On Wednesday, the CDC updated its website to reflect the lifting of the travel health notice and now just recommends that future passengers wear masks, get vaccinated, wash their hands, and take other precautions before boarding a ship. "While cruising will always pose some risk of COVID-19 transmission, travelers will make their own risk assessment when choosing to travel on a cruise ship, much like they do in all other travel settings," the CDC said in a statement on Wednesday.
When the pandemic broke out in March 2020, the CDC shut down the U.S. cruise industry altogether for 15 months. Last June, ships were allowed to resume sailing under a strict conditional sailing order.The Cruise Lines International Association praised the CDC's decision to lift the travel warning on Wednesday saying that it will "level the playing field, between cruise and similarly situated venues on land, for the first time since March 2020.
"From the onset of the pandemic, CLIA’s cruise line members have prioritized the health and safety of their guests, crew, and the communities they visit and are sailing today with health measures in place that are unmatched by virtually any other commercial setting," the organization said in a statement.
Thoughts on if they will do away with the vaccination requirement?
The CDC should be abolished and replaced with a new health organization that values both health and freedom.