Posted on 02/04/2021 5:25:37 PM PST by Capt. Tom
This week’s Senate Transportation Committee meeting made painfully clear what the current state is of cruises leaving from Florida. It’s proving to be toilsome and there is a long road ahead before sailings can effectively resume.
Michael Rubin, the Florida Ports Council government representative, told members of the Senate committee that it would be months before a resumption will happen. It could also be 2022 or later before we see cruises on any significant level, let alone the same levels as pre-pandemic.
Are the CDC’s Measures Too Harsh? If we look at the immediate start of cruises from Florida, it is starting to look as if the measures the CDC has implemented in its safe sailing framework are just too cumbersome for cruise lines to comply with within any reasonable timeframe. Multiple other issues also seem to be arising as time progresses.
The CDC’s measures for crew members and passengers include building onboard laboratory capacity to test passengers and conducting “simulated voyages” to look at cruise lines’ ability to mitigate COVID-19 risks on ships.
Arnold Donald, the Carnival Corporation CEO, said that the cruise lines are still waiting for further instructions on how to perform these test voyages.
According to multiple reports, Michael Rubin told the Senate committee the cruise lines and ports are working through an “onerous” list of requirements from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and hope to have at least some vessels operating at half capacity this summer.
Also Read: Why Haven’t We Had Any Test Cruises Yet?
While cruise lines hope to be bringing back crew members soon to commence and clear quarantine requirements, another issue that has arisen lately is what would happen if cruise ships visit foreign ports under the current travel restrictions.
All this is creating a situation where resumptions of cruises are at best months away:
“I’m not sure we’ll have significant cruise operations until perhaps next year and even beyond that. Some of the smaller luxury liners may not be operating until there are vaccines available worldwide. We are concerned. We’re hopeful that they’ll allow them to operate at least half capacity here maybe in April, maybe in June. Hopefully, before that timeframe, because this is really, really troubling.”
Florida Hit Hardest By Cruise-Stop
Rubin said that although the pandemic’s impact varies by port, combined, the financial impact could reach $22 billion. A port like Panama City (FL) is handling more cargo, while Port Canaveral’s operations traditionally involve cruise operations 70% of the time.
“That is a significant impact on Florida,” Rubin said. “Sixty percent of cruise activity occurs in Florida.”
If we look at the staggering numbers involved in the cruise industry in Florida, it is not hard to see the impact that the absence of cruises is having on local economies.
The top three multi-day cruise ports are in Florida: Port Miami, Port Canaveral, and Port Everglades. In 2018, Florida had 59% of U.S. embarkations, over 7.5 million passengers
Five of six ports in Florida are home ports to cruise ships. The sixth (Key West) is a regular port of call. The cruise industry is responsible for more than 149,000 jobs in Florida, $8.49 billion in direct spending, and $7.69 billion in wages each year.
The economic impact, which you can read all about in this PDF, goes far beyond the cruise lines and ports. The cruise industry’s contribution to the airline industry was estimated to be at $2 billion in 2019.
CDC Needs to Work With Ports and Cruise Lines
With the current situation as it is right now, Rubin thinks that the CDC is too hung up on the incidents which happened at the beginning of the pandemic:
“As you know, there were some high-profile incidents of passengers trying to get off and a few deaths out there. So, we’re living with those high-profile incidents, and it can’t seem to get past it. … I think all of our ports and the cruise lines are trying to work with the CDC to say, ‘Look, we’re gonna have protocols, we’ll have masks, we’ll sail at half capacity so we can quarantine people if they need to be quarantined.”
There is certainly no denying that the cruise lines have done an extreme amount of work to be able to sail again.
However, the way it looks with growing numbers of cases worldwide, delays in the distribution of vaccines, and a political climate that does not favor cruises right now, it is not hard to see that Michael Rubin could well be right. Cruising on any significant level could be a long time in the future.
I live full time in an RV. I’ve never seen it so packed ANYWHERE. Usually you can just drive out to the BLM desert and park for a few days. Not any more. So many van lifers and RV transients have so trashed places the feds closed them. What’s left is so crowded it’s like being at a Black Friday sale. Everyone is going stir crazy. I’M not looking forward to the increased cost of diesel and propane thanks to chomo Joe and the ho.
Biden will give them a bailout. Hunter will suddenly have his art work in massive demand on the ships
We lived in Charleston years ago and used to camp down there when the kids were small...it was fun
Same here...
I NEED A CRUISE !!!!!
Can you not drive to a beach town this Spring/Summer?
Toss the mask into the back seat.....step on the gas.....hit the open road.....dine at DIFFERENT restaurants for most meals.....step outside your door and take a walk to the nearby shops....mingle with folks you won’t have to see again, at dinner....then breakfast.....then....the show...then...
Well, you get my point :-)
Happy travels!
True. Own a beach house south of Cebu in an eco-tourism area that used to be fully booked most times of the year via AirBNB. Mortgage was $2200 a month, usually $3500 to $4000 per month in booking fees from tourists.
So now I’m eating the $2200 per month mortgage with no tourism in sight.
Philippines, Thailand and other countries dependent on tourism are absolutely devastated.
Speaking of cruise lines, a majority of workers on any boat were usually Filipino. All jobless now with no other industry to go into.
step on the gas.....hit the open road
—————————
Carter’s, er Obama’s, er Biden’s $4 to $6/ gallon of gas will soon be back...
Better hurry, then!
Whats going to be open ???
In August I’ll have been in America for 50 years...I cant plan any type of trip...cruise or otherwise...
For the 40th we went to Atlanta for a few days...Stayed in the Centennial Park Embassy Suites...ate at Ruth’s Chris...Did just about everything...
We also stayed there and ate at Ruth Chris for my 70th Birthday...
Emperor Joe is out to spoil my fun in life...
I thought his ‘appearing’ was suppose to dry every eye and wipe out plagues forever and EVERYBODY would have peace and joy evermore...(was that just for the birds namely ravens ??? )
and those Filipinos were great workers...
Biden’s Indians are lining up to replace them...
Same with health care. Who actually prefers Filipina nurses to Indian ones (unless you like the certain Indian body odor curry stink, of course... as they don’t treat personal hygiene as very important)
Most ships are foreign flagged, e.g. Malta, Panama, Liberia,etc. What effect This has USA question.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.