Lawmaker calls for new cruise ship ban

Saturday, 28 Dec, 2021 5

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal called on cruise lines to halt all cruise operations and urged health agencies to impose stricter curbs.

Cruise ships are ‘repeating recent history as petri dishes of Covid-19 infection,’ Blumenthal, said.

"Time for CDC and cruise lines to protect consumers and again pause, by docking their ships," he tweeted.

Even with vaccination requirements and stricter mask rules, the number of positive cases aboard ships has surged in the past week.

Multiple ships have been turned away from several ports.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is investigating dozens of cruise ships.

There are 68 cruise ships under a yellow classification which prompts an investigation over positive Covid cases or if health data it sends to the CDC is insufficient.

Ships being monitored include vessels from Carnival, Disney, MSC Cruises, NCLH, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.

TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

5 COMMENTS

[email protected]Jan 03, 2022 04:07 PM

Fully vaccinated sailings have not worked - we saw that coming. All it has done is promote discrimination against the unvaccinated and if you are going to discriminate and be proud of doing so then you should be shut down until all guests can sail freely again. If you have done any reasonable research, you know that vaccinated or not you can get and pass the virus, all the vaccine does is reduce symptoms. I am a travel agent and I do not sell travel for suppliers that promote discrimination period! I am shocked that more agents are not up in arms about the discrimination - if we accept this, do we now accept discrimination on all levels? I can now go on a cruise and refuse service from anyone who I do not find acceptable because the cruise line has determined discrimination is proudly honored? No Thank you!

Michael JonesDec 29, 2021 05:31 AM

yesterday the 3rd cricket test ended in Melbourne (poms lost again). In 3 days they had close to 100,000 people attend. No mask requirement whatsoever.

Michael JonesDec 29, 2021 05:30 AM

yet another idiot politician grand standing again. What is it about leftie pollies ? They are going to save us all. What a joke. Amicron is so weak that CHOs in Australia are now saying, worst case is a bad cold, if vaccinated.

Toni ReedDec 28, 2021 09:13 PM

there are fewer cases from cruise ships than from the NFL, MLB, NBA, high school games, etc. Why not ban them from playing? The Biden admin has done more damage to the economy in the 1 year that he has been in office than any president in history. When you have 2 thousand passengers on a ship and 10 people get sick, thats less 5%. More get sick from going to a sporting event. On the ships there are protocols that must be followed, at a sporting event there are none. This guy, the old man in the oval office and his admin are ruining peoples lively hoods, not to mention the islands that these ships port, are relying on these ships and the passengers to keep them with jobs, food on the table, etc.

Preston McKinneyDec 28, 2021 07:33 PM

Perhaps it is time for people like Blumenthal to worry more about damage being done to the economy overall by the Biden Administration that make suggestions to shut down important parts of the travel industry that generates many jobs in the USA.

Have your say Cancel reply

Please Log in or, Register to post a comment.

The Oregon Tourism Commission, dba Travel Oregon, works to enhance visitors’ experiences by providing information, resources and trip planning tools...

Our leadership is bold. Our agility thrives on open innovation and we embrace the new, whether it’s diversity, trends, challenges....

It’s easy to find perfection in Santa Barbara, but what if there was even more of your favorite finds, activities,...

The State of Michigan is blessed with the riches of unspoiled nature: the nation’s longest freshwater coastline, lakes that feel like...

The Florida Keys and Key West is a 126 mile long string of Islands connected to South Florida by the...

STA was established to support the growth of the travel and tourism sector by serving the needs of tourism companies...

In 2024, The Red Sea will be ready to welcome 300,000 guests in line with the completion of 16 hotels...

Why Avalon Waterways: Happiness flows on an Avalon river cruise. From Asia to South America and Europe to the Nile,...

Here at Elegant Resorts, luxury travel is in our DNA. True pioneers in the industry, we were the first specialist...

Cunard is the operator of luxury cruise ships Queen Mary 2®, Queen Victoria® and Queen Elizabeth®. Renowned for impeccable White...

Welcome to Qatar Airways Qatar Airways is proud to be one of the youngest global airlines to serve all...

Nium was founded on the mission to build the global payments infrastructure of tomorrow, today. With the onset of the on-demand...

We are a small-group adventure travel operator offering more than 750 tours in 100 countries, on all seven continents. Our...

Holiday Extras is the UK market leader in airport parking, airport hotels, worldwide airport lounges, destination car hire, airport transfers...

Travel Outlook, the premier hotel call center™ Travel Outlook is an innovative, custom off-site central reservations office (CRO) service that...

Located in the heart of the Northeast and within easy driving distance of a third of the population of the...

Celebrating its 30-year anniversary in 2022, Regent Seven Seas Cruises® offers guests An Unrivaled Experience® with every luxury included. Carrying...