Letter to the Editor: CDC Should Study New Data, Allow Cruises to Resume This Summer
As the owner of Chris Caulfield-CruiseOne based in Croton-on-Hudson, and directly affected by the CDC order to suspend cruises, I feel it is time to restart cruises in U.S. waters.
The long-awaited instructions issued on Apr. 2 by the CDC continues an outdated, overly complex process for resumption of U.S. cruise operations. There is no clear timeline or path forward and it is at odds with the approach the CDC and governments in other parts of the world apply to all other travel and tourism segments in mitigating the risk of COVID-19.
Nearly a half-million Americans across the country depend on a functioning cruise industry and are at risk of being excluded from participating in the economic recovery from the pandemic. Those impacted include longshoremen, ground transportation operators, travel agents, hotel, restaurant and retail workers, as well as the tens of thousands of businesses that service cruise ships.
The cruise community is ready to work with the CDC to adopt a new approach to resumption in the U.S. that reflects current conditions and incorporates what’s been learned from cruises that have occurred in other parts of the world.
I implore all to take a moment to contact their members of Congress today to make resumption of cruising in the U.S. by July an urgent priority.
Chris Caulfield
Cruise Consultant, Caulfield-CruiseOne
Croton-on-Hudson
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