The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday lifted its COVID-19 risks warning for cruise travel after two years.
The CDC moved its travel health notice for cruise travel to Level 4, its highest-risk category, in late 2021 due to the omicron variant. By February, it had lowered its travel warning to Level 3, considered “high” risk, and then Level 2, “moderate” risk, according to CNET.
The Cruise Lines International Association, the industry’s largest trade organization, released a statement regarding this new development.
Today’s decision by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to altogether remove the Travel Health Notice for cruising recognizes the effective public health measures in place on cruise ships and begins to level the playing field, between cruise and similarly situated venues on land, for the first time since March 2020.
From the onset of the pandemic, CLIA’s cruise line members have prioritized the health and safety of their guests, crew, and the communities they visit and are sailing today with health measures in place that are unmatched by virtually any other commercial setting.
Passengers are not required to show proof of vaccination, depending on the cruise line. Non-U.S. citizen and non-U.S. immigrants traveling to the United States by air are required to show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the updated CDC guidelines.
It can be recalled that Florida Governor DeSantis sued the CDC last April 2021 for preventing the cruise business from starting up again. In June 2021, DeSantis had threatened to enforce Florida law on cruise companies which would fine companies $5,000 each time they asked for proof of vaccination. In the same month, two passengers aboard the first 100% vaccinated North American cruise tested positive for Covid-19.
Two months after, an Obama-appointed judge issued a temporary injunction halting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ ban on Covid vaccine passports for cruises, claiming DeSantis’ law prohibiting vaccine passports likely violates the First Amendment.
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