PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. — Cruise operators who want to resume regular operations must request approval for a two- to seven-day simulated cruise with volunteer passengers first to help test whether the ships can sail safely during the COVID-19 pandemic under a set of guidelines announced Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Port Canaveral Director Capt. John Murray described the new list of guidelines as “terrible.”

“If you do a two-day (excursion), they might make you do a second one,” Murray said. “So, it’s kind of crazy, but it is what it is, we’re all working through it, and we’re going to do our best to work with the cruise lines and get up and running again.”

Each practice cruise must have enough volunteer passengers who are 18 or older to meet at least 10% of the ship’s capacity. Volunteers must be either fully vaccinated or free of medical conditions that would put them at high risk for severe COVID-19.

Volunteer passengers who cannot prove that they are fully vaccinated have to provide “written documentation from a health-care provider or self-certified statement that the volunteer passenger has no medical conditions that would place the volunteer at high risk for severe COVID-19 as determined through CDC guidance,” according to the agency’s guidelines.

Passengers also must be tested for COVID-19 symptoms before and after the trip, and three-quarters of them must be tested for COVID at the conclusion of the trip.

The process is not required at just one port. Each ship needs to go through the trial process everywhere it wants to go under the CDC guidelines.

“If you’re going to sail from Miami and sail from Port Canaveral, you have to do a test cruise that includes both ports,” Murray said.

Restrictions on board will include face masks and social distancing. The CDC will allow guided shore excursions, no wandering about on their own, if tour operators follow certain standards.

Cruise lines, as well as government officials in Florida, have been pushing the CDC to let them know what they have to do to resume normal operations. The CDC action is a step toward resuming cruises in U.S. waters, possibly by July, for the first time since March 2020 when they were shut down because of the pandemic.

In order to get as many people connected to the cruise industry as possible protected from COVID-19, Port Canaveral and Victory Casino are hosting a vaccination clinic on Monday.

Americans eager to go out to sea may have other opportunities, as Norwegian Cruise Line announced in April it was putting three of its ships back in the water after a one-year pandemic hiatus, with plans to resume sailings in the Greek islands and the Caribbean in late July and August.

The cruise line indicated that it expects that the limited reopening will attract many Americans, even if the ships can’t stop at U.S. ports. All passengers and crew members will need to be fully vaccinated and tested for COVID-19 before boarding on NCL ships’ cruises, too.

Last month, the U.S. State Department urged Americans to reconsider any international travel they may have planned, giving 80% of the world's countries a "Level 4: Do Not Travel" rating, warning that the COVID-19 pandemic "continues to pose unprecedented risks to travelers."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.