sail since the pandemic forced closures across the cruise industry. Two ships in Europe and one in the South Pacific experienced Coronavirus outbreaks. This included Germany's AIDA, Norway's Hurtigruten, and Paul Gauguin in the South Pacific.
"This is a difficult decision as we recognize the crushing impact that this pandemic has had on our community and every other industry," the cruise industry group said in a statement.
"However, we believe this proactive action further demonstrates the cruise industry's commitment to public health and willingness to voluntarily suspend operations in the interest of public health and safety, as has occurred twice prior. CLIA [Cruise Line International Association] cruise line members will continue to monitor the situation with the understanding that we will revisit a possible further extension on or before 30 September 2020. At the same time, should conditions in the US change and it becomes possible to consider short, modified sailings, we would consider an earlier restart."
Cruise activity in the United States supports ~421,000 jobs and annually generates ~USD 53 billion in economic activity, according to the Economic Impact Study of CLIA published in November last year. Each day of the suspension of USA cruise operations leads to a loss of up to USD 110 million in economic activity, including 800 American jobs.