Cruise lines can soon begin trial voyages in U.S. waters with volunteer passengers helping test whether the ships can sail safely during a pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave ship operators final technical guidelines Wednesday for the trial runs. The CDC action is a step toward resuming cruises in U.S.
waters, possibly by July, for the first time since March 2020. A spokeswoman for the cruise industry's tour group said the group was reviewing the CDC instructions.
Each practice cruise — they'll run two to seven days — must have enough passengers to meet at least 10% of the ship's capacity.