The Omicron COVID-19 variant has impacted Caribbean cruise vacations just as quickly as it emerged. Several destinations closed their ports to cruise ships this week and Omicron forced lines to alter current sailings and cancel some upcoming voyages.
Operators will have a hard time returning to Caribbean waters in late 2021, after the Pandemic struck in March 2020.
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Norwegian Cruise Line canceled the January 5th cruise from Miami to the Dominican Republic, becoming the most recent company to do so.
NCL informed passengers and travel advisors that it was difficult to end the departure due to COVID-related circumstances. The operator is giving guests a full refund and discounts on new bookings.
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Several Caribbean destinations turned away cruise ships last week because of the infections. The private island of Ocean Cay was barred from docking by the Bahamas due to reported COVID-19 cases.
According to a Washington Post report, Carnival Freedom was denied entry to Bonaire and Curacao in December because of a small number of people who were infectious. coronaviruses affected at least six Royal Caribbean International, Holland America Line and Carnival cruises last week.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week designated 92 ships as yellow under its color-coded system, triggering an investigation. A ship is considered yellow by the CDC if at least 0.1 percent of its passengers have tested positive in the last seven days or if a single crew member has tested positive.
The travel warning for cruise ships was raised from Level 3 to Level 4 on December 30th, and consumers were advised to avoid travel on cruise ships if they have not received a vaccine. The Omicron variant had a surge in shipboard cases between December 15 and December 29 that was similar to the first two weeks of December.
Even if you have received a booster dose of the vaccine, the chances of getting COVID-19 on a cruise ship are very high.
There is a case for cruising.
The cruise industry's main trade association has pushed back at CDC's characterization of shipboard COVID-19 transmission.
The majority of those cases are mild in nature and pose little to no burden on medical resources onboard or on the ground. No setting is immune from this virus. One of the highest levels of demonstrated mitigation can be found on a cruise ship.
The officials of the American Society of Travel Advisors sounded the same note.
The worldwide spike in omicron variant cases should not surprise anyone given the increase in reported COVID cases on cruise ships.
The anti-COVID measures put in place by the cruise lines are in close consultation with the CDC and are different from visiting your local grocery store or restaurant.
Kerby said that travelers from southern Africa were at the beginning of the crisis that spread the Omicron variant.
There is a port position.
Caribbean cruise ports are still bullish on cruise activity despite continuing protocols. Brad Dean, CEO of Discover Puerto Rico, said that the rise of the Omicron variant has prompted both cruise lines and destinations to modify protocols, causing as many as 15 sailing cancellation to Puerto Rico.
Dean said that cruise lines and destinations have been able to adapt to the changing environment. Entry guidelines and on-island measures have been advanced by Puerto Rico. We are confident that cruises will return to San Juan in the future, as we collectively take these precautions to ensure safety.
The cruise industry has made tremendous strides since the shut down and have implemented stringent protocols to keep their guests and crew as safe as possible, said Randy Rolle, a Bahamas legislator in a Bahamas Tribune interview. We are optimistic that any impact will be minimal.
Massive Travels has people who have come to them for cruises.
Caribbean cruising would weather the current Omicron storm according to Cruise selling advisors. Edouard Jean, owner of New York-based Massive Travels, said he was taking it on a case-by-case basis. I will give the facts to my clients.
Jean said that things have changed on the cruise ships. There are fewer people on ships because they are not sailing at capacity.
Jean said that he has people who have come to him for cruises. I am of the same mind with ASTA. He advises cruise clients to talk about it with whoever is traveling with them, and then make a decision based on the facts.
