The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its travel health notice regarding COVID-19 and cruise ships Thursday, warning against cruise travel regardless of vaccination status.
The CDC said that the threat of contracting or spreading the virus on cruise ships is now at its highest level — level four — due to the onset of the omicron variant and the ease that COVID-19 is transmitted between people in close quarters, even if one is fully vaccinated.
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In a statement, the Cruise Lines International Association said it was disappointed in, and disagrees with, the change to the CDC travel health notice for cruise ships.
“The decision by the CDC to raise the travel level for cruise is particularly perplexing considering that cases identified on cruise ships consistently make up a very slim minority of the total population onboard — far fewer than on land — and the majority of those cases are asymptomatic or mild in nature, posing little to no burden on medical resources onboard or onshore,” the association said. “No setting can be immune from this virus — however, it is also the case that cruise provides one of the highest levels of demonstrated mitigation against the virus.”
The association said that cruise ships are highly controlled environments with testing and vaccination levels far above other venues or modes of transportation and travel, according to the statement.
“CDC’s announcement today is not surprising, considering the rapid increase in community positivity rates. Industry safety protocols and practices have been continuously refined since the restart of cruising in July. Cruise ships are sailing with some of the highest levels of COVID-19 mitigation of any industry or business segment. We continue to work closely with our cruise partners and will support them as necessary,” Port Canaveral’s CEO Capt. John Murray said in a statement.
In response to the CDC, Royal Caribbean released a statement on omicron.
“Since cruising restarted in the U.S. in June 2021, the Royal Caribbean Group has carried 1.1 million guests with 1,745 people testing positive – a positivity rate of 0.02%” the statement said.
The four-level system used by the CDC to gauge travel health notices was given its fourth level in November 2020 to better reflect travel advisory methods used by the U.S. State Department. While lesser levels offer suggestions to maintain safety while traveling — such as how level three asks that one be fully vaccinated before traveling, or level two requests that one practice enhanced precautions and level one calls for usual precautions — level four is a flat-out directive to avoid travel to a given place.
However, the CDC still has advice for cruise travel, even at level four. Should one now take a cruise, the CDC said they should get tested for COVID-19 one to three days ahead of their trip, as well as three to five days afterward. If an individual stepping off of a cruise is unvaccinated, the CDC said that they should quarantine for a full five days.
While on a cruise ship, one should also wear a mask in shared spaces, the CDC said. It was also suggested on the website that one consider making arrangements for finding travel insurance before a cruise to ensure easier access to emergency health care out of the country.
The cruise industry restarted in the summer, amid the height of the delta surge, after demonstrating certain protocols as required by the CDC. The CDC is investigating at least 86 cruise ships because of COVID-19 cases reported on board, agency said Wednesday.