Late this afternoon, the Centers for Disease Control said they will relax the travel warning for US travelers going to Mexico, effective on Saturday. That should open the door again for cruise lines to return to Mexican ports.
The modification came as suddenly as the initial recommendation (which also caught the cruise lines by surprise), so it's still not known how soon cruise ships will reinstate their calls at Mexican ports. To eliminate week-by-week itinerary uncertainties for customers, both Royal Caribbean and Carnival suspended calls until at least mid-June. Neither line was able to comment this afternoon, and both are now probably mulling the implications of an earlier return.
The announcement was made by Martin Cetron, head of the global migration and quarantine division at the CDC. He said the warning will be downgraded to a precaution, which will be focused on those at high risk for complications from flu.
Update: 6pm
Carnival ships will not revert to their original published itineraries (that include calls in Mexico) until the middle of June. Please see the item posted on this blog at 5:59pm.
Update: 10:15pm
Royal Caribbean ships in the Caribbean will resume their regular itineraries which include calls at Cozumel effective May 24. Mariner of the Seas on the West Coast will resume its Mexican Riviera program on June 21. Please see the item posted on this blog at 10:09pm.
