'Important first step' as cruise industry releases 'Covid-19 framework'

Maritime minister Robert Courts welcomed the launch of the framework, labelling it “an important step forward to allow cruises to prepare to set sail when safe to do so.”

However both Harmer and Roberts acknowledged there was still no indication of when the cruise sector would be allowed to restart.

“It’s really difficult to predict. It’s not an easy question to answer,” Roberts said.

“The government understands the impact it’s having on the whole cruise industry and the broader travel industry in terms of the jobs it supports. But clearly they need to balance that with the current situation and the fact that we’ve seen an increase in infections and additional lockdown measures in wider society.

“It will simply be when the time is right to do so.”

Asked whether the new protocols might put people off cruising, Harmer accepted cruise holidays would “of course look slightly different”.

However Roberts highlighted the positive feedback from guests who enjoyed recent sailings on MSC.

“As more and more cruise lines return to sailing, I think guests will get more and more confident they can still have the amazing holidays that they enjoyed before this pandemic,” he added.

Agents can find out more about the new cruise framework in a special Clia webinar on 6 October, 9-9.45am here.