CLIA has launched an initiative to encourage its members and the wider cruise community to help urge the Biden administration to lift the Conditional Sailing Order (CSO) and allow cruising to resume in the U.S. in July.
The "Ready, Set, Sail" campaign encourages people to "take a moment to call, email and/or Tweet" members of Congress.
Related: Cruise lines are sailing away from the CDC's Conditional Sailing Order
A dedicated CLIA webpage enables members to email representatives in support of lifting the CSO directly from the site. As of Thursday afternoon, according to CLIA, 34,540 messages have been sent by 11,195 people to 431 U.S. representatives and all 100 U.S. senators.
Royal Caribbean International executives urged travel advisors to take part in the campaign during Vicki Freed's Coffee Talk webinar this week.
"We're concerned that it's been many, many months since we've had any [CDC] guidance and we're worried the guidance we're going to get will be pretty outdated," said Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley. "People are starting to really mobilize behind the idea of saying, 'Let's get this sorted out.'"
"It literally takes 20 seconds," he said of filling out the CLIA campaign form. "It all helps."
CLIA last month called on the CDC to lift the CSO and allow for cruising to resume from U.S. ports by the beginning of July, saying the "lack of any action by the CDC has effectively banned all sailings in the largest cruise market in the world."
The U.S. Travel Association this week joined a growing list of organizations and elected officials calling on the CDC to lift the CSO.
"We join the calls to identify the way toward lifting the Conditional Sail Order and allowing the phased resumption of cruise operations as quickly as possible," said U.S. Travel CEO Roger Dow in a statement. "Restrictions have taken a disproportionately heavy toll on the travel industry and our millions of workers, and the rule preventing cruise operations is uniquely specific. It is economically imperative to find the pathways to reopening, and the evidence is clear that a layered approach to health and safety allows the safe resumption of travel."