| CLIA Update 30 June 21

WITH Joel Katz, MD, CLIA Australasia – America’s revival:
This week our industry reached
another major milestone on its
path to recovery as the first cruise
passengers to sail from a US port
since the start of the pandemic
departed from Florida.
Travelling aboard Celebrity Edge,
this seven-day Caribbean cruise
marks the restart of operations in
the world’s biggest cruise market,
and is the culmination of many
months of collaboration between
cruise lines and health authorities.
At the same time, two more lines
joined the UK’s cruise revival on the
weekend, with P&O UK’s Britannia
setting sail from Southampton and
Saga Cruises’ Spirit of Discovery
departing from Tilbury.
Together these ships provide
further examples of how
extensive new health protocols
are supporting a careful revival of
cruise operations, adding to the
almost 600,000 passengers who
have already sailed successfully
in countries where cruising has
resumed.
Despite our frustration with a lack
of action from governments, CLIA
and cruise lines are pressing on
with important discussions aimed
at breaking the current deadlock
and opening a path forward.
Travel agents will again be a key
part of our message as we continue
to speak loudly on behalf of the
18,000 Australian workers whose
livelihoods depend on a resumption
of cruising.