CDC ends warning on cruise ship travel

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has ended its scaled warnings against cruise travel amid declining pandemic numbers.  

The agency announced the decision Wednesday, nearly two years after imposing the warnings, as a result of the virus proving highly contagious on cruise ships, on which passengers – largely older and from countries worldwide – are in close quarters. 

The warnings were a blow the the industry, and such U.S. as Carnival Corp, Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

Cruise operators also said the CDC was discriminating against the industry, considering hotels and airlines could operate with limited or no restrictions, according to the Epoch Times. 

The agency said in announcing the change that taking a cruise will always pose some risk of COVID-19 transmission but "travelers will make their own risk assessment when choosing to travel on a cruise ship, much like they do in all other travel settings."

Though the guidelines no longer include a scale for  warnings, it states passengers should have up-to-date vaccinations before boarding.