Just days after The Bahamas began to act as a cruise ship home port, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) improved its outlook on cruise line safety and lowered its warning level on cruise travel from very high to high.
On Wednesday the CDC lowered the level while also warning against cruise line travel by unvaccinated people, and continued to tout testing before and after cruise travel.
“CDC recommends that people who are not fully vaccinated avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises, worldwide,” the CDC stated.
“Since the virus spreads more easily between people in close quarters aboard ships, the chance of getting COVID-19 on cruise ships is high.
“It is especially important that people who are not fully vaccinated with an increased risk of severe illness avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises.”
Royal Caribbean International’s (RCI) Adventure of the Seas left Nassau’s cruise port on Saturday, with more than 2,000 passengers and crew on a seven-day cruise through The Bahamas and the Caribbean.
The CDC will begin to allow cruising from US ports as early as the end of this month according to RCI, which plans to be the first cruise company out of the gate.
The cruise line, however, was recently forced to cancel a July sailing because several of the ship’s crew tested positive for COVID-19 during routine testing.
Carnival Cruise Line is preparing to restart cruising in early July.
Some cruise lines, like Disney Cruise Line and MSC Cruises, have deferred their restart a little longer.
Both Disney and MSC noted in statements that they plan to restart in the region by August, though Disney will conduct a test cruise at the end of this month.
“The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently approved our application to conduct a simulation cruise aboard the Disney Dream on June 29,” Disney revealed in a statement.
“This is an important next step toward our gradual and responsible resumption of service in US waters.
“While we continue to work closely with the CDC to refine our new health and safety protocols, it will take some time to bring our crew back on board and prepare our ships to welcome guests once again. Therefore, it is necessary for us to cancel Disney Dream departures through August 6, 2021, Disney Fantasy departures through August 28, 2021, Disney Wonder departures through September 19, 2021, and Disney Magic departures in the US through November 4, 2021.”
The post CDC lowers warning for cruise travel appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/cdc-lowers-warning-for-cruise-travel/
No comments:
Post a Comment