New STRICT travel restrictions for cruise passengers

Cruise ships have posed a major problem during the coronavirus crisis over the past couple of weeks. It seems like we have seen ship after ship with major outbreaks leaving hundreds of people sick and we have also seen dozens of deaths.

Then to make matters worse, the aftermath has involved logistical hurdles to get the cruise ships docked and there have been a lot of disagreements over how and when passengers should be allowed to disembark from the ships. 

In short, cruise ship travel has had its challenges to say the least.  

But there is going to be another challenge awaiting people disembarking from cruise ships because there are now new strict restrictions for cruise passengers disembarking cruises.

The US Department of Homeland Security and CDC will now restrict cruise ship passengers and crew arriving in the US from boarding domestic commercial flights and from using public transportation.

All passengers are also being told to wear masks from the time that they are leaving the cruise ship until they reach their final destination, including during ground travel. (These masks or face coverings will be provided by the cruise ship.)

These restrictions will apply even if the passengers are not showing symptoms and they will also require a mandatory 14 day quarantine once the passengers arrive in their final destination.

Passengers will still be able to use chartered or private transportation, however.

The new regulations also put a lot of responsibility on the cruise ships to arrange for medical treatment, such as transportation to hospitals. They also have to help arrange the transportation for all passengers.

If you have been following the drama with all of the cruise ships, these new rules come as no surprise.

Basically, I see these as a response to all of the disagreements regarding where cruise ships with sick passengers should be able to land and how the treatment for sick passengers should be administered and worked out with hospitals.

Personally, I like seeing so much responsibility being put on the cruise lines since they were the ones who decided to launch these cruises. Believe it or not, cruise ships were leaving as late as March 15 that were affected.

According to the US Coast Guard, these new rules will affect 114 cruise ships that are carrying approximately 93,000 people that are in or near US ports and waters.

Here is a list of the affected ships over the past couple of months:

*CDC was notified about COVID-19-positive travelers who had symptoms while on board these ships.

For all other ships, CDC was notified about travelers who had symptoms and tested positive for COVID-19 within 14 days after disembarking. Since these travelers’ symptoms began after the voyage, the traveler might have contracted COVID-19 during the voyage; however, other sources of transmission after the voyage cannot be ruled out.

Daniel Gillaspia

Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.