(7:15 p.m. EST) — With the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s deadline looming for cruise lines to join the agency’s voluntary COVID-19 Cruise Ship Program, 110 ships have opted in.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, which comprises Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, had previously announced it would join the voluntary program, and Royal Caribbean Group, emcompassing Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea, reconfirmed Friday it had joined the program.
“Royal Caribbean Group informed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that it will participate in the COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships, the new voluntary program the agency unveiled,” the company announced via a statement.
Carnival Cruise Line announced Friday it would also opt into the program. Cruise Critic has reached out to additional cruise lines to find out whether they have joined as well.
Three days ago, the CDC lowered its travel advisory for cruising from a Level 4 to a Level 3, and yesterday the agency quietly softened its guidelines on the voluntary program, easing requirements and giving cruise lines more discretion in terms of how they will implement onboard protocols.
The changes came less than 24 hours before the imposed February 18 deadline for cruise lines to opt in or out of the voluntary COVID-19 Cruise Ship Program, details of which were released February 9.
The original guidelines were initially met with surprise from the cruise industry — and the majority of cruisers — who believed cruise lines have been treated unfairly when their protocols already far exceed those the CDC requires on land.
Softened guidelines and requirements concerning isolation and quarantine periods for asymptomatic close contacts of positive cases and allowing cruise ships to exclude certain populations in calculations determining overall ship vaccination status are two of the most notable changes.
Requirements foribidding retesting of passengers or crew who test positive via an initial NAAT test remain unchanged.
Here’s a look at the new guidelines.
New Options for Quarantine and Isolation
Cruise ships will now have more discretion when it comes to isolation and quarantine periods for asymptomatic passengers who have been in close contact with a positive COVID-19 case.
Original CDC voluntary program guidelines required all close contact passengers, regardless of vaccination status, to be isolated for 10 days with no outside contact, receiving a viral test on the final day of quarantine.
Isolation Periods Have Been Lowered for Passengers Fully up to Date With Vaccinations
New guidelines have dropped the isolation period to five days for asymptomatic close contact passengers who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations, including any boosters for which they are eligible. Asymptomatic close contacts who are not up to date with their vaccines should still be quarantined for 10 days.
Quarantine and isolation periods begin the first full day after the passenger’s last exposure to a positive case. Viral tests must be performed on the first and last day of quarantine, and passengers may only be released from isolation if both tests are negative.
Isolation and Quarantine Can Be Reduced or Replaced With Daily Viral Testing
Additionally, cruise operators are now able to exercise discretion in how they handle isolation and quarantine periods.
In lieu of five days of required quarantine, cruise lines can instead choose to administer daily viral testing to asymptomatic close contacts who are fully up to date with their vaccinations.
However, these passengers must take all meals in their cabins, wear properly-fitting masks at all times when not in their cabins and if anyone, such as crew, family or friends, enters their cabin.
Cruise operators also may now reduce isolation periods for asymptomatic close contact passengers who are not up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations by five days, instead opting for a hybrid approach of five days of isolation followed by five days of daily viral testing. Once released from quarantine, these passengers will be required to follow the same masking and stateroom dining as above.
New Wording Exempts Passengers Ineligible for Vaccines from Counting Toward a Cruise Ship’s Vaccination Status
The CDC’s new voluntary program created new vaccination status categories to denote vaccination levels aboard each ship in the program. Originally, these categories were determined by the overall percentage of fully vaccinated passengers and passengers who are fully up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations onboard the ship. Cruise ships were required to calculate these percentages based on the full number of passengers and crew.
The CDC has further defined the definition of “up to date”, stating it “means when a person has received all recommended COVID-19 vaccines, including any booster dose(s) when eligible”.
The clarification of this new wording now allows cruise ships to exempt passengers who are ineligible for boosters — namely children under 5 — in their calculation toward the CDC’s “Vaccination Standard of Excellence.” This classification, the highest available, encompasses cruise ships to operate with at least 95% of their passengers and 95% of their crew being up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines.