Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd will require Covid-19 vaccinations for all guests and crew when it restarts trips from US ports in July, the company said on Monday April 5th.
Its announcement was a swift response to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) latest guidance to the cruise ship industry, including the need for Covid-19 vaccinations (see previous story).
Royal Caribbean, which is set to resume some trips in the Caribbean in June, and Norwegian Cruise have set up an expert panel to resume operations safely.
Norwegian Cruise CEO Frank Del Rio said that “we believe that through a combination of 100% mandatory vaccinations for guests and crew and science-backed public health measures … we can create a safe, ‘bubble-like’ environment for guests and crew”.
Norwegian said in a letter to the CDC that it would begin running cruises at a capacity of 60%. It then plans to gradually increase the proportion of its fleet departing from US ports and, providing things progress smoothly, to increase capacity every 30 days.