Norwegian Cancels Some Cruises Through April As Omicron Spreads

Topline

Norwegian Cruise Line canceled sailings on eight cruise ships Wednesday, including trips as late as April, as the rapid spread of the omicron coronavirus variant brings a slew of outbreaks and new troubles for cruise travel.

Key Facts

The cruise line is canceling at least some sailings on its Norwegian Getaway, Norwegian Pearl, Norwegian Sky, Pride of America, Norwegian Jade, Norwegian Star, Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Spirit ships (out of 17 ships in total), citing “ongoing travel restrictions.”

The length of the cancellations depends on the ship: sailings on the Norwegian Pearl are only canceled through January 14, for instance, while those on the Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Spirit were called off through April 9 and 23, respectively.

The cruise line canceled its Norwegian Getaway voyage out of Miami that was scheduled to leave Wednesday due to “Covid related circumstances,” one day after announcing a separate cruise that left from Miami would cut its voyage short after 50 crew members tested positive for Covid-19, a passenger told Local 10 News.

Norwegian’s stock price was down more than 3% Wednesday amid news of the cancellations.

Key Background

Cruise ships were a major vector for Covid-19 transmission early in the pandemic and cruise travel was suspended until summer 2021 due to concerns about the virus’ spread. Those concerns have resurfaced as the highly transmissible omicron variant has taken hold and spurred new outbreaks, and CNN reports officials in some Caribbean islands and other ports have refused to let ships dock because of Covid-19 cases onboard. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports nearly all cruise ships operating in U.S. waters have recorded enough Covid-19 cases to meet the threshold for a CDC investigation, which means the number of reported cases exceeds .10% of the people aboard the ship. Ships are still allowed to sail while under investigation, but the CDC protocols dictate it will look into things like vaccination rates aboard the ship, its medical capabilities and contact tracing. The agency warned travelers in December they should avoid cruise travel entirely, regardless of their vaccination status.

Further Reading

CDC Recommends Against Cruise Travel, Regardless Of Vaccine Status (Forbes)

CDC Is Investigating 86 Cruise Ships With Covid-19 Cases—And They All Keep Sailing (Forbes)

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