Tag Archives: vaccinated

CDC Scraps Cruise Ship COVID Warning After 2 Years

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Norwegian Jade photo credit Spacejunkie2

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday removed its COVID-19 notice against cruise travel, around two years after introducing a warning scale showing the level of coronavirus transmission risk on cruise ships.

The move offers a shot of hope to major U.S. cruise operators such as Carnival Corp, Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd that have struggled to bring in revenue since the pandemic started.

Cruise operators had also said the health agency was discriminating against the industry when hotels and airlines could operate with limited or no restrictions.

“While cruising will always pose some risk of COVID-19 transmission, travellers will make their own risk assessment when choosing to travel on a cruise ship, much like they do in all other travel settings,” the CDC said in a statement. 

The guidelines for travelling on cruise ships on the health agency’s page no longer shows a scale for its warning. Instead, it now only says guests should make sure they are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines before boarding the ships.

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

Mask Requirement Dropped for Vaccinated Guests on Royal Caribbean

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Independence of the Seas Photo credit for Spacejunkie2

Face masks are soon to be optional for fully vaccinated guests sailing from the U.S. on cruise ships from Royal Caribbean International.

The cruise line made changes to the Healthy Sail Center section of its website following the news it will participate in the CDC’s new voluntary program for cruise ships,.

The mask mandate becomes optional on sailings from the U.S. and Puerto Rico on Feb. 25.

The company said it expects unvaccinated children to continue wearing masks indoors and in crowded settings. Masks are required for all children while at the Adventure Ocean youth program. Guests under 2 do not have to wear a mask at any time.

Masks are also optional at the company’s private destinations, Perfect Day at CocoCay and Labadee. Royal Caribbean said that at other ports, guests are advised to follow local regulations. Masks should also be worn at the cruise terminal during the boarding and screening process, as well as during disembarkation. Guests under 2 do not have to wear a mask at any time.

As for sailings in Europe, which are set to start this spring, Royal Caribbean said it has yet to determine its health and safety protocols for cruises in that region, with news coming soon. 

Carnival Says Most Ship Itineraries Unchanged Amid Omicron

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Carnival Corp said on Tuesday a majority of its ships’ itineraries were unchanged despite a surge in cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant, which has threatened to stall recovery in the cruise industry.

The world’s largest cruise operator, however, said a few destination ports were reviewing their protocols and processes due to the fast-spreading new variant.

Many passengers and media reports, including those from CNN and Euronews, said authorities of a few ports in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico and Mexico disallowed passengers to disembark from cruise ships that were carrying active COVID-19 cases.

“Looks like my cruise this Friday is a cruise to nowhere,” wrote one Reddit user on a Royal Caribbean forum late Monday.

Carnival said on Monday it would find an alternative destination should it be forced to cancel a port.

Royal Caribbean Group did not respond to a Reuters request for comment, while Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd declined to comment.

“The cruise lines’ reaction to the substantial increase in COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron surge is largely hit or miss,” said James Walker, a Miami-based maritime lawyer.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also identified more than 85 cruise ships with COVID-19 cases on board, the agency said on Tuesday.

On Monday, the CDC said 68 ships with COVID-19 cases had met its threshold for an investigation.

The Omicron variant has sparked concerns that U.S. health officials may reintroduce a temporary ban on cruising, just months after U.S. cruise operators resumed guest operations.