On September 29, 2020, Axios reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield recommended that a “no sail” order on passenger cruise ships be extended from it’s initial expiry date of October 31, 2020 to February 2021. Vice President Mike Pence reportedly rejected Mr. Redfield’s recommendation, with a source close to the situation telling Axios that the Vice President's decision came after weeks of lobbying by the cruise industry, which pushed for reopening.
Cruise ships have been the site of some of the most severe coronavirus outbreaks and have been banned in U.S. waters since March 2020. The Miami Herald reported that Redfield recommended extending the no sail order because “cruise ship travel exacerbates the global spread of COVID-19 and transmission on ships has not been controlled sufficiently.” Vice President Pence did not accept that view, however. The White House deputy press secretary Brian Morgenstern dismissed criticism of Vice President Pence's actions by saying: “The vice president… follow[s] the science and data to implement policies that protect the public health and also facilitate the safe reopening of our country.”
Update:
On October 30, 2020, the CDC issued an order, establishing a framework for the phased resumption of cruise ship passenger options.
On April 2, 2021, the CDC released a new phase of the order and technical instructions for cruse ship operations.