Cruising With Caution Industry is hopeful for a rebound now that coronavirus vaccines have arrived BY MORGAN HINES
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GO ESCAPE | SUMMER 2021
NANCY SOBEL, WHO calls herself a “cruiseaholic,” is eager to get back out to sea and started getting ready to do so as soon as distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines began. Sobel had four cruises booked for 2020 before the pandemic struck, including one transAtlantic trip with her son from New York to Rome in May, which was canceled. “When the vaccine became a reality, I booked the same trip, but in reverse for November 2021,” Sobel says. With vaccines being distributed rapidly around the nation, more cruise passengers, along with industry officials, have voiced confidence. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acknowledges vaccines could help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 on cruise ships, which haven’t sailed in U.S. waters since March 2020 following multiple outbreaks on ships at the pandemic’s onset. Caitlin Shockey, a CDC spokesperson, says that vaccinations paired with other preventative measures such as COVID-19 testing before and after travel, mask wearing, hand-washing, social distancing and frequent cleaning can be an effective strategy to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus during travel — including on cruises. Gay Courter was sailing on the Diamond
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UP FRONT | CRUISES
