Should You Buy Cruise Stocks? Know the Risks

Theme parks have begun making concrete plans to reopen. Las Vegas casinos have done the same, as have hotels all over the country. These join restaurants that have begun welcoming customers, and retailers that have thrown open their doors as society heads haltingly toward a new normal with face masks, limited capacities, and social distancing guidelines in place.

The three major cruise lines -- Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL), Carnival (NYSE: CCL), and Norwegian (NYSE: NCLH) -- want to take the same path and get their ships back out to sea. Carnival has even listed August 1 as the day it plans to restart operations, and Royal Caribbean has hinted at a similar timetable.

That's encouraging for shareholders and fans of cruising, but it may not be realistic. The precautions that work in a restaurant won't be enough to keep thousands of people living in close quarters for multi-day periods from spreading coronavirus. That makes it very difficult to picture the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) allowing cruising from U.S. ports in a way that makes sense for consumers and cruise lines.

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Source Fool.com