Cruise Safety

Coronavirus prevention and safety

Port Tampa Bay values the health and wellness of its employees, tenants, industry partners, visitors and our cruise line partners’ guests.

We strive to create a healthy and safe environment at all times. While we have always enforced healthy habits and good hygiene, we have put more measures in place to keep our Port healthy and prevent the spread of all viruses, including COVID-19. We are strictly following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance related to COVID-19. This includes social distancing, required masks and providing hand sanitizer stations throughout our cruise terminals. Before cruising from Port Tampa Bay, we strongly encourage all cruise guests to review their cruise line guidelines and requirements for safe travel.

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Cruise line information and screening measures

UPDATED: Jan. 26, 2022


On Jan. 15, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) let the Conditional Sailing Order (CSO) for cruise ships operating or seeking to operate in U.S. waters expire. Although the Conditional Sailing Order has expired, the CDC issued important information about cruising during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. You can read more from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention here: COVID-19 and Cruise Ship Travel

Additionally, you can read how the members of the Cruise Lines International Association plan to keep passengers safe: Cruise Industry COVID-19 Facts and Resources

We encourage cruise guests to contact their travel agent or cruise line directly to learn about COVID-related travel requirements of each cruise line. Additionally, if you have questions about a specific cruise line's sailing schedule, your upcoming trip, or safety protocols, visit the below links for more information: 

As always, practice good hygiene to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other viruses

  • Wash your hands, front and back and in-between fingers, for a minimum of 20-seconds multiple times during the day. Especially after using the rest room, touching your face or coughing and sneezing.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
  • Cough or sneeze into a tissue, then throw the tissue away or cover your mouth with the inside of your arm instead of your hands. Wash your hands afterwards.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects.
  • Wear a mask when out in public.
  • Practice safe social distancing.
  • Most important - if you are sick, stay home.

For more information about COVID-19 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, visit the CDC's website dedicated to updated coronavirus information.

For information on the COVID-19 vaccine, visit the CDC's Vaccine Resource Page, which includes information on where you can receive the vaccine. 

Cruise terminal cleaning, sanitation and preventative measures  

Port Tampa Bay has rigorous cleaning and sanitation practices in place to maintain our cruise terminals. In addition to our established cleaning and sanititation protocols, we are now implementing an additional in-depth and cutting-edge process using an antimicrobial product, called mPact. This new process complements several other cleaning and sanitization efforts, including deep cleaning each terminal following a cruise sailing, regularly cleaning and sanitizing high-touch areas like railings, doorknobs, and countertops, and increasing hand sanitizer available to passengers, while in the terminal. It has been lab-tested and is proven to be 99.99% effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19 for a minimum of 30 days. The mPact cleaning system will be used to clean and provide a protective barrier to all surfaces at our cruise terminals moving forward, including each upholstered chair. The high-touch areas will be treated after every cruise, and each terminal will be treated every 30 days.


In addition to the use of mPact, Port Tampa Bay has installed additional hand santizing stations in high-traffic arears, installed MERV 13 air filters in all air conditioning units, and posted signs encouraging proper hand washing hygeine and social distancing, in accordance with CDC guidelines.

Learn more about Port Tampa Bay

Port Tampa Bay remains open and ready to serve our community. Each week, the port provides an update to our customers, tenants and community. You can read the latest message here: Port Tampa Bay Weekly Web Update

Additionally, follow the port's social media pages to connect with us. Port Tampa Bay is active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.