As cruises drop vaccine rules, they’re seeing ‘huge spike’ in bookings
Vaccine rules were key to the U.S. cruise comeback in summer 2021, under strict rules handed down by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unvaccinated travelers needed a hard-to-get exemption to sail, if they were allowed at all, and everyone but young children was required to show proof of a negative test.
The CDC dropped its cruise covid-19 reporting program last month, prompting cruise lines to announce they would loosen testing requirements for vaccinated passengers and — in most cases — allow large numbers of guests who have not been vaccinated, as long as they showed proof of a negative tests. Lines had dropped mask mandates months earlier. Vaccine rules still apply in destinations that require them, and some operators are dropping their rules more gradually than others.
But still, experts agree: Cruising is getting closer to normal than it has been since the industry shut down in March 2020. One of the earliest coronavirus outbreaks was on a Princess Cruises ship in Japan in February 2020; as ships tried to return to port after the shutdown, many destinations turned them away. Some passengers who contracted the coronavirus died on board.
Cruise lines say the new relaxed rules will let them reach the segment of cruisers that were still off-limits as they rebuild their business.
Late last month, Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty told The Washington Post in an interview that 70 to 80 percent of the company’s customer base was vaccinated. For comparison, 67.3 percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, according to the CDC; 77.2 percent of those 18 and older have gotten a full course of the vaccine.
Liberty said even some of those vaccinated travelers might have avoided cruising because they wanted to vacation with family and had members who would not or could not get the vaccine. Many of the cruise credits that the company issued earlier in the pandemic are held by travelers who were waiting for rules to change before they sailed, he said.
Frank Del Rio, CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, said in an earnings call last week that the company’s announcement about new protocols the day before “was an instant catalyst, resulting in one of our top three best booking days of the year.”
When Carnival Cruise Line announced on Friday that unvaccinated travelers would no longer need to apply for exemptions on most sailings, the company said it wanted to make it easier for more travelers to get on board.
“Our ships have been sailing very full all summer, but there is still room for more of our loyal guests,” Carnival President Christine Duffy said in a statement….
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