“I can attest first hand that the industry employees are working harder than ever and adapting to changes that are taking place minute by minute,” said Ken Muskat, executive vice president and COO at MSC Cruises USA.

“We thought at first we could not plan more than one week ahead. Then we said we can’t plan more than 24 hours ahead. And then it became by the minute things were changing. And here we are, it finally came to the need to pause and reset. This negatively impacts our businesses around the world, but we have a sense of responsibility,” Muskat continued, in a post on LinkedIn.

Muskat said since working in the industry since 1994, he would have never imagined seeing seven ships docked in Miami with none set to embark guests.

“The industry is resilient and we’ve gotten through tough times before. In the end we are stronger, we thrive, we bounce back and we provide amazing vacation experiences for our guests. The cruise industry will continue to grow and endure,” he said.