I'm not going to be critical (constructive or otherwise) of an event I have never attended, and I have deep appreciation for how difficult it must be to meet the needs of a large and diverse group of cruisers. I also fully understand their logic in requiring CB over other options, I just don't happen to agree that CB is best minimum standard given the wide availability, low cost and better performance of FRS. I would never expect them or anyone else to make HAM or even GMRS the standard given licensing requirements. That said, despite the $150 investment in a CB setup I will only use for CM, the CB requirement will do nothing to diminish my enjoyment of the event and I regard it as a non-issue for me personally. Maybe I'll feel differently after a full week of using CB, which I have zero experience with.
Frankly, I'm just glad they mandate trails comms, and it seems like a lot of the trails have HAM frequencies identified so maybe the CB use will be limited.