Is the CDC unfairly ‘singling out’ the cruise industry? This trade group leader says yes

With the omicron variant of the coronavirus continuing to spread, cruise lines are struggling with cancellations through April. Big operators like Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean and Crystal Cruises have suspended cruises or cut back on their voyage schedules, citing COVID-19 outbreaks and financial issues.

The initial omicron outbreaks on cruise ships led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a warning on Dec. 30, 2021, saying that people should avoid cruises, regardless of their vaccination status and put cruising in its highest risk level for contracting the pandemic disease. The CDC hasn’t updated that advisory to not cruise.

However, the CDC allowed its “conditional sailing order” — rules for cruise ships operating in U.S. waters to expire. The conditional sailing order is now voluntary and the major cruise lines are complying.

Julia Simpson is president of the World Travel and Tourism Council, a nonprofit industry trade group that works with government leaders to promote tourism business. At a tourism trade fair in Madrid last week, Simpson called on the CDC to, “stop singling out the cruise industry with harmful and unnecessary measures.”

The Miami Herald spoke with Simpson to ask her about cruising during omicron, the outlook for the embattled industry and why she was critical of the CDC.

Her remarks have been edited for brevity and clarity.

Question: Why are you pushing back against the CDC’s warning for travelers to avoid cruising regardless of their vaccination status? Why do you think the agency is singling out the cruise industry?

Answer: First, clearly we respect the role of the CDC in a pandemic and we understand that they have a very difficult job to do and they’ve been doing it really well. The cruise lines follow a high, exacting standard of health and safety. Almost 100% of passengers and crew are fully vaccinated, which if you compare that to the general population is a much higher rate. The incidence of COVID-19 on board is also lower than in the general population. So we feel that the CDC is singling out the industry unfairly and somewhat illogically, as far as we can see.

Question: Do you think that the CDC should roll back its warning for people to avoid cruises, regardless of vaccination status, even though it’s well known that infectious diseases spread fast in the close quarters of a cruise ship?

Answer: Absolutely, we call on the CDC to reconsider this and to roll back this warning and the level-four risk status. We feel that traveling by cruise is a very safe way to travel and it has a proven track record. I think it’s unwarranted because the cruise industry has been working for many years with outbreaks of disease and it really is state-of-the-art in terms of how it manages and protects its customers against health threats. There are lots of other indoor and outdoor activities that are not facing an equivalent level of pandemic risks and all sectors should be treated fairly and equally. We believe the cruise industry is not being treated in the same way as other parts of society.

Question: How would you evaluate the industry’s response to the recent omicron outbreaks on board? Could anything be improved going forward?

Answer: I don’t run cruise lines myself, but there has been an issue with cruise lines where the crew and people coming on are triple vaccinated but still test positive, because we know omicron is highly transmissible. It’s like all walks of life these days, whether you’re in a football stadium, whether you’re in a theater, or whether you’re traveling on the train. The most important thing you can do to protect yourself is to be vaccinated.

Question: We’ve heard from passengers in recent weeks and reported on people’s nightmare experiences testing positive on board for the coronavirus and people told us they thought the cruise lines weren’t being transparent. Why the secrecy?

Answer: I do agree that it’s really important for all industries to be as open as possible with customers, and I think there should be a clear exchange of information. Clearly if someone does test positive, you need a degree of isolation and you’re not going to be in a happy place. I know that the cruise lines have always tried their very best to make customers feel looked after in difficult situations. I feel sorry for anybody that has felt they haven’t met those usual standards.

Question: Two weeks ago, the first major cruise operator, Crystal Cruises, said it was suspending operations through April. Is this a sign of things to come for the industry? The industry has really struggled financially with the pandemic, and with omicron as another setback, can it hold on?

Answer: Inevitably, not just with cruises but across the whole of the travel sector, we will see some casualties. There have been some airlines, like Norwegian Air, and other airlines that have sadly disappeared in earlier stages of the pandemic. The big cruise lines are getting out there, they’re carrying customers as we speak. I still expect there to be a very healthy cruise industry at the end of this. But we call on the CDC to reconsider its position on cruising because it does seem inequitable, and it doesn’t seem to be following the science, so any help that we can get will be gratefully received.

This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 5:09 PM.