NCLH & SailSAFE Chairman Provide Second Pandemic Update

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ CEO Frank Del Rio and former FDA commissioner and SailSAFE Chairman Dr. Scott Gottlieb provided their second pandemic update this year on March 3, shedding light on the state of the pandemic.

NCLH, which comprises the three cruise lines of Regent Seven Seas, Norwegian and Oceania, was the first to opt into the CDC’s voluntary program earlier this year after its Conditional Sail Order expired.

Since then, Norwegian has changed its vaccination requirement to allow children under the age of twelve to cruise while unvaccinated and has changed its masking requirement to optional, which began March 1.

The new update was available to watch for travel advisors, cruisers and members of the media; the first update was held earlier this year in January. The newest news with the cruise lines themselves was that all crew aboard the three cruise lines would be fully boosted by mid-May, extending the vaccination requirements for crew members.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who announced plans for taking a family cruise this year during the first pandemic update of the year, is optimistic about traveling more and seeing more restrictions lift as COVID-19 slows down to become what he believes will be a fall and winter respiratory virus, much like the flu is today. Two reasons for his optimism are the declining cases across the U.S., as well as less serious illness.

“When we spoke last, we talked about how prevalence would decline very sharply as we got towards the end of the winter and into the spring, and I think we’re seeing that right now,” Dr. Gottlieb began. “Prevalence is coming down all across the country, you’re seeing a rapid change in policy with respect to governors and others lifting things like mask requirements in schools and other public settings…”

“I think people are going to be looking to get back to doing things that they enjoy and feel relatively comfortable doing. Most people are vaccinated, a lot of people have been infected, a lot of people have been infected and vaccinated, some people have a higher degree of immunity at this point and are pretty well protected from bad outcomes.”

Gottlieb also noted that while mask mandates are being lifted across the country, it’s unlikely the federal government will let its mask mandate for public transportation expire on March 28, its current expiration date.

Though that doesn’t mean it won’t be lifted entirely, and perhaps even by the end of this spring, as the government will most likely wait until the entire country is reporting low levels of transmission before doing so, wearing a high-quality mask to protect themselves can still help travelers stay safe even after the mask mandate ends.

As for vaccine requirements on cruise ships, expect to wait a little bit longer, or indefinitely: “I think it’s likely to be a requirement that is in place through the fall and winter,” said Gottlieb, because the CDC would like to monitor the virus’s prevalence in an endemic stage, which we are likely to reach later this year. If the Omicron-specific vaccine can help prevent the spread as well as serious illness, it might also be more likely to be required in certain places, like cruise ships.

The update overall showed optimism for this year and the years to come, including within the cruise industry.