As of Friday, 85 of 93 cruise ships in U.S. waters have reported at least one case of COVID onboard, according to the CDC. The cruise industry, however, is returning and more ships are sailing from Seattle.
SEATTLE — After being cooped up in her Bonney Lake home for much of the pandemic, Earlene Smith was ready to cruise again.
The comeback is ramping up despite warnings from the CDC. When the highly transmissible omicron variant drove up case counts in December, the CDC cautioned against cruise travel, regardless of a traveler’s vaccination status. “I find it hard to believe any reasonable person would look at the procedures we have onboard and not feel quite safe,” Antorcha said.
While Royal Caribbean participates in the CDC program, Smith said it appeared the staff was confused about testing protocols. Contact tracing was thorough, she said. But when her group was about to leave the ship in Seattle, the crew didn’t know if her sister, who had been closest with Smith’s brother-in-law before he tested positive for COVID, should test again before disembarking.
For Adrian Johnson, who went on a seven-night cruise to Alaska on Royal Caribbean’s Alaska Glacier, the trip was good until the final night. The crew was friendly and always masked, and the health protocols were reassuring.
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