Crew Disembarkations through Commercial Travel

CDC is committed to helping cruise lines provide for the safety and well-being of their crew members while onboard cruise ships and as they disembark. CDC is allowing crew members to disembark from all cruise ships in U.S. waters with certain precautions. Cruise lines with complete and accurate response plans will be able to use commercial travel to disembark crew members from certain ships if the ships meet certain criteria set by CDC including that there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 or COVID-like illnesses on board the ship within the last 28 days. These ships are also able to lessen certain social distancing restrictions onboard. Cruise lines with complete and accurate response plans under the No Sail Order but not meeting the above criteria will still be able to disembark their crew members using non-commercial travel. Cruise lines must have measures in place to ensure those involved in transport are not exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19 and follow all CDC requirements to prevent interaction of disembarking crew with the public.

Criteria for Commercial Transport of Crew

Ships that are requesting the use of commercial travel for disembarking crew members will need to meet the following criteria:

• A response plan under the No Sail Order that is complete and accurate
  • This does not mean ships are allowed to resume passenger travel, but rather that they have met CDC’s requirements to provide a safe environment for crew members to work and to disembark crew safely by non-commercial travel.
  • Cruise company officials must sign an acknowledgment of the completeness and accuracy of their response plan.
• No confirmed cases of COVID-19[1] or COVID-like illness[2] for 28 days, as determined by a qualified medical professional.
• If the ship has received ship-to-ship transfers, the crew must have come from a ship that had no confirmed cases of COVID-19 or COVID-like illness within the 28 days before the transfer occurred.
• If land-based crew embarked, they were immediately quarantined for 14 days upon embarking the ship.
• Submission of a signed attestation for commercial travel.

Meeting these criteria does not mean cruise ships can resume passenger operations. We don’t have enough information at this time to say when it will be safe to resume sailing with passengers. Cruise lines may need to establish additional safety measures before sailing with passengers is permitted to resume. CDC will continue to evaluate and update its recommendations as the situation evolves.

All cruise ships operating in U.S. waters, or seeking to operate in U.S. waters, must comply with all of the  requirements under the No Sail Order and Interim Guidance During the Period of the No Sail Order for the entire period of the No Sail Order even when outside U.S. waters.

As ships become eligible to transport crew members commercially, this page will provide a list of cruise ships meeting those criteria.

1. Confirmed COVID-19 means laboratory confirmation for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing
2. COVID-like illness means acute respiratory illness (ARI), influenza-like illness (ILI), or diagnosis of pneumonia.

Status of No Sail Order Response Plans and Commercial Transport of Crew

As a prerequisite for requesting commercial travel, cruise lines must have a complete and accurate response plan that provides a safe environment for crew members to work and disembark during the period of the No Sail Order. CDC has provided feedback regarding all the response plans that have been submitted and is working with the cruise lines to ensure they are implementing the safeguards outlined in their plans.

The following table lists cruise lines that have ships operating or planning to operate in U.S. waters during the period of the No Sail Order extension.

Determination for color-coding status (Green, Red, or Yellow) can only be made for ships if the following are true:

1. CDC has finished the review of the cruise line’s plan, and
2. Cruise line has returned an acknowledgement attesting that their No Sail Order response plan is complete and accurate.

Ships of cruise lines that have not met the above two criteria will be listed as Provisionally Green* or Provisionally Red^.

This table is updated once a week every Tuesday. Last updated September 15, 2020.

*Provisionally Green: Ship meets the surveillance criteria for “Green” status, but the following have not been completed:

1. Review and revision of the cruise line’s No Sail Order response plan, or
2. Cruise line’s signed acknowledgement of a complete and accurate plan, or
3. Ship’s submission of a signed attestation to CDC for crew to travel commercially.

ⱽProvisionally Yellow: Ship meets the surveillance criteria for “Yellow” status, but the following have not been completed:

1. Review and revision of the cruise line’s No Sail Order response plan, or
2. Cruise line’s signed acknowledgement of a complete and accurate plan, or
3. Ship’s submission of a signed attestation to CDC for crew to travel commercially.

^Provisionally Red: Ship meets the surveillance criteria for “Red” status, but the following have not been completed:

1. Review and revision of the cruise line’s No Sail Order response plan, or
2. Cruise line’s signed acknowledgement of a complete and accurate plan.

^¥Commercial Travel Allowed: Allowed for ships that are “Green” and have submitted a signed attestation to CDC for crew to travel commercially.

Note: The above list includes cruise ships operating in U.S. waters or seeking to operate in U.S. waters during the period of the No Sail Order extension.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean for a cruise ship operator to have a plan that is complete and accurate?

A complete and accurate plan adequately addresses every element of the No Sail Order. A cruise ship operator must be in compliance with the No Sail Order, the operator’s No Sail Order response plan, and CDC’s Interim Guidance for Mitigation of COVID-19 Among Cruise Ship Crew During the Period of the No Sail Order. CDC assesses compliance through implementation checks on a sample of ships covered under a cruise ship operator’s plan. There must be no evidence of noncompliance.

What steps is CDC taking to make sure ships stay in compliance with the criteria for commercial transport of crew?

CDC will review weekly surveillance data provided by ships, and only those ships that continue to report no cases of COVID-19 or COVID-like illness will maintain this status.

What other changes can cruise ships make if they meet these criteria?

CDC is committed to helping cruise lines provide for the safety and well-being of their crew members onboard. As cruise ships are able to show they have no cases of confirmed COVID-19 or COVID-like illnesses on board, crew members will be able to resume some of their daily interactions with fellow crew members.

Some examples of decreased restrictions on cruise ships if they meet these criteria include resuming in-person meetings, events, and social gatherings; reopening bars, gyms, or other group settings onboard for crew member use; and removing requirements to wear face coverings.

What is the difference between the two attestations CDC requires under the No Sail Order?

Under the No Sail Order, cruise lines are required to develop and implement comprehensive plans to prevent, detect, respond to, and contain COVID-19 among crew members onboard. While these response plans have been under review, CDC has allowed cruise lines to disembark crew members if they submit a signed attestation stating they have complied with the requirements to safely disembark crew members. This attestation included a requirement that crew members only use noncommercial travel to disembark and reach their final destinations and do not interact with the public during travel.

Cruise lines that have a complete and accurate No Sail Order response plan may disembark crew members without a signed attestation if they use noncommercial travel and follow CDC requirements. Cruise company officials must sign an acknowledgment of the completeness and accuracy of their response plan. Cruise ships that want to use commercial travel for crew members must meet additional requirements, which include demonstrating there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 or COVID-like illness on board and submitting a signed attestation for commercial travel.

What does it mean if a cruise line is not listed on the table above?

If a cruise line is not listed, it means the cruise line is not operating and does not plan to operate any of its ships in U.S. waters during the period of the No Sail Order.

What does it mean if a cruise ship is not listed on the table above?

If a cruise ship is not listed, it means the ship is not operating in U.S. waters and does not plan to operate in U.S. waters during the period of the No Sail Order.