Two major cruise lines, Royal Caribbean International and Carnival Cruise Line, recently joined Norwegian Cruise Line in announcing plans to ease onboard masking requirements.
Royal Caribbean plans to drop its indoor mask requirement for fully vaccinated passengers starting this Friday. Carnival Cruise Line's new policy, which will drop mask requirements in most venues, goes into effect March 1, along with Norwegian.
Royal Caribbean and Carnival's updated policies were announced shortly after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its voluntary COVID-19 program for cruise lines.
Under the updated guidance, cruise lines opting into the program can remove mask requirements as long as 95% of passengers and crew members are fully vaccinated.
Both Carnival and Royal Caribbean have agreed to participate in the federal agency's COVID-19 program, along with the three brands of Norwegian Cruise Holdings - NCL, Oceania and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
Royal Caribbean CEO and President Michael says the cruise line will participate in the program under its highly vaccinated category, meaning 95% of crew and passengers over the age of 5 will be fully vaccinated.
"We are thoughtfully working through the details regarding other changes to our health and safety protocols which we will share with our guests and travel advisors before February 25," Bayley said on Facebook.
According to Cruise Industry News, 18 brands and 110 ships have agreed to the voluntary CDC program, including all major ships operating in U.S. waters. Among the others are Disney Cruise Line, Viking Cruises, Virgin Voyages, Azamara, Sea Dream, MSC and Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line.
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