Health Officials: No Reason for Healthy People to Cancel Cruises
by Daniel McCarthy
The State Department's travel advisory was only targeted to people with “serious underlying conditions” and not the entire population, according to officials. Photo: Shutterstock.com.
Speaking to reporters during a press conference on Monday need to give updated on COVID-19, the director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) told reporters that cruising remains a safe and viable vacation for healthy people.
“If you are a healthy young person, there is no reason if you want to go on a cruise ship, go on a cruise ship,” Anthony Fauci, Director of NIAID said.
According to Vice President Mike Pence, those with underlying conditions, the part of the population that should be concerned about contracting COVID-19, should follow the advice of the State Department this weekend that warned “U.S. citizens, particularly travelers with underlying health conditions, should not travel by cruise ship.”
But, Vice President Pence said at the news conference, that warning was only targeted to people with “serious underlying conditions” and not the entire population.
In a statement reacting at the time of the advisory, a CLIA spokesperson said that “any action to restrict cruising is unwarranted, and at odds with the World Health Organization which ‘continues to advise against the application of travel or trade restrictions to countries experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks.’”
The statement continued: “Singling out the travel and tourism industry, and cruise lines specifically, will have significant detrimental impacts — some possibly irreversible — on the national and local economies.
Right now, cruise lines are offering most passengers flexible cancellation and rebooking policies, allow most to cancel up to 48-hours in advance of their sailing. Carnival Cruise Line has even added some incentives to help keep bookings intact.
Cruise lines speaking to TMR this week also said that they would be protecting commissions on both sailings cancelled because of COVID-19 and on the future cruise credits that guests receive after the cancellations.
