Cruise news: CDC being unfair, Celebrity Beyond, NCL relaxes mask rules & more

Time to catch up on this week's cruise news with a round-up of the big happenings and changes in the cruise industry.

This week, a new ship is one step closer to sailing, the CDC butted heads with cruise lines, and more cancelled cruises in Asia were announced.

CDC launches new voluntary Covid-19 program for cruise ships

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced their new voluntary program for cruise lines operating within the United States.

There will still be a color coded system to identify Covid-19 cases on individual ships.

Cruise lines have until February 18 to opt into the program.

Cruise lines choosing to opt into this program will be required to follow all recommendations and guidance as a condition of their participation in the program.

Requirements include response plans, port agreements, testing of passengers and crew, and more.

Cruise industry calls CDC program "discriminatory"

The CDC's update was met with rebuke from the cruise industry almost immediately.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) called the new program unnecessarily discriminatory against cruise to maintain that the chances of getting COVID-19 on a cruise “is very high” even if you are up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines. 

The cruise lines believe the recommendations from the CDC are, "out of step with the actual public health conditions on cruise ships and unnecessary in light of societal trends away from more restrictive measures."

"CLIA and its members are fervently devoted to preventing the spread of COVID-19 and protecting passengers, crew, and the public against any adverse health consequences.  The record of this unwavering commitment is extensive and irrefutable."

Celebrity Beyond completes sea trials

Celebrity Cruises' next new cruise ship has completed her sea trials.

Celebrity Beyond finished successfully completed her sea trials over the weekend, which means she is closer to being launched.

Overseen by more than 50 crew members, including Captain Kate McCue, engineers and nautical experts, the trials took place in the Bay of Biscay near the shipyard. In less than 80 days, Celebrity Beyond will make her highly anticipated debut on April 27, as it sails from Southampton, England.

Celebrity Beyond is the newest, largest, and most luxurious ship in Celebrity Cruises’ Edge Series, and features newly imagined spaces and expanded versions of the brand’s popular signature spaces, including: 

• The Retreat, an exclusive area for suite guests, now featuring a two-story sundeck
• A first-ever Daniel Boulud fine-dining restaurant at sea called Le Voyage
• Transformational accommodations, from modern two-story villas with plunge pools to staterooms with infinite verandas, blurring the boundaries between indoor and outdoor living

NCL will go back to having face masks optional

Norwegian Cruise Line announced it will roll back Omicron protocols on its ships beginning in March.

Sailings beginning on March 1 will not require passengers to wear masks while indoors. 

Guests sailing before March 1 will still be required to wear masks onboard while indoors, except when actively eating or drinking, or seated at a table in a dining setting, or when in their staterooms.

NCL also said it will now allow children under five who are unvaccinated to sail.

Carnival will allow Covid-19 recovery proof to sail on its ships

Carnival Cruise Line announced it will allow passengers to skip their pre-cruise test if if they have recovered from Covid-19 within 3 months of sailing, regardless of if they are vaccinated or not.

Proof is required by these passengers, and if provided, they do not need the required pre-cruise COVID test before embarkation if they are at least 10 days past their Covid-19 infection, have no symptoms and present documentation of recovery from Covid-19 from their healthcare provider.

Royal Caribbean cancels Spectrum of the Seas cruises in Asia

After announcing it will send Spectrum of the Seas to Singapore early, Royal Caribbean cancelled the remainder of the ship's scheduled season in Hong Kong.

The following Spectrum of the Seas sailings are now cancelled: February 18, 21, 24, 26, 28 and March 4, 7, 10, 12, 14, 17, 2022. 

Royal Caribbean made the decision due to Hong Kong's Covid-19 prevention measures, "The extension and the uncertainty of the situation in Hong Kong impacts the cruise line’s commitment to ensure it can deliver the memorable holidays guests know and love."