Norwegian drops masks March 1st.

[happycamper47]

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Norwegian Cruise Line said it will no longer require guests and crew members to wear face masks on board starting March 1, according to the company's website.

 

[cvjw]

That is great news. Maybe these restrictions will start to fade away soon! Makes me want to book an NCL cruise.

 

[HiStitch626]

This new policy does not apply to the crew. They will continue to be required to wear masks. It also does not apply to cruises in Europe.

 

[belle032]

Edit: They are now allowing children under 5 to sail unvaxxed, but that will not be more than 5% of passengers onboard. Any child 5 years or older than can be vaxxed, must be.

Wow interesting. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe they have a 100% vaccination rate as well. I wonder if that played a part in that decision.

 

[Kimpossible1]

I would doubt that masks will be dropped until WDW does it too

 

[LeslieG]

I think NCL is also eliminating testing at the port.

 

[AquaDame]

Reminder that the covid policy asks us to stick with known policy: https://www.disboards.com/threads/policy-on-covid-related-discussions.3840344/ - lets please not get off track into 'what ifs' of what Disney may or may not do please as that can quickly lead into debate.

Thanks!

 

[jujubiee4]

Interesting. They must be doing some number crunching and weighing some risks. More
importantly will others follow? Interesting timing.

 

[godde8ss]

Step in the right direction!

 

[HiStitch626]

I think NCL is also eliminating testing at the port.

They are, but are also requiring all guests to obtain a negative test within 48 hours of boarding.

 

[randumb0]

Royal is dropping masks for the vaccinated next week

 

[CaptainAmerica]

This new policy does not apply to the crew. They will continue to be required to wear masks. It also does not apply to cruises in Europe.

Oof this would make me extremely uncomfortable as a guest. "The indulgent bourgeoise living in freedom while the servant class is forced to cover their faces."

 

[brentm77]

Oof this would make me extremely uncomfortable as a guest. "The indulgent bourgeoise living in freedom while the servant class is forced to cover their faces."

Me too. I would much rather see them make masks optional for the crew, with N95 masks available for any crew members who want them.

 

[tink1970]

Oof this would make me extremely uncomfortable as a guest. "The indulgent bourgeoise living in freedom while the servant class is forced to cover their faces."

Or you could view it as "they are much less likely to be outside, more likely to come into contact with more people AND live in more crowded conditions." The social and economic disparity between leisure cruisers and the majority of the staff appears fairly evident already.

 

[dreynolds1982]

I know lots of countries are easing restrictions and several major cities/states in the US are starting to drop indoor mask requirements and other things. Interesting to see cruise lines starting to follow suit. I think we've seen a lot of "domino effect" with these types of things, so wouldn't be surprised if others started doing this as well. We shall see.

 

[HiStitch626]

Oof this would make me extremely uncomfortable as a guest. "The indulgent bourgeoise living in freedom while the servant class is forced to cover their faces."

Many places of employment are still requiring their employees to mask, while customers are not required to do so. This would be the same.

Anyway, I wasn't trying to provoke debate, just correcting the information in the first post.

 

[Intr3pid]

But what are they doing about on-board quarantine? Unless they stop requiring folks to quarantine in the brig for the rest of the cruise, dropping mask requirement is just passing the buck on to you.

If the experience has to be truly stress free, the on-board quarantine has to go.

 

[Stinasmom]

Does the CDC require ships to document or report the number of cases that crop up onboard each cruise?
Or still give them a color code as to their status of safety?

If/when they don't, seems like a step toward letting this virus be like any other with which a person can come in contact. (like society in general for that matter.)
If everyone who is concerned about their own risk takes all steps to mitigate exposure, cruise lines will and are letting up on restrictions/requirements.
Seems this is happening with RCCL, NCL, and even states like NJ and OR setting timelines to lift requirements.

Full disclosure... we sail in mid April and would be thrilled to not have to take the stressful test prior to embarkation! I bought everyone fun Disney masks for Christmas, but if we didn't need them, I certainly won't be disappointed!

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Does the CDC require ships to document or report the number of cases that crop up onboard each cruise?
Or still give them a color code as to their status of safety?

The CSO ended January 15, 2022

 

[CaptainAmerica]

But what are they doing about on-board quarantine? Unless they stop requiring folks to quarantine in the brig for the rest of the cruise, dropping mask requirement is just passing the buck on to you.

If the experience has to be truly stress free, the on-board quarantine has to go.

I've asked but haven't seen an answer... how exactly does on-board quarantine come about? You have to test negative to get on the ship in the first place, and there's no testing on board except for too-young-to-be-vaccinated kids on the last day, so what series of events has to happen for quarantine to kick in?