CDC's cruise ship restrictions will become voluntary this weekend

Though we are currently seeing more cases of coronavirus than ever across the nation, and many cruises are being forced to cancel due to severe outbreaks, the CDC will allow its restrictions on cruise operations to expire this weekend.

In place of the list of precautions under the CDC's conditional sailing order, the agency is creating a voluntary program that cruise lines can opt into. Currently, all 92 ships that sail from the United States are under investigation by the CDC for cases of coronavirus presumably contracted or spread while sailing.

The logic seems to be of the sort that killed the Voting Rights Act. Cruise ships are operating somewhat safely under the restrictions, therefore the restrictions are no longer needed. The CDC is assuming that the ships will continue to act in the best interest of their passengers without regulators requiring it. As we all know, the cruise ship industry is a beacon of above-board activity and trustworthiness.


Several cruise operators, eager to avoid another stoppage like the one that halted the entire industry at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, have begun requiring vaccination for all eligible passengers. It remains to be seen if those mandates will stay once the CDC is no longer subjected them to scrutiny.

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