In the wake of Covid-19, what would make you feel safe enough to take a cruise? Capacity limits on ships? Short itineraries? A reliable plan for dealing with outbreaks? Stockpiles of hand sanitizer to rival in size the very sea you're sailing on?
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wants to hear your ideas.
Shortly after extending the ban on cruising in U.S. waters through September 30, the government agency filed a notice in the Federal Register requesting input from the public on what U.S.-based cruising should be like when it resumes.
Written comments submitted before September 21 may be used, the notice reads, "to inform future public health guidance and preventative measures."
Anybody can weigh in, from industry groups to lone individuals, as long as submissions relate to one or more of the 28 questions posed by the CDC in its notice.
Questions cover every aspect of the cruising experience: boarding requirements, disembarkation procedures, safety and sanitation measures on ships, protocols for shore excursions, the impact on ports of call, and the well-being of crew members (thousands of whom were stranded on ships because of the pandemic), to name a few pertinent subjects.
Members of the public can submit comments to the CDC via web portal or by mailing a letter to this address:
Maritime Unit, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road NE, MS V18-2
Atlanta, GA 30329
Make sure you include the agency name and docket number: CDC-2020-0087.
Note that all submitted comments will become part of the public record and may be published, so don't include any private information you don't want widely disseminated.
