What The Cruise Industry Never Expected

I've worked in the cruise industry since 1994. Never in my life would I have imagined I'd be looking at seven ships docked at PortMiami at 11:00am, NONE of which are preparing to embark guests. Why? Because the cruise industry has just suspended operations anywhere from 30 - 60 days. An unprecedented move, a precautionary move, the correct move - but one the cruise industry would have never expected even just a week ago.

The Coronavirus and the media have targeted the cruise industry which has created a ripple affect worldwide, with port after port closing, daily changes to government regulations that are nearly impossible to keep up with and the entire travel industry coming to a halt. I applaud the industry for trying to make operational changes day after day to keep our ships cruising and keep our guests' vacations in tact. But it finally became impossible.

Seeing the headlines that the cruise industry has for the most part halted operations has just become a true reality. All Caribbean sailings have been cancelled and when I went to PortMiami this morning to speak to the hard working meet & greet team, security teams and stevedores, I was more emotional than expected. Standing in front of MSC Seaside and speaking to these individuals to update them on what to communicate to any passengers showing up to embark their now cancelled cruise made the reality really sink in.

I have been getting messages from friends and industry colleagues all week long sending their thoughts, prayers and best wishes as if someone had passed. And in a way, it really is similar. The industry has gone on "pause" for a while and it's sad. With that said, we will prepare for a fresh start and use the next 30-60 days to regroup, refresh and get the cruise industry out of the way when it comes to Coronavirus and the media.

I applaud the industry and all the employees, crew, suppliers, travel advisors and countless others who are impacted by this pandemic. We have come together as a team, put aside our friendly competitive nature and have worked together to spread a consistent message to take care of our guests, take care of our crew and support our travel advisors the fullest extent.

I can attest first hand that the industry employees are working harder than ever and adapting to changes that are taking place minute by minute. We thought at first we could not plan more than one week ahead. Then we said we can't plan more than 24 hours ahead. And then it became by the minute things were changing. And here we are, it finally came to the need to pause and reset. This negatively impacts our businesses around the world, but we have a sense of responsibility.

The industry is resilient and we've gotten through tough times before. In the end we are stronger, we thrive, we bounce back and we provide amazing vacation experiences for our guests. The cruise industry will continue to grow and endure. My personal thanks to everyone for your well wishes and support. We could not get through this challenging time without all of you, especially our travel advisors who are struggling financially and simply keeping up with all the changes. #CruiseIndustryStrong