Cruise lines can choose between vaccinations or practice voyage

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has given cruise operators a choice for returning to work: Show that at least 98% of crew and 95% of passengers are fully vaccinated for COVID-19, or run tests voyages with volunteer passengers to assess whether it is safe to get back to business.

The agency issued its final technical guidelines May 5 for the trial runs. The CDC action is a step toward resuming cruises in U.S. waters, possibly by July, for the first time since March 2020.

Each practice cruise — they’ll run two to seven days — must have enough passengers to fill at least 10% of the ship’s capacity. Volunteers must be 18 or older and either fully vaccinated or free of medical conditions that would put them at high risk for severe COVID-19.

The ship operator must tell passengers that they are simulating untested safety measures, “and that sailing during a pandemic is an inherently risky activity,” the CDC guidelines state.

Passengers must be examined for COVID-19 symptoms before and after the trip, and at least 75% must be tested at the end.

Restrictions on board will include face masks and social distancing. The CDC will allow guided shore excursions — no wandering about on their own — if tour operators follow certain standards.

Ships must make at least one practice run before resuming regular cruises in U.S. waters, unless the operator chooses to require mandatory vaccination of crew and passengers to avoid the test run.

So far, only Norwegian Cruise Line has publicly announced its intentions to require vaccinations for passengers and crew, in lieu of the test voyages, though other operators reportedly are considering the option.

ABC News reported May 8 that several ports in Florida and Texas have set up vaccination sites for cruise lines to get their crew members inoculated in preparation for resuming cruises.

Regardless of the CDC decision, voyages to Alaska are blocked by Canada’s decision to close its ports to cruise ships. U.S. law requires the large, foreign-flagged ships that come to Alaska must make a stop at a foreign port along the way. With Canada’s closure, the ships are effectively banned from the popular Seattle-to-Alaska cruises.