ORLANDO, Fla. — Cruise lines will be the first to tell you that COVID-19 isn’t going away, but they also say safety protocols are in place to weather the storm when cases appear on board.
With the rise of the omicron variant throughout the U.S., more than half of ships currently sailing from U.S. waters have within the last week have documented enough onboard cases to merit follow-up investigations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
One of the largest reports of cases occurred last weekend with Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas reporting 48 cases of COVID-19 from a seven-night sailing that returned to Miami on Saturday. A statement from the line said some of those infected were taken off ship earlier in the sailing, but most disembarked at the end of the voyage, and the cases did not affect the ship’s turnaround for its next voyage.
The cruise line said most of the cases were asymptomatic or showing mild symptoms.
With more than 6,000 passengers and crew, 48 cases still constitute less than 1% of people on board, although anything 0.1% or higher means the CDC will investigate, putting the ship in yellow status from among its color-coded response chart.
According to a Wednesday update with reported cases through Dec. 20, the CDC lists 53 vessels as yellow status, while six have the less severe orange status (less than 0.1% passengers infected), that the CDC is monitoring. Another 49 vessels remain in green status with no reported COVID cases.
Red status would mean a cruise ship would be threatened with its onboard medical facilities being overwhelmed. No ship has merited a red status, meaning an immediate return to port or other drastic measures.
Port Canaveral CEO John Murray said despite the rise in omicron, the measures that have been in place since business ramped up this past summer remain the same.
“Our safety protocols and practices have not changed,” Murray said. “We continue to work closely with our cruise partners and will support them as necessary.”
As part of the restart plans, cruise lines set aside space for those who test positive for the virus on each ship, and most passengers and crew are vaccinated and undergo testing before and during the sailing. Any positive test means potential quarantining, contact tracing and other efforts.
“These protocols are keeping the ships safe,” Murray said.
Some cruise lines are stepping up communication of their protocols. Carnival said in an effort to battle the omicron surge, it will put up additional signs and instruct team members to remind guests more frequently to wear masks at all times when indoors except while eating, drinking or in their staterooms as well as outdoors if physical distancing cannot be maintained. The line is also pulling the plug for now on smoking in its casinos.
Cruise Lines International Association, a lobbying group that represents most cruise lines including Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian and Disney, has stated it continues to monitor developments related to omicron variant and that it would “remain closely engaged with local and national authorities in the places where cruises sail.”
Cruise lines were shut down in the U.S. from March 2020 until June 2021, and are still not sailing all of their vessels, or sailing them at full capacity.
Lines have been running between 50% to 80% for the most part since ramping up, and that’s part of the spate of COVID-19 safety measures in place as they remain adherent to the CDC’s conditional sail order, even though it’s a voluntary program for ships sailing out of Florida after a series of court rulings.
“COVID is out there, it’s how we do it.” Murray said at the port commission meeting on Dec. 8. “I’ve said all along since I’ve been standing here for 18 months that the protocols are what make it happen. You can manage anything if you have the right protocols in place, and the cruise lines have it.”
Murray cited at the time a CDC update of 3,450 positive COVID-19 cases since the restart in the U.S., but that was out of more than 600,000 passengers, which is less than 0.6%.
———
