Cruises

The CDC lifted its travel warning for cruises on Wednesday after two years of shifting advisories, lawsuits, and criticism from industry leaders who accused the agency of heavy-handed regulations.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has once again moved to lower its cruise ship Travel Health Notice from "high" to "moderate."

As cruise lines cancel trips or adjust bookings that involve Russian ports, travelers are adjusting their plans as well.

Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas – the world’s largest cruise ship – has set off on its inaugural voyage from Fort Lauderdale to Labadee, Haiti; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Nassau and CocoCay, Bahamas.

The cruise line joined other companies in stopping operations in the country after the invasion of Ukraine.

In the cell phone video obtained by FOX 8, the woman, 32, is seen being pulled to her feet by security guards on the deck of the Carnival Valor ship on Wednesday.

"Our cruises will operate with 100% vaccination of crew and guests age five and over, therefore face coverings are not required while onboard," a notice on the company's website reads.

Disney Cruise Line was notified that Germany's Meyer Werft shipyard would need more time to finish building the ship "due in part to the pandemic."

The Crystal Serenity arrived in Bimini Monday after the ship was denied entry into Aruba on Friday, a company statement said.

The ship was supposed to dock in Miami on Saturday. However, a federal judge there issued an arrest warrant for the ship on Thursday, a maritime practice where a U.S. Marshal goes aboard a vessel and takes charge of it once it enters U.S. waters. Instead, the ship diverted to the Bahamian island of Bimini.

Princess Cruises is extending its Book with Confidence program as the coronavirus pandemic continues to play a factor in travel plans.

A spokesperson for Norwegian told FOX Business the ship docked overnight in St. Maarten on Thursday and will be back in New York "soon." The company did not offer an estimated arrival time.

The CDC will transition to a voluntary coronavirus risk mitigation program for cruise ships when its Framework for Conditional Sailing Order (CSO) expires on Jan. 15, a CDC spokesperson confirmed to FOX Business on Thursday.

The CDC sounded the alarm on cruises Thursday amid a surge in COVID-19 cases nationwide, raising its travel warning to the highest level and telling Americans to “avoid cruise travel, regardless of vaccination status.”

Carnival Corp’s Queen Mary 2 cruise ship won’t be returning to New York as scheduled.

The ship, which departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Dec. 18 for an eight-night, round-trip voyage, was forced to briefly return to port due to a positive COVID-19 case earlier this week.

Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas is under investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A Norwegian Cruise Line ship with at least 10 passengers and crew members infected with COVID-19 docked Sunday in New Orleans, where health officials said they were trying to disembark people without worsening the spread of the coronavirus illness.

On Wednesday, Royal Caribbean International announced the launch of its “Ultimate World Cruise,” which will last 274 nights, starting on Dec. 10, 2023, and ending on Sept. 10, 2024.