The travel warning for cruise ships was raised to Level 4 and the industry is hitting back.
The decision is particularly puzzling since the majority of the cases identified on cruise ships are mild in nature and pose little to no burden on medical resources onboard or on land.
Cruise provides one of the highest levels of mitigated against the virus. Cruise ships offer a highly controlled environment with science-backed measures, known testing and vaccination levels far above other venues or modes of transportation and travel, and significantly lower incidence rates than land.
Cruise is the only industry in the U.S. that requires vaccinations, and it has higher vaccination rates than the population as a whole.
According to the latest data, the cruise industry continues to achieve significantly lower rates of occurrence of Covid-19 than it does on land.
Travelers are hardened, agents say.
The Royal Caribbean Group acknowledged that there had been an increase in the omicron variant on ships, but that the majority of those cases had no symptoms or needed to be taken to a hospital. Almost everyone onboard had a negative test before boarding, which resulted in these figures.
"We don't like to see one case, but our experience is a fraction of the comparable statistics of virtually any other comparable location or industry," said Royal Group CEO Richard Fain, who also pointed out that cruising, unlike airlines or hotels, test and report their passengers, putting cruise lines
He said that few businesses are subject to such intense scrutiny, regulation and disclosure requirements. "We intend to maintain our goal of delivering the safest vacation on land or sea and will constantly adjust our procedures to accomplish this even in the face of omicron's amazing transmissibility."
In an online post, the managing director of Signature Travel Network said that cruise was being scapegoated.
She wrote that everyone is looking for a scapegoat for the plague. We are tired and weary, but blaming one segment of the travel industry, the cruise industry, without looking at the facts does not help us develop policies and procedures needed to move on with our lives. I would argue against it. The CDC and scientists have collaborated with the cruise lines to develop models to assess and manage risks.
The CDC stigmatizes the one segment of our industry that has done the most to successfully mitigate risk, and that's why she is at a loss to explain.
She said that statements to color the Pandemic as such are facile. I will be on a cruise ship soon. I will be much safer at sea than I am here in Washington, D.C., according to all the statistics.
