Cruisers may still be able to enjoy a vacation from a US port before the summer is over.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is managing the conditional sailing order (CSO) may ease or modify the CSO to allow US cruises from mid-summer, Bloomberg reports.
A CDC official said sailings could resume ‘hopefully by mid-summer with restricted revenue sailings.’
That could lead to amended guidelines for cruise lines to adhere to although nothing concrete has been disclosed.
It comes as Carnival Cruise Line threatened to move ships offshore to restart operations.
Other major lines including NCL and Royal Caribbean have announced plans to run cruises from various homeports in the Caribbean.
Carnival has extended the suspension of US operations through the end of June.
Industry groups Cruise Lines International Association and ASTA have criticised the CDC’s sluggish response to laying out conditions for the CSO.
"CDC is committed to working with the cruise industry and seaport partners to resume cruising following the phased approach outlined in the conditional sailing order. This goal aligns with the desire to resume passenger operations in the United States expressed by many major cruise ship operators and travelers," the agency said.
