Resilient Community with Brighter Days Ahead

The cruise industry has effectively taken responsibility for protecting public health on cruise ships for more than 50 years – and took immediate and aggressive action based on the information every step of the way, continuing to strengthen its response as new information became available. We believe this is one reason the number of cases linked to ships is a small fraction of the global total. Importantly, all decisions were made based on the guidance of or at the direction of prevailing health authorities.

With that said, CLIA and our ocean-going cruise line members are working to identify COVID-19 protocols based on the advice and clearance

of governments, health authorities and medical experts around the world. We are taking a holistic approach to planning for COVID-19 safety, when sailing is allowed, which would ideally entail a door-to-door strategy beginning at the time of booking through the passengers’ return home.

And, although a fully defined plan for resumption of cruising has not yet been finalized, cruise lines are working with ports and destinations so that future cruise itineraries are designed with public health considerations and pre-arranged contingency plans as a top priority. The cruise community remains actively engaged with our partners at the local, national, and international levels to facilitate alignment and inform cruise industry protocols as they advance through the planning process.

This is all to say that this collective work will inform the establishment of a mandatory CLIA member policy regarding COVID-19. Once the final policy is established, it will be reflected in CLIA’s compendium of policies that all CLIA ocean-going cruise line members must agree to implement.

You can expect that when cruising resumes in earnest, the cruise industry will continue its long tradition of leading the way with new and enhanced measures. While it is too soon to discuss specific protocols being developed, given the scientific knowledge about this virus is changing almost daily and much could change between now and the time we finalize the appropriate measures, one thing is clear: CLIA and its ocean-going cruise line members are fully committed to identifying viable technologies that help avoid the introduction of COVID-19 aboard ships and enable cruise lines to quickly detect and respond to risks and combat transmission.

To that end, the cruise industry is exploring more robust screening protocols that go beyond other travel sectors, including expanded cleaning and sanitation practices for ships and terminals, along with comprehensive shipboard prevention, surveillance, and response measures that are effective in protecting the safety and health of passengers, crew, and the residents of the communities we visit.

Some of these include: • Enhanced screening of passengers and crew. • Appropriate distancing measures as required and appropriate at the time of resumption of operations — across the spectrum for the entirety of the guest experience. • Buffets will be modified or eliminated as necessary. • We are identifying potential solutions to the challenges related to shoreside excursions, with the objective of finding ways to help prevent the unintentional spread of the virus. • Cruise lines are unique in having medical facilities and personnel onboard – and we are looking to go even further in those capabilities. • Care and training of the crew on all new and enhanced protocols as an integral part of the industry restart. • Pre-arranged options for medical evacuations with consideration of impacts on local healthcare systems.

Travel and tourism have the power to transcend all types of barriers and unite people, places, and cultures with travel options and experiences that appeal to a broad range of budgets, interest, and abilities. Cruise also offers more choices in activities and destinations than any other type of holiday travel – attracting a diverse and increasingly younger range of travelers, while providing for personal growth and greater understanding of the world by connecting people and cultures.

Whether you are a travel agency that helps with the process, a passenger on your first or one of many holidays, a crew member working onboard ship, or work shoreside in a port or destination, the passion for travel and the uniqueness of cruise unites us all. It is this passion and unwavering belief that cruising will once again be at the forefront of providing enhanced public health practices that keep this community going at an unprecedented time.