![]() ![]() When Delta began to increase case numbers globally earlier this year, the cruise industry wasn’t significantly affected.Ĭruises continued to resume, and consumer confidence in the industry remained buoyant, with a Cruise Critic poll finding that 59 percent of readers believed the health protocols being put in place by the cruise lines made cruising safer than other forms of travel. The industry’s handling of the Delta variant last year can serve as a guide for passengers booked on cruises in the near future, or thinking about doing so. RELATED: Royal Caribbean and Princess follow Carnival with enhanced COVID rules ![]() RELATED: Carnival tightens mask and COVID testing rules fleetwide after outbreak Health regulations such as mask mandates are likely to be tightened If it is found to be more contagious than the Delta variant, which was itself twice as contagious as previous strains, then it would be a significant threat to the cruise industry.Ĭruise ships are already accused of being a breeding ground for the spread of coronavirus, despite most cruise lines implementing health and safety protocols that go far and above those of any other sector of the tourism industry. The World Health Organization suggests it poses a “very high” risk globally and the “likelihood of potential further spread of Omicron at the global level is high.” The primary concern of health authorities around the world is the apparent increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant. Disney Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line are requiring guests as young as 5 years old to be vaccinated, and MSC Cruises has extended its vaccine mandate to the entire fleet worldwide, while many cruise lines are restricting bookings only to fully vaccinated passengers. It’s a scenario no cruise destination wants, and many COVID-19 health and safety protocols have been tightened by cruise lines as a result. South Africa has essentially been frozen out of the global tourism industry, flights have been suspended, travellers from the country are either banned or face strict quarantine rules, making travel to the country unfeasible, and hotels and cruises have faced widespread cancellations as a result. The travel restrictions imposed on South Africa in particular, the epicenter of the current Omicron outbreak, serve as a chilling example of the impact a wave of Omicron infections could have on the local tourism industry. When news of the emergence of a new variant of COVID-19 first broke, cruise stocks and other ‘recovery’ markets were hit hard on fears of renewed travel restrictions and even lockdowns, which would severely undermine the resumption of cruises worldwide. RELATED: How many passengers have caught COVID since cruises resumed? RELATED: August sees most cruise ships back in service since pandemic The emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is a potential existential threat to the cruise industry, but the Delta variant fallout provides a hint of the potential impact it may have. ![]()
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