Passengers and crew of the Norwegian Cruise Line will have to complete their COVID19 vaccination by July. Its parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holding Ltd announced that everyone onboard its ships need to be fully vaccinated. Fully vaccinated would mean that they need to have received complete doses two weeks before boarding.
Without a vaccine, company president and CEO Frank Del Rio admits that a cruise ship “is not the safest place on Earth”.
Last year, CDC announced a no-sail order stopping cruise ships from operating after recorded infections on cruise ships.
In October, the CDC announced a conditional sailing order that allowed cruises to operate under the condition that it carries under 250 individuals on board. Recently, the health agency updated its conditional sailing order. Unfortunately, the update doesn’t clarify whether or not cruise ships can sail again.
CDC said in its press release that “cruising safely and responsibly during a global pandemic is difficult”. However, it said that “following the phases of the CSO will ensure cruise ship passenger operations are conducted in a way that protects crew members, passengers, and port personnel”.
This move by the Norwegian Cruise Line to require complete vaccination among crew and passengers is an attempt to meet the additional guidance announced by the health agency as part of its conditional sailing order.
Del Rio wrote a letter to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on Monday that outlines their plans to resume sailing. It includes their plan to depart with fully vaccinated passengers and crew by July. Del Rio said in the letter that they are “taking a cue from the CDC and putting together a comprehensive, robust, scientific-based plan”. He also mentioned that they are following the same steps that allowed airlines, casinos, and resorts to operate.
Aside from the vaccination requirement, Norwegian Cruise Line will also require additional safety protocol. The safety protocol was developed by Healthy Sail Panel that includes mask-wearing, testing, and more.
Norwegian resumes its operations on July 4. It will operate with limited capacity starting at 60% and would increase by 20% every 30 days.
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