The Cruise line industry was hit harder than nearly any other tourism industry by the covid-19 pandemic. It’s also had a longer road to getting back to normal.
The entire cruise industry completely shut down until the summer of last year, and were only able to cautiously and slowly reopen.
Even when the cruises reopened, with many ships undergoing multimillion dollar renovations in order to ensure guest’s safety, the Center for Disease Control still labeled cruise ships a Level 4 high risk activity until earlier this year.
But after the CDC instituted a set of rules for cruise lines to follow if they wanted to continue to operate, it began lowering the risk level, and eliminated it completely in early March.
In response, the three major players in the cruise industry, Carnival Cruise Line (CCL), Royal Caribbean (RCL) and Norwegian (NCLH), have all recently returned to sailing at full capacity.
The CDC has a great deal of authority over the cruise industry, as ships go all over the world, and every country has different safety standards. So the major cruise lines have tended to err on the side of being as safe as possible.
But a new travel requirement change for airlines has inspired the cruise industry to ask for a reconsideration of one of the main pre-cruise safety requirements it has in place.
What Is The Cruise Industry Asking For?
The U.S. recently dropped covid-19 testing requirements for international travelers. This means that people no longer have to test negative before they can board a flight.
The move was taken, in part, because many Americans reportedly have not been not traveling internationally out of fear they will test positive and be stranded abroad.
In response the Cruise Lines International Association, which represents the majority of the cruise industry, has praised the CDC decision and has called for a reconsidering of the pre-cruise testing requirement.
"As the CDC monitors the improving health landscape and works with airlines to support a smooth transition with the lifting of the pre-arrival testing requirement, we believe a review of pre-embarkation testing requirements for cruise travelers is also in order."
As noted by the Royal Caribbean Blog (which is not affiliated with Royal Caribbean), there was no request to change vaccine requirements for passengers.
The issue is that procuring a test a few days before a cruise can make it difficult and stressful for vacationers to plan a trip. As the Royal Caribbean Blog points out “no other form of leisure travel subjects their customers to a covid test as a requirement for entry. This includes casinos, hotels, theme parks, or zoos.”
But on the other hand, Royal Caribbean issues post-cruise surveys to guests to measure customer feedback after the ship returns. In the latest survey, customers were asked to give their thoughts about the current set of protocols, and many guests indicated they want the pre-cruising tests to remain.
Image source: DANTE FERNANDEZ/AFP via Getty Images
Viking Cruises Has Already Done Away With Tests
As The Street previously reported, the cruise line Viking has decided to do away with pre-cruises tests.
In a public statement, Viking Chairman Torstein Hagen said “Viking highly recommends, but no longer requires, a predeparture covid-19 test — unless one is required by the destination. As of June 10, 2022, select ocean voyages on the Viking Orion and expedition voyages on the Viking Octantis in the United States and Canada will continue to require a pre departure COVID-19 test.”
But as we noted, Viking is a relatively small cruise ship, whereas Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian are all much more popular, and therefore subject to scrutiny. So, it’s unlikely they will make similar moves, and will instead wait and see what the CDC decides.
