CDC says passengers could be boarding cruise ships in US ports as soon as July

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

It all depends on how many people get vaccinated, how well COVID-19 variants can be kept at bay, and how fast cruise companies can secure agreements with local ports and health authorities in the cities they plan to visit, said CDC’s Martin Cetron in an interview.

Passengers have not boarded cruise ships in the U.S. since mid-March 2020, when the industry shut down following COVID-19 outbreaks on multiple ships. In recent weeks the cruise industry has dialed up its pressure on the CDC to allow for cruises to resume, citing July as a target. Cetron doesn’t think cruise companies are that far off, but it’s going to take some work to get there, and a lot of things have to go right, he said.

There’s a lot to be hopeful about. More than one-third of U.S. adults has received the COVID-19 vaccine, which so far appears to be effective against more deadly COVID-19 variants.

But Cetron cautions that the U.S. is still at the beginning of a vaccine supply and distribution race against known variants and those still being defined.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/cdc-says-passengers-could-be-boarding-cruise-ships-in-us-ports-as-soon-as-july/ar-BB1fmKVu?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=DELLDHP

[Kingofalldems]

1. Not me.

[hamsterjill]

2. Bon voyage!

As for me, I’ll wait awhile. Those ships are incubators regardless of COVID.

I realize this is a plus for the economy.

[MiniMe]

3. I agree

I like cruises, and have been on several very enjoyable ones. But I'm not planning on going on any in the near future.

[beaglelover]

4. Those large cruises hold no interest to me. I could get into a more intimate experience....

say with 200 or 300 passengers, but no way with 5,000 plus on a ship. Yuck.

And I'd only go on a cruise that required 100% of passengers and staff to be fully vaccinated.

[dawg day]

8. I enjoyed a river cruise-

Up the Rhine. 180 passengers, 50 staff.

Unfortunately, that made it hard to get away from people I didn't want to have lunch and dinner with everyday.
Cruises aren't really meant for the antisocial like me!

[beaglelover]

9. That's very true, I didn't think about that aspect of a smaller cruise. What if it is filled with

RWNJ MAGAts? Ick!!

I think I'll stick to beach vacations to Aruba!

[spinbaby]

13. I did that cruise

The Rhine Gorge was fabulous and I’m glad I did it, but I found the river cruise to be a profoundly American experience—socialize with Americans, American food with a few local touches, American tours through quaint villages, even the TV channels were American.

[3catwoman3]

18. Excellent point. The social restrictions caused by the...

...pandemic have shown me that I could probably make a pretty good hermit, at least for a while.

Being around lots of people I don’t know is my idea of agony.

[jimfields33]

10. They will

At least noreigen said it would. The others? I don’t know. Last cruise for me was January 2020. Itching for another, but will sit back and see how July through December goes.

[soothsayer]

5. Ugh, I wish they'd wait just a bit longer

[dawg day]

6. I certainly hope they insist on proof of vaccination-

Early in the pandemic, cruise ships were probably spreading Covid internationally.

[lpbk2713]

7. I don't think port cities will be much of an obstacle.

Cruise ships are a large part of the local economy that they have been missing for over a year.

[kairos12]

11. COVID available at all buffet stations. Step up.

[FlyingPiggy]

12. I love cruising but I will wait a little while before I go on one.

Maybe next year....

[WarGamer]

14. Not a problem.

Show your vaccine passport on the dock, not a problem.

[Initech]

15. Vaccine passports should absolutely be a thing.

Conservatives can scream tyranny all they want, but I know I would feel safer knowing that the person sitting next to me in a plane or restaurant or theater is vaccinated. Those who refuse because they're selfish assholes can stay home.

[edhopper]

16. They will need to require vaccine passports to be viable

but the Governors of the biggest cruise port States have forbidden vaccine passports.

[3catwoman3]

17. I've never been on a cruise,and have no interest in...

...changing that just now.

I’m not very gregarious, and being on a ship with thousands of people I don’t know is to appealing at all. And, the above comment about not being able to get away from people you don’t care for on a smaller cruise sounds equally horrifying.

Being on one of those narrow boats, with just my husband, cruising the canals in England would be more my style.