The cruise industry is back on the schedule at the White House as there will be a Friday afternoon conference call to discuss resuming operations in the United States.

The call will be closed to the press and will be hosted by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, according to his schedule.

A previous in-person meeting scheduled for Oct. 2 was postponed after U.S. President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19.

The conference call is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. eastern time.

Among the topics will be the cruise industry’s voluntary pause in service through Oct. 31, 2020 from U.S. ports, which is aligned with the CDC’s “No Sail” order, which expires on the same day.

The industry hopes to restart operations in a staggered manner in the U.S. as both Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean  Group remain optimistic on the potential of 2020 sailings. 

Also, of note, cruise operators have committed to testing all crew and guests for coronavirus.