Just to preface this … yes, there are some facts here, but my opinion is here as well.
Well, here we go again. Just when I thought that the cruise industry was making its way back from the mid-March 2020 shut down. The CDC has issued a Level 4 warning for cruise travel, telling people not to cruise, even if you are vaccinated. I mean, wasn’t the point of getting vaccinated so we could get back to “normal?” But that is another topic all together.
If you have ever been on a cruise, I’m sure you could agree that cruise travel is one of the most hygienic, safe, clean (I could go on and on) place to be. At every turn there is some sort of hand wash station, sanitizer station, or someone with a spray bottle waiting for you to put your hands out. They are constantly wiping down and disinfecting surfaces. And folks, that was even before COVID. And now cruise lines have ramped their cleaning and disinfecting protocols up. Every crew member must be vaccinated. They are tested. Guests have to be vaccinated and tested prior to sailing. Cruise lines go way above and beyond what is required for other leisure travel, or any travel for that matter. I certainly did not have to show my vaccination card to fly on my last flight or to go to Disney for that matter. I can go to my supermarket and have more exposure to COVID than on a cruise.
So why is it that the CDC and the media are hitting cruise lines so hard? I can’t quite figure it out. Is it because the ships are not registered in the U.S. therefore the U.S. doesn’t get the tax benefits of a U.S. company (even though most cruise corporate headquarters are in the U.S.)? Maybe it is because the CDC and media just simply do not look at any facts. Why target just one sector of leisure travel? I mean, let’s test everyone at Disney then. How about testing everyone before they fly? What about testing everyone at resorts? I would bet that the COVID numbers would be much higher than those on cruise ships.
Cruise lines are held to a much higher standard when having to report illnesses, which is why we hear about it so much. As noted below, they must report when an illness threshold of 0.10 percent of passengers are ill. That’s quite a low number, even when looking at some of the largest cruise ships (capacity of 6,500 guests). Disney World’s Magic Kingdom can have up to 100,000 guests on a given day. They don’t have to report illnesses (not that they test anyway). I’m not picking on Disney; I happen to love Disney. I am just trying to use a land-based vacation as a comparison. There are more sick kids at school and we don’t hear about it.
I am just really tired of all of the misinformation out there regarding cruises. Hearing that they are floating petri dishes just really pisses me off. Are there sick people on cruises? Unfortunately, yes there are. And that is mostly because people pay for those vacations and just don’t want to cancel, whether they have trip insurance or not. So, they get on board, say they are healthy, and we all know what happens from there. There are sick people everywhere, and some might not even know they are ill. I would take being on a cruise ship any day over visiting my local grocery store, Wal-Mart or Target, big box store, a packed sports stadium. I know for a fact I would be safer there.
And how about we let people decide what they want to do? What ever happened to that idea? If you are in a high-risk health group, immune compromised, or just don’t want to be exposed, stay home. That is okay. If you are not comfortable traveling, then don’t. You have the right to do that. But what about those of us that are comfortable? We understand the risks if we choose to travel. Let us travel. Not just to land vacations. Let us cruise. Stop coming down on one industry just because it fits the narrative. Do your research first. Get the facts. Cruising is and has been one of the safest vacations you can take.
It’s a shame that the cruise industry is being dismantled. It is hurting so many people. The ship employees, the people that depend on tourism to live, suppliers, and of course it hurts us as travel agents.
Here are some facts that an agent from our Dream Vacations family posted:
* More than 100 cruise ships have returned to U.S. waters (even more worldwide), carrying nearly 1 million people since June 2021.
* The cruise industry is the only industry in the U.S. travel and tourism sector (hello, airlines?) that is requiring both vaccinations and testing for crew and guests. Cruising is the only industry monitored in this way -- under super-strict requirements -- which is why you hear more about cruises.
* According to the CDC’s system, a cruise ship triggers CDC observation when reaching a threshold of 0.10 percent of passengers (i.e., 7 out of 6,500) testing positive in the last seven days, or if even just one crew member tests positive.
* In the U.S. alone, the cruise industry administers nearly 10 million tests per week — 21x the rate of overall U.S. testing.
* The latest data show that, even with higher rates of testing, the cruise industry continues to achieve significantly lower rates of occurrence of COVID-19 — 33 percent less than onshore.
* The majority of Covid cases identified on cruise ships are asymptomatic or mild in nature, posing little to no burden on medical resources onboard or onshore. Vaccination rates onboard a cruise ship are upwards of 95 percent — significantly higher than the overall U.S. population of about 62 percent.
* No setting can be immune from this virus — however, cruise ships offer a highly controlled environment with unique science-backed measures, known testing and vaccination levels far above other venues or modes of transportation and travel, and significantly lower incidence rates than land. These protocols encompass the entirety of the cruise experience, incorporating testing, vaccination, screening, sanitation, mask-wearing and other science-backed measures.
Kathy Freer
Dream Vacations Freer & Associates
321-735-0202
470-735-3778
888-882-5793
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