Two Cruise Lines' Protocol Panel Says it Won CDC Support

[Bean79]

11:03 ET - The expert panel formed by cruise operators Royal Caribbean and Norwegian in developing cruising protocols has gotten the support of the CDC and will share findings with the rest of the industry, says panel co-chair Michael Leavitt, who is former governor of Utah and HHS secretary under the Bush administration. Leavitt tells WSJ the panel will focus on screening and exposure reduction; environmental operations such as engineering controls; response contingencies and planning; and destination and route planning.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 06, 2020 11:03 ET (15:03 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

[JLMoran]

1 hour ago, crisgold52 said:

Actually as per cruise industry news forum...

And as per Vicki Freed... the new panel will present its recommendations to each company on AUG 31 then the cruise lines have to vet them before presenting them to the CDC which who knows will take how long at this point its indicative that the lines will not commence any kind of restart on Sept 16. Will see about the rest of 2020.

 

This isn't inconsistent with @Bean79's post. Basically, the CDC has indicated that they approve of the panel that's been formed and will be willing to listen to whatever proposals they offer. But those proposals, as you noted, won't be going before the CDC any earlier than Aug 31.

It's possible that the CDC's support could translate into a "fast track" review process, but I'd be very surprised. I don't think anyone is going to do anything on a fast track (outside of the vaccine research that's ongoing, and even that is still under FDA purview and approval).

[twangster]

Positive news for sure but at the end of the day cruising will resume when it's safe to.  

[Bean79]

4 minutes ago, twangster said:

Positive news for sure but at the end of the day cruising will resume when it's safe to.  

Yeah I agree. I just wanted to cling on to any positive news I can find. The best part about cruising for me is no phone or news. We are being bombarded with so much negative news.

[SpeedNoodles]

4 minutes ago, Bean79 said:

Yeah I agree. I just wanted to cling on to any positive news I can find. The best part about cruising for me is no phone or news. We are being bombarded with so much negative news.

It's possible to avoid the news.  Mr SpeedNoodles hasn't seen the news since March.

[Matt]

I think the original post is basically saying that the CDC approves of this approach RC  & NCL are taking, not that they've already approved their plan (which doesnt exist yet)

[Scrumps]

That the panel has ex CDC people and a former governor of Utah and HHS secretary is going to account for a lot in regards to getting a response from the CDC.

[Bean79]

5 hours ago, Scrumps said:

That the panel has ex CDC people and a former governor of Utah and HHS secretary is going to account for a lot in regards to getting a response from the CDC.

I sure hope so.

[Morganno]

Anyone know about their European operations which don't rely on CDC? 

[Matt]

2 hours ago, Morganno said:

Anyone know about their European operations which don't rely on CDC? 

From RC:
"Global government agencies, including the CDC, play a critical role in preserving life, preventing COVID-19 transmission, and protecting public health. Our intent is to adopt the panel’s recommendations as well as the CDC standards across the global fleets of both companies."