MIAMI — With the rapid spread of the omicron variant and multiple outbreaks on cruise ships, vacations turned into nightmares for many people cruising over the holiday season.
The stringent preventative public safety measures on cruise ships, including requirements of full vaccinations and negative coronavirus tests before boarding, had been relatively successful in curtailing coronavirus cases during the industry’s restart in June 2021 and for several ensuing months.
Then the highly contagious COVID-19 omicron variant surfaced in the United States in late November, and quickly disrupted the cruise industry. Despite being inoculated, many passengers and crew sustained so-called “breakthrough” infections while sailing.
