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CDC Ends COVID-19 Program For Cruise Ships

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Centres for Disease Control and Prevent

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevent on Monday ended its COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships.

“New guidance for cruise ships to mitigate and manage COVID-19 transmission will be available in the coming days,” the CDC said in a statement on its website.

While no guidance was immediately available, this would point to cruise line’s being able to set their own vaccination and testing rules for ships operating or calling in U.S. ports.

The CDC will also reportedly stop tracking COVID-19 cases on cruise ships, having launched a dashboard earlier this year.

The CDC’s Program for Cruise Ships replaced the previous Conditional Sail Order, which went through multiple revisions that led to the industry’s 2021 restart in North America. That Order had replaced the original No Sail Order that was issued in March 2020.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has removed the requirement for guests to wear a face-covering onboard its vessels.

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It comes as part of a phased relaxation in the line’s Covid-19 protocols. Pre-embarkation testing, as well as the requirement to be fully vaccinated, remain in place.
 
Guests will still be asked to pack a face mask, as some destinations still require their use and crew members will continue to wear the coverings for the time being.
 
Balmoral is the first of Fred Olsen’s fleet to sail without a face mask requirement, having departed Newcastle under the new measures on Wednesday (18 May). The new guidance will apply to Bolette’s next departure from Southampton on 22 May and Borealis’s departure from Liverpool on 25 May.

Peter Deer, managing director of Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, said: “We have been regularly reviewing our onboard procedures, and know this move will be well received among our guests. Of course, we understand that some guests may prefer to continue wearing a face mask as they move around the ship, and this will be entirely at their discretion.
 
“The health and wellbeing of our guests and crew remain our utmost priority, and as such we will be operating a phased reduction in our onboard protocols. These measures help us to ensure our ships remain a safe and enjoyable way to explore the world.”