Norwegian has become the first major cruise line to drop its vaccination requirement for cruise passengers in a move likely to be followed by others, ushering in either an era of post-pandemic ‘normality’ or one of great vulnerability to any new waver of Covid.
Ironically, Norwegian was one of the first, during the CDC’s hold on all cruising, to advocate for full vaccination as the way to get approval, and to get customers back on board, even fighting a legal war with Florida Gov. Desantis who banned asking passengers their vaccine status.
Norwegian President and CEO Frank Del Rio now says “Our long-awaited revisions to our testing and vaccination requirements bring us closer in line with the rest of society, which has learned to adapt and live with COVID-19.” Even with the end of the vaccination requirement, unvaccinated passengers will still need to show a negative test result before boarding, and may be subject to local restrictions in some ports.
UPDATE
Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises are dropping vaccination requirements for sailings from cruises leaving Los Angeles, New Orleans and Galveston as well as Europe, starting September 5, although testing will still be required.
Moving in a somewhat opposite direction, Denali and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks are now requiring masks in park buildings because of high risk of infection in local areas around the parks.