The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new advisory Thursday that travelers should avoid traveling by cruise ship, regardless of vaccination status, after a recent surge in positive COVID-19 cases onboard ships.
The agency increased its travel warning for cruises to Level 4 — the highest level — following investigations of dozens of ships that have had outbreaks of the virus.
"Even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants," the CDC said on its website.
Here are facts about what the cruise industry is doing to cruise safely during COVID.
- More than 100 cruise ships have returned to U.S. waters, carrying more than one million people from a U.S. port since late June 2021, with a significantly lower incidence rate of COVID-19 than on land. This is just a fraction of the current national positivity rate.
- The latest data shows that, even with higher rates of testing, the cruise industry continues to achieve significantly lower rates of occurrence of COVID-19—33 percent lower than onshore.
- While there are exceptions depending on the cruise line, the vast majority of people over the age of 12 are required to be vaccinated on cruise ships making it a very safe way to vacation.
- Also, all passengers must take a COVID-19 test prior to sailing. No other venue – air travel, concerts, etc. – require such stringent protocols.
- The cruise industry is the only industry in the U.S. travel and tourism sector that is requiring both vaccinations and testing for crew and guests.
- According to the CDC’s color-coding system, a cruise ship may be determined to be “yellow” – and, therefore, subject to CDC observation – if a threshold of 0.10 percent or more passengers (i.e., 7 out of 6,500) have tested positive in the last seven days, or if even just one crewmember tests positive.
- The cruising industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries and must meet rigorous testing and standards in order to operate.
- Cruise industry protocols are unique in their approach to effectively monitor, detect, and respond to potential cases of COVID-19.
- Protocols encompass the entirety of the cruise experience, incorporating testing, vaccination, screening, sanitation, mask-wearing and other science-backed measures.
- Many cruise lines have announced additional measures in response to the Omicron variant, including strengthening testing, masking and other requirements, as well as encouraging booster vaccine doses for those eligible.
- Vaccination rates onboard a cruise ship are upwards of 95 percent—significantly higher than the overall U.S. population which is hovering at 62 percent.
- In the U.S. alone, the cruise industry administers nearly 10 million tests per week—21x the rate of testing in the United States
We sailed on Celebrity Apex last month for our National Conference with a group of 800 agents and industry experts. Cruising remains one of the safest activities you can do thanks to the testing and vaccination requirements. We've had several other guests cruise without incident in the last few weeks.
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