Policies

Have you ever wondered why Alaska cruises include seemingly random calls on Canada, why Hawaii sailings are rarely shorter than two weeks long or why cruises to nowhere are a thing of the past? All of these are directly tied to U.S. maritime laws that regulate the transportation of people and goods.

Check out our breakdown of the Jones Act vs. the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA).

Falling ill on vacation isn't fun, but it can be especially unnerving on a cruise ship, where you're confined to close quarters and can't head to the nearest doctor's office to seek relief. Or can you?

Cruises are like floating cities. They've got their own housing, entertainment, stores, restaurants, spas and swimming pools, among other amenities that allow them to sustain life at sea. So, it's only logical that you might be wondering if cruise ships have a jail too.

I doubt you're thinking that you might end up in one, but there is a certain morbid curiosity that comes when people learn such places exist.

When you think of a cruise ship, a jail cell is probably not what comes to mind. So it instantly becomes intriguing.

What happens if you die on a cruise ship? Do cruise ships have morgues? It's unlikely that this type of morbid thinking is top-of-mind for anyone excited about an upcoming cruise vacation. These are the questions that pop into your head while you're in the shower getting ready for work, chatting over drinks with friends or lying awake in bed at night pondering the meaning of life.

There will be no cruises from North America until at least October, thanks to an extension of a "No Sail" order by the CDC.

Fears of COVID-19 continuing to be public health threat prompted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to extend its “no-sail” order for cruise ships operating out of U.S. ports until September 30.

The ban was set to expire on July 24, although nearly every cruise line had already extended their voluntary cruise suspensions until at least mid-September.

COVID-19 has forced the cruise lines to cancel even more sailings, as the Cruise Lines International Association announced today U.S. based sailings are cancelled through September 15.

CLIA represents the major cruise lines, and made the announcement of the new round of cancellations.  Thus far, only Norwegian Cruise Line has made a similar announcement to support the new dates.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is working on a new red, yellow and green system for easily identifying cruise ships with Coronavirus.

The Miami Herald is reporting the CDC has been working on the new system for months with the cruise lines on a system to detect, prevent and mitigate the spread of the coronavirus on cruise ships.

The American Queen Steamboat company has released its safety measures and guidelines aimed to keep guests and crew safe from the COVID-19 pandemic while onboard its ships.

These include new steps in pre-cruise screening, crew screening and boarding processes. Both onboard and ground operations will feature enhanced cleaning procedures.

While American Queen is not a major cruise line, its plan of action is an indication perhaps of what we can expect from other cruise line sas well.

Engineering and ship design firm Foreship announed "Project Hygiea" that iams to limit the presence and spread of coronavirus and other pathogens on cruise ships.

There are four steps to the program:

Stage 1 aims to keep the biohazard off the ship. Ports will be designed for efficient interception, with technology installed for testing and measuring body temperature, for example. In the event that a vaccine becomes widely available, passengers will be screened for vaccination before being allowed to board the vessel.