Texas Joins Lawsuit Against CDC
The state of Texas has joined Florida and Alaska in a lawsuit against the CDC, with the goal of allowing cruises to resume from the U.S. sooner rather than later.
The state said that the agency’s “No Sail Order” and “Conditional Sailing Order” have cost Texas 1.2 billion dollars in direct spending and caused 23,000 people to lose their jobs.
The filling came one day after the Port of Galveston hosted a rally in support of cruise resumption, with guests including Carnival Cruise Line president Christine Duffy.
STORY: Third State Joins Lawsuit Aiming To Overturn Cruise Ban
NCLH CEO Reacts To CDC Updates
During an earnings call, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO Frank Del Rio says that the company is perplexed, flabbergasted, and outraged about the CDC’s latest Conditional Sailing Order updates.
He also stated that “As time goes by, and given how long it takes to stand up a ship from cold lay-up, the urgent need for an acceptable and definitive agreement with the CDC is imperative, as a potential midsummer restart from U.S. ports could be in jeopardy.”
Despite the disappointment, Del Rio said that he’s grateful the CDC is working with cruise lines, and that “we are certainly in a better place today than we were just 30 days ago.”
Viking To Sail In The Mediterranean This Year
Viking has announced that it will be sailing in another region this summer.
Viking Venus and Sea will homeport in Valletta, Malta beginning in July, operating two different 11-night Mediterranean itineraries.
Port calls will include Kotor, Dubrovnik, Santorini, Rhodes, and Split, among others.
As with Viking’s other 2021 cruises, all passengers must be fully vaccinated to sail.
STORY: Viking Announces Summer 2021 Mediterranean Cruises
