Cruise ship travel restrictions lighten, mask mandate removed, risk advisory lifted
FILE-Florida, Miami Beach, South Pointe Park, Carnival Splendor cruise ship Departing. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has lifted its risk advisory for cruise ship travel, removing the mask mandate for cruise ships, as of Wednesday.
Since the pandemic first began, the CDC had been warning travelers about the risk of contracting COVID-19 on cruise ships. The mask mandate on board ships had been back-and-forth.
The Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) acknowledged their approval of this decision in a statement on March 30, saying that will ‘level the playing field, between cruise and similarly situated venues on land, for the first time since March 2020.’
This comes just three months after the CDC issued a Level 4 travel warning, the highest warning level, after investigations into the COVID-19 outbreaks aboard cruise ships.
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Regardless of travel notices, the CDC is constantly urging travelers to gauge their own health before any kind of travel.
As always travelers should make sure they are up-to-date on the COVID-19 vaccines, along with the requirements the ship may have, the CDC recommends. They also advise checking the COVID-19 case levels, online, before traveling. They advise talking to your healthcare provider, even if you have all of your vaccines if you are immunocompromised or at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
The CDC also recommends getting a COVID-19 viral test, three to five days after the cruise. For more guidance on cruise ship travels, visit the CDC's cruise ship travel page.