In a move that took some observers by surprise, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has dropped its notice of risk for cruise travel.
After more than two years of warning would-be cruisers about how dangerous cruise travel could be during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Atlanta-based CDC today dropped its warning entirely.
“CDC is removing the COVID-19 Cruise Ship Travel Health Notice,” spokesperson Dave Daigle, spokesperson for the health agency, told USA TODAY.
The CDC issues travel health notices to let travellers know about current health issues that could impact their plans.
The group had cruise at level four, its highest risk grouping, for quite some time. They lowered that to level three, and then to level two just two weeks ago.
Daigle told USA Today the move was based on the pandemic’s current state and a decrease in COVID cases on cruise ships over “the past several weeks.”
Yet the CDC site still lists Canada at level four, which suggests that US residents avoid all travel across the border. The site says the Canadian rating was last adjusted on January 10, 2022.
Beth Potter, President and CEO, Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC), said her group and its National Cruise Committee “are looking forward to welcoming ships back to Canadian waters as of next week, and with the work that the Government of Canada has done in consultation with the industry to prepare. We are also pleased to see the CDC has dropped the risk assessment of cruise travel after more than two years of warning travelers to avoid cruise.”
But she noted there are still advisories in place that signal to travelers that travel is not safe, such as the CDC Level 4 warning not to visit Canada.
“We continue our work to showcase that Canada is open for business,” she said. “With some of the highest rates of vaccination in the world and world-class health infrastructure, Canada has lived up to its reputation as one of the safest destinations in the world throughout the pandemic.”
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) issued a statement following the removal of the warning.
“Today’s decision by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to altogether remove the Travel Health Notice for cruising recognizes the effective public health measures in place on cruise ships and begins to level the playing field, between cruise and similarly situated venues on land, for the first time since March 2020,” the group said.
