The cruise industry was crippled during the coronavirus pandemic, but now there might be a light at the end of the dock.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued guidelines for cruise operators to follow that would allow them to sail in US waters on a trial basis.

According to WAFB, the trial runs will involve volunteer passengers, and each cruise must adhere to the guidelines issued by the CDC:

  • the cruise must be at at least 10% capacity
  • all passengers must be at least 18 years of age
  • all passengers must be fully vaccinated, or
  • all passengers must be healthy enough to not be in the at-risk category when it comes to coronavirus
  • no passengers can show symptoms of coronavirus before the cruise, and at least 75% of passengers must be tested at the end of the cruise

The cruise operators must inform the passengers that they are being a part of a test that involves risks.

The ship operator must tell passengers that they are simulating untested safety measures “and that sailing during a pandemic is an inherently risky activity,” the CDC guidelines state. - WAFB

The practice cruises could begin as early as July, according to the report, but cruise lines do have an option of not having to run the trials: if 98% of the crew AND 95% of the passengers are vaccinated, they may be able to forgo the practice runs.

Who's ready to get on a ship?

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Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

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