Disney extends its COVID-19 cruise shutdown through January, further hitting Port Canaveral
Disney Cruise Line has extended its halt to sailings through January, dealing another blow to Port Canaveral and the Space Coast tourism industry.
Multiday cruise ships have not sailed out of Port Canaveral since March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Disney is one of four major cruise lines with ships based at Port Canaveral, along with Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean. Disney’s two largest ships — the Dream and the Fantasy — sail from Port Canaveral.
More:Port Canaveral debut of new Disney Wish cruise ship delayed by COVID-19 issues at shipyard
More:Carnival Cruise Line extends halt to cruising through January, affecting Port Canaveral
In a statement announcing that it will not sail during January, Disney said: “Our team at Disney Cruise Line remains focused on the health and well-being of our guests and team members. We continue to carefully review the guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and are working toward resuming operations.”
Disney said it is continuing “to refine our protocols for our eventual return to service.”
The CDC issued a no-sail order in March that was extended through Oct. 30.
The CDC then replaced that no-sail order with what it called a “framework for conditional sailing order” that introduces a phased approach “for the safe and responsible resumption of passenger cruises.” Among other things, that order requires ships conduct test cruises without paying passengers.
Port Canaveral officials have said that the 74 recommendations from the cruise industry trade group the Cruise Lines International Association and individual cruise lines will make cruising safe.
These include mandated COVID-19 testing of passengers and crew, temperature checks, social distancing, limits on ship capacities and strict controls on shore excursions. Cruise lines also are expected to focus on shorter cruises, have staggered passenger boarding times, and have increased medical personnel and facilities onboard ships.
The members of the Cruise Lines International Association voluntarily decided to extend their halt to cruise lines through January. But individual cruise lines — including Carnival and Disney — subsequently announced plans the extend the halt of sailings through February.
Victory Casino Cruises, however, is operating out of Port Canaveral, with two sailings a day on Wednesdays through Sundays.
Cruise industry efforts
Bari Golin-Blaugrund, vice president of strategic communications for CLIA, declined to speculate on when multiday cruises would resume from U.S. ports.
“Since the first day of CLIA members’ voluntary suspension of operations in March, the cruise industry has remained steadfast in its commitment to making science-led, people-first decisions,” Golin-Blaugrund said. “We will continue to be guided by these filters as we evaluate next steps, including the timing of resumption.”
Golin-Blaugrund said the cruise industry “has a long track record of working together with the CDC, and we continue to share a common goal of protecting the public health. CLIA members are 100% focused on working productively with the U.S. government to operationalize a path forward for the resumption of cruising in the United States. The recommendations of the (cruise industry’s) Healthy Sail Panel and the CDC’s new conditional sailing order are both positive steps forward for our community. With that said, a number of complexities remain, and we look forward to working with the government to address those matters, as we begin to take the appropriate steps toward resumption of U.S. cruise operations.”
Golin-Blaugrund said cruise ships have gradually resumed sailing in Europe and parts of Asia, “with science-backed protocols that are proving effective, including 100% testing for passengers and crew prior to embarkation, physical distancing, mask-wearing, enhanced ventilation measures and strict guidelines for passengers who engage in shore excursions.”
She said these measures, among others, “are designed to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 in a cruise setting and allow for a quick and coordinated response mechanism. The important thing to note is that this is a continuous process, and these measures will be continuously evaluated and adjusted against the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic. Key considerations include the availability of new prevention and mitigation measures, such as testing, treatments and, ultimately, the introduction of an effective vaccine.”
Large economic impact
The Cruise Lines International Association estimates that a cruise industry shutdown through March 2021 would mean a loss of $39.0 billion in U.S. economic activity, 301,300 U.S. jobs and $16.5 billion in wages.
In a statement, Kelly Craighead, president and chief executive officer of CLIA, said: “We recognize the devastating impact that COVID-19 has had on our community. A resumption of cruising in the United States in 2021, with stringent measures in place and with the support of health authorities, will be critical to putting people back to work and fueling the greater economic recovery from the pandemic.”
Florida has been particularly hard-hit by the cruise shutdown. According to a recently released report that Business Research and Economic Advisors did for CLIA:
- The three largest cruise ports are in Florida, with Miami accounting for 24.7% of all passenger embarkations in 2019, Port Canaveral accounting for 16.3% and Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale accounting for 14.0%. Among other Florida cruise ports, Tampa accounted for 3.7% and Jacksonville accounted for 1.4%. In all, 60.1% of the 13.79 million cruise travelers leaving a U.S. port in 2019 departed from Florida.
- In addition 1.2 million cruise passengers make port-of-call stops in Florida, most of them in Key West.
- Passengers, crew and cruise lines combined to directly spend $9.04 billion in Florida in 2019, up 6.5% over 2018. Florida accounted for 36% of the industry’s direct expenditures.
- This direct spending generated 158,992 total jobs paying $8.06 billion.
- Florida is the home of corporate or administrative offices for most of the cruise lines, accounted for an estimated 59% of the cruise lines’ U.S.-based employment, and 68% of the cruise lines’ U.S.-based wages during 2019.
Port Canaveral has reduced its staff from 268 positions to 153, largely because of lost revenue related to the cruise industry shutdown. That was done through a combination of 68 permanent layoffs, 17 unpaid furloughs, and not filling 30 positions left vacant because of retirement or employees taking jobs elsewhere.
Additionally, hotels, restaurants and other businesses in the Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach areas have been hurt by the cruise industry shutdown.
‘Level 4’ travel alert
The CDC has a “Level 4” travel alert in place related to cruising. As part of its alert:
- The CDC recommends that all people avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises, worldwide, because the risk of COVID-19 on cruise ships is very high.
- It is especially important that people with an increased risk of severe illness avoid travel on cruise ships.
- Cruise passengers are at increased risk of person-to-person spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, and outbreaks of COVID-19 have been reported on cruise ships.
- Passengers who decide to go on a cruise should get tested three to five days after their trip and stay home for seven days after travel. Even if they test negative, passengers should stay home for the full seven days. If they don’t get tested, it’s safest to stay home for 14 days after they travel.
Disney had 24 sailings scheduled for January that were canceled by its latest announcement, including 13 from Port Canaveral.
Disney said passengers booked on affected sailings who have paid their reservation in full will be offered the choice of a cruise credit to be used for a future sailing or a full refund.
Passengers who have not paid their reservations in full will automatically receive a refund of what they have paid so far.
Affected passengers and travel agents will receive an email from Disney Cruise Line outlining details and next steps.
Dave Berman is government editor at FLORIDA TODAY.
Contact Berman at 321-242-3649 or dberman@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @bydaveberman
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