The cruise industry has been hit harder than almost any other tourism industry by the covid-19 pandemic. He also had a longer road to getting back to normal.
The entire cruise industry closed absolutely until the summer of last year and was only able to reopen cautiously and slowly.
Even as cruise ships reopened, with many ships undergoing multimillion-dollar renovations for passenger safety, the Center for Disease Control still classified cruise ships as a Level Four high-risk activity until earlier this year.
But after the CDC instituted a set of regulations to keep cruise lines operating, it began reducing the risk level and eliminating it altogether in early March.
In response, the top 3 players in the cruise industry, Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) – Get a Free Report, Royal Caribbean (RCL) – Get a Free Report and Norwegian (NCLH) – Get a Free Report, have recently resumed sailing at full speed. . capacity.
The CDC has great authority over the cruise industry, as ships pass around the world and each country has other standards. Therefore, the major cruise lines have tended to err in the aspect of being as much as possible.
But a new update in requirements for airlines has prompted the cruise industry to request a review of one of the key pre-cruise protection requirements it has implemented.
Recently, the U. S. The U. S. Department of Health and Prevention eliminated COVID-19 verification needs for foreign travelers. This means that other people no longer have to test negative before they can board a flight.
This resolution was made, in part, because many Americans would not have traveled out of concern of testing positive and being stranded.
In response, the Cruise Lines International Association, which represents the majority of the cruise industry, welcomed the CDC resolution and called for a review of the cruise prerequisite.
“As CDC monitors innovations in the fitness landscape and works with airlines to help a smooth transition with the lifting of the pre-arrival testing requirement, a review of pre-boarding testing needs for cruise passengers is also necessary. “
As posted through the blog of Royal Caribbean (which is affiliated with Royal Caribbean), there have been no requests to replace vaccine needs for passengers.
The challenge is that getting checked out a few days before a cruise can make planning a vacation complicated and stressful for vacationers. As Royal Caribbean’s blog posts, “No other form of recreation subjects its visitors to a covid check as a condition of entry. “. This includes casinos, hotels, theme parks or zoos.
But on the other hand, Royal Caribbean publishes post-cruise consumer surveys to gauge visitor feedback after the shipment returns. Pre-cruise testing to stay.
Image source: DANTE FERNANDEZ/AFP Getty Images
As The Street has previously reported, cruise line Viking has to eliminate pre-cruise testing.
In a public statement, Viking President Torstein Hagen said: “Viking strongly recommends, but no longer asks, a covid-19 check prior to departure, unless fate requires it. Effective June 10, 2022, sea travel on the Viking expedition and Orion voyages on the Viking Octantis in the United States and Canada will continue to require COVID-19 verification prior to departure.
But as we’ve noted, Viking is a relatively small cruise ship, while Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian are much more popular and therefore subject to scrutiny. Therefore, they are unlikely to make similar moves and instead wait to see what the CDC decides.
Michael Tedder is breaking news for TheStreet.