In an apparent turnaround under pressure from cruise lines, states and members of Congress, the Centers for Disease Control issued new guidelines Wednesday night that could allow cruising to resume in July.
The first major change is to wipe away the original requirement for a series of test cruises to try out new health and safety procedures; they will not be required for cruises where 98% of crew and 95% of passengers are vaccinated.
In a second big move, CDC agreed that for cruise lines that do not commit to that vaccine threshold and must sail test cruises, CDC will respond to their applications for tests within five days rather than the previous sixty.
In other important but less fundamental changes, CDC has simplified procedures for getting approved port agreements, and will allow use of rapid-antigen Covid tests for fully-vaccinated passengers rather than a PCR test.
The action comes at a point where cruise lines have warned that they need to begin preparations now if July sailings are to take place, and where several lines vowed to move their ships to other non-U.S. ports if no change was forthcoming from CDC, which has not permitted sailings since March, 2020.
