Cruise lines await CDC decision on “no-sail” order, set to expire

PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. — A “no-sail” order for cruise ships issued by the Centers for Disease Control is set to expire this weekend, but it could be extended.

The entire U.S. cruise industry is on pins and needles awaiting the CDC’s decision on whether to extend the order.

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“It’s been crippling to the port communities...Port Canaveral, Miami, Port Everglades, Tampa to a lesser degree,” says Canaveral Port Authority Director Captain John Murray.

Murray says they’re already lining up the ships and getting them prepared should the CDC allow the order to expire.

He’s watched as European countries started allowing cruises again in July.

Here in the United States, a “no-sail” order put in place by the CDC is still in effect, but it will expire this weekend and could be extended.

Murray says those in the cruise industry- and the businesses that support it- are hoping the order just expires, giving cruises the green light to set sail again.

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The Cruise Line Trade Group has submitted a proposal to the CDC with 74 different items for making things safer as part of their re-opening plans.

Governor Ron DeSantis said Tuesday he’s been pushing the White House to allow it to open because he believes we’re in a much better place for testing and handling the virus than we were when everything closed.

Cox Media Group