Cruise Lines Were Shut Out of the Coronavirus Stimulus. Here’s Why

Ms. Golin-Blaugrund, of the Cruise Line Industry Association, said the cruise industry is committed to responsible tourism, and its environmental policies and practices often exceed those required by law.

Accusations of a botched coronavirus response

First there was the Diamond Princess.

The world watched as the ship sat quarantined off the coast of Japan and the coronavirus ripped through the cabin — infecting so many passengers that at the time it became the largest concentration of coronavirus cases outside China. The response from the cruise line was widely seen as rife with mistakes.

What followed was a series of actions by the industry that drew criticism, just as members of Congress were drafting the bill. As more ships were hobbled by the coronavirus, the cruise industry was slow to respond and to put in place precautions that would protect passengers — at times seeming to have an ad hoc approach to coronavirus responses on board ships.

It was a public-relations nightmare, and eventually the State Department stepped in and warned Americans, especially those with underlying health issues, not to board cruise ships. After the warning, the major cruise lines suspended U.S. operations for 30 days.

The optics for the industry are not great at the moment, said James Hardiman, the managing director of leisure equity research for Wedbush Securities, who follows the industry.

“I think if the U.S. public turns on the television and they see a bunch of people getting back on a cruise ship anytime soon, I think the public reaction to that is going to be very much akin to the public reaction when you saw a bunch of spring breakers getting drunk and ignoring the new reality,” he said.

The perception that going on a cruise is synonymous with bad or irresponsible behavior, he said, “is going to be a real problem for the industry.”