Kerby added, “Cruising is no more responsible for the spread of the Omicron variant than travelers from southern Africa were at the outset of the current crisis.”įor their part, officials at Caribbean cruise ports remain bullish on cruise activity, albeit under continuing protocols. “The difference between enjoying a cruise vacation and visiting your local grocery store or restaurant however is the extraordinarily stringent anti-COVID measures put in place voluntarily by the cruise lines, in close consultation with the CDC.” “An increase in reported COVID cases on cruise ships should surprise no one given the worldwide spike driven by the highly transmissible omicron variant,” said Zane Kerby, ASTA’s president and CEO. However, cruise provides one of the highest levels of demonstrated mitigation.”Īmerican Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) officials sounded a similar note following CDC’s announcement. “No setting can be immune from this virus. “ decision is particularly perplexing considering cases identified on cruise ships consistently make up a very slim minority of the total population onboard - far fewer than on land,” said Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) officials in a December 30 statement.Īdditionally, “the majority of those cases are asymptomatic or mild in nature, posing little to no burden on medical resources onboard or onshore,” CLIA officials added.
The cruise industry’s main trade association has pushed back at CDC’s characterization of shipboard COVID-19 transmission. “The chance of getting COVID-19 on cruise ships is very high, even if you are fully vaccinated and have received a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose,” CDC warned. Shipboard cases soared from 162 in the first two weeks of December to 5,013 between December 15 and 29, a timeline mirroring the Omicron variant’s surge. The agency had already elevated its travel warning for cruise ships from Level 3 to Level 4, the highest level, on December 30, advising consumers to avoid cruise ship travel regardless of vaccination status. CDC considers a ship “yellow” when 0.1 percent or more of its passengers have tested positive in the last seven days or if a single crew member tests positive. waters) as “yellow” under its color-coded system, triggering an investigation. Reflecting the outbreaks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week designated 92 ships (representing every cruise vessel now sailing in U.S. At least six Royal Caribbean International, Holland America Line and Carnival cruises were altered by coronavirus outbreaks last week. The Bahamas barred MSC Cruises’ MSC Seashore from docking at its private island, Ocean Cay, on December 29 due to reported COVID-19 cases.Įarlier in December, Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Freedom was denied entry to Bonaire and Curacao after a “small number” of people were infected, according to a Washington Post report. Several Caribbean destinations turned away cruise ships last week after lines reported COVID-19 infections.
Will the Omicron Variant Scuttle Caribbean Cruising? | TravelPulse