Norwegian Cruise Line and its brand Regent Seven Seas Cruises will ask all its crew members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine before boarding, the crew members of the cruise companies said in an email to Insider.
This is just the latest sign that the voyage will not depart any time soon.
Cruise ships first gained their reputation as coronavirus hotspots in February 2020 after Diamond Cruises’ Diamond Princess left thousands of passengers and hundreds infected with the virus. Shortly thereafter, dozens of cruise ships around the world encountered coronavirus-related disruptions, stranding, infecting, or killing ships and their passengers.
Following this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced – and later expanded – that its order was non-sailing, as COVID-19 continued to rise throughout the US. And after months of waiting, in October 2020, the CDC replaced its pause button on all voyages with the ‘Framework for Conditional Sailing Order’, a list of strict protocols required for cruise lines to sail again.
Despite this new CDC order and the impending unveiling of several long-awaited cruise ships, the return of the voyages is still unknown. From now on, no major U.S. cruises will begin until May, with the warning that the vessels will continually extend this suspension timeline.
At the end of the no-sail tunnel, however, a glimmer of hope shines: the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We are investigating all vaccination options for guests and crew members, and it is our intention that all crew members should be vaccinated before boarding to begin their duties, subject to the availability of the vaccine,” read the statements from Norwegian and Regent Seven Seas. “We will continue to work with global and domestic authorities and the Healthy Sail Panel, our team of leading expert advisors, to explore all options needed to protect guests, crew members and the communities visited.”
Read more: For cruise lines, “2020 is a wasted year.” The CEO of Norwegian Cruise indicates when the industry can make money again.
The other brand, Norwegian, Oceania, did not immediately respond to a request for comment following the same vaccination requirement for the crew member.
Norwegian is not the only crossroads that acts viably, as vaccination of vaccines continues. The British cruise company Saga, which is passengers at least 50 years old, has announced that all passengers must receive the vaccine two weeks before boarding, a spokesperson said on Thursday.
Several other cruise companies – such as Carnival and its Holland America line – are reviewing various vaccines, but have not announced any decisions regarding mandatory vaccinations for its passengers, according to emails sent to Insider from Carnival and Holland America.
Even with the news about a vaccine, some experts have no hope of the rapid resumption of the move. According to a comment received by Barron’s, Patrick Scholes, an analyst at Truist Securities, believes that July may be the best time to resume trading, although it will be more promising later in 2021.
However, the full return of cruises has yet to be seen.