Is your cruise ship safe? How to check your COVID-19 status

If you’ve already booked a cruise or are about to decide whether or not to do it, you may have doubts after listening to the reports of the COVID-19 outbreaks at sea.

The CDC recently reported that 15 of the 24 ships currently sailing in U.S. waters with paying passengers have experienced outbreaks of the virus on board.

Because traveling in the COVID age is never without risk, up-to-date information can help travelers make more informed decisions, taking into account their personal health and willingness to take risks.

What color is your boat?

A color-coding system developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can provide useful information on the COVID-19 status of cruise ships operating or planning to operate in U.S. waters.

A table on the CDC website, which promises to be updated several times a week, assigns each ship a color status: green, orange, yellow, red or gray.

Color coding is based on both surveillance data collected during the previous 7 day period as well as the results of any CDC investigation. (When cruise ships notify the CDC of a suspected or confirmed case of the virus, the agency determines if an investigation is necessary.)

Here are the CDC definitions for each of the color codes:

Green: No cases of COVID-19 or COVID-19-type illnesses are reported on board

Orange: Reported cases are below the CDC’s investigation threshold, which varies depending on

restricted voyages, simulated voyages and crewed vessels only

Yellow: Ship meets investigation threshold (for crew or passenger COVID-19 cases), or a state or local health department has notified CDC of passenger cases within five days of the disembarkation

Red: The ship is at or above the threshold for COVID-19 passenger and crew cases. According to the CDC investigation, the ship is under additional public health precautions. such as immediate return to port or postponement of the next trip

Grey: The ship operator’s health and safety protocol has not been reviewed or confirmed by CDC; this only applies to ships arriving, located within, or departing from a Florida port that have chosen not to voluntarily follow the CDC Conditional Sail Order (CSO).

Rated cruise lines

As of the last update (August 13, 2021), ships operated by the following cruise lines are included in the table: American Queen Steamboat Company, Bahamas Paradise Cruise Company, Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc., Holland America Line, Princess Cruises , Disney Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean International and Silversea Cruises LTD.

(If a cruise line or cruise ship is not listed, it means that the ship does not intend to operate in US waters during the CSO period or that the ship has not yet fulfilled the conditions required to operate as part of a CSO.)

Safety ratings

Of the 67 vessels currently listed and classified as sailing with passengers and crew, crew only, or on simulated voyages, 40 are green with no COVID-onboard report; 13 ships are classified orange; 14 are yellow; none are red or gray.

“The list is useful because it shows a number of things,” says Tony Barnette, creator of La Lido Loca, a daily YouTube channel dedicated to cruise news and commentary. “First, it shows that all cruise lines are aware of and handle cases of COVID. Second, it gives travelers the ability to look at their specific vessel and see what’s going on. When it comes to cruising, the more you know, the more comfortable you will feel.

However, Barnette says he would like to see a better distribution of the number of COVID cases relative to the number of passengers / crew on ships. “When you hear that there are X number of cases and you don’t have a benchmark, you don’t know how concerned you should be. For example, if the prevalence is less than 1%, it is less disturbing than 10%, ”he says.

Another limitation of the system: “Currently, it can be difficult or downright impossible to trace a COVID case back to its original source, no matter where you contacted it – whether in a hotel, on an airplane, in a restaurant. , a private party at someone’s house or a cruise ship, ”says Chris Faust Gray, editor of Cruise Critic. Then again, there is no industry that is really following this, ”she says.

Like many cruisers, Barnette is still at ease cruising, having taken three cruises since June 2020. “I was delighted to be back at sea and the cruising experience has been great,” says- he. As the Delta variant emerged, it saw health and safety protocols become even more stringent in terms of requirements for pre-cruise testing, vaccinations and the use of masks.

“The amount of security measures and protocols in place while cruising is unmatched by most other companies,” he says. “The vaccination status of each passenger is known and monitored; each cruise ship has certain medical facilities and procedures to test and treat COVID, as well as plans to get passengers home if needed. It is difficult to identify other industries with such robust protocols, ”he adds.

Urging caution in these uncertain times, the CDC notes that, as cruises will always pose some risk of COVID-19 transmission, public health measures such as testing and vaccinations are crucial. And regardless of a ship’s current condition, the agency recommends anyone who is not fully vaccinated to avoid river and ocean cruises around the world.

So, is your cruise ship safe?

The answers to this question will vary for each individual. Circumstances that seem safe to one person may seem worrying to another. Ultimately, all travel in the COVID era involves weighing available information in light of personal health factors and one’s risk tolerance. The new CDC color coding system for cruise ships offers an extra step to help you make those tough decisions.

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To see the updated table, visit the CDC Cruise Ship Color Status Page.