90 ships opt in to the voluntary program on the final day after CDC makes changes to protocols.
This past Thursday, the day before the deadline for cruise lines to opt into their voluntary Covid cruise ship program, only twenty ships had agreed to report to the government disease watchdog.
The CDC was once again on the verge of further embarrassment and decided to change the rules to align with reality.
Following those changes, the Cruise Line Industry Association recommended their members join in a statement. The statement read, "The updated instructions move closer to recognizing the cruise industry's leadership in effectively mitigating COVID-19, as well as acknowledging ongoing improvements in the health environment." CLIA described the cruise industry as "a leading model for successful COVID-19 risk mitigation. The association said that hospitalizations were 80 times lower than on land in the US at the peak of the Omicron surge.
On Friday, an additional ninety ships opted into the program to bring the number of vessels to 110 from 18 different brands. The companies that joined are:
Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line (Bahamas Paradise)
Carnival Corporation (Carnival, Holland, Princess, Seabourn)
Disney Cruise Line (Disney)
Genting Hong Kong (Crystal)
MSC (MSC)
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (Norwegian, Oceania, Regent)
Royal Caribbean Cruises (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Silversea)
SeaDream (SeaDream)
Sycamore Partners (Azamara)
Viking Cruises (Viking)
Virgin Voyages (Virgin)
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