Sail away, sail away (but with precautions).
Kent German/CNET
Cruising is making a comeback more than a year after the coronavirus pandemic forced the industry to go full astern. In Alaska, the Caribbean and Europe, major lines have scheduled sailings planned through the first half of next year, and bigger and more elaborate ships are on the way.
There will be some changes from pre-pandemic times, and scheduled sailings may be canceled or 카지노사이트 moved as COVID-19 variants persist and regulations in ports change. Florida, which is home to the world's largest cruise ports, has banned cruise lines from mandating coronavirus vaccinations even though most of the companies want to make inoculations a requirement. How the lines are adapting -- most recently, Norwegian Cruise Line has sued over the ban -- is a fast-changing story. <
/>
/>
/>
If you've spent the last year eager to travel and return to the high seas, here's what you need to know.
After a COVID-19 outbreak on the Grand Princess early in the pandemic, the ship was stranded at sea for days before docking in Oakland, California, on March 9, 2020, to offload passengers.
Celebrity Millennium that left St. Maarten on June 5 and required passengers 16 and older to be vaccinated.Most of the other major cruise lines, including Princess, Holland America, , a comprehensive breakdown of upcoming sailings. (TPG also has a breakdown of cruises by departure port.)
Smaller lines are adding to their schedules as well, and some have been operating for a few months. American Queen Steamboat Company, for example, resumed with a Mississippi River voyage on March 15.
Just keep in mind that no schedule is guaranteed. Royal Caribbean postponed a sailing of its Odyssey of the Seas by four weeks to July 31 when eight crew members tested positive for COVID-19.
Of course, if you book a trip and it's canceled or postponed, you'll be able to reschedule or get a refund. Generally, lines also are letting you cancel ahead of time with no penalty. And as I discuss in the next question, your onboard experience will be different than before COVID-19 hit.
The Celebrity Reflection docked in Mykonos in pre-pandemic times. Celebrity was the first big cruise line to schedule a sailing.
detailed the changes she encountered during her trip.She writes that the ship was booked less than half full and all passengers and crew 16 and older were required to be vaccinated (more on that later). What's more, passengers of all ages had to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test result no more than 72 hours old before boarding. Embarkation times were staggered to avoid crowds, and masks were required when arriving.
Passengers weren't required to wear masks once on the ship (more on this later, too), except those under 16 who aren't vaccinated, and they had to be tested before returning to St. Maarten on June 12. The buffet was open, but passengers were not allowed to serve themselves per recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hand-washing stations were in abundance, and there were no social distancing requirements in the restaurants of theaters.
Those changes are just from that one Celebrity voyage, though. Regulations will vary by cruise line and ship, and they could change (for better or worse) with little notice. Think about what kind of environment will make you comfortable and do your research before booking.
Cruise lines must get CDC approval to resume sailings.
tested positive for COVID-19 on June 10. The passengers, who were asymptomatic, were isolated, and a few others who had come into recent contact with them had to remain in their cabins while they were tested. Kosciolek was one of the people who had contact, and she wrote about her experience. No one else ended up testing positive by the end of the trip.Stewart Chiron, a travel expert known as The Cruise Guy, also was onboard the Millennium. In an email he told me that despite the positive tests, he felt Celebrity's safety protocols worked well. "The mood on Celebrity Millennium after the captain's evening announcement [on June 10] didn't change anything onboard. Passengers continued to enjoy normal activities including dinners, shows, lounges, casino, shopping and having fun."
Following a change in federal law, Alaska cruises will be able to sail from Seattle to the Last Frontier without stopping in Canada.
President Biden signed a bill that temporarily lifted that regulation. Now ships can sail from Seattle to Alaska nonstop.But until Australia opens its borders you won't be able to cruise there.
CDC announced a series of changes for cruise lines, designed to limit the spread of COVID-19. They include screening passengers before embarking (either by way of a COVID-19 test or proof of vaccination), isolating and contact-tracing any passengers who test positive during the cruise, and installing hand-washing facilities.Once a cruise made necessary changes, the agency would grant permission for sailings to depart from the US under two scenarios: 95% of passengers and 95% of crew must be fully vaccinated, or lines can conduct and practice the CDC safety measures with a group of volunteers.
But as I explain below, a federal judge has struck down those regulations after a lawsuit from the state of Florida.