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The COVID19 pandemic ravaged the cruise lines. It cost them an insane amount of money to keep their ships well maintained and parked, either at ports or near them, for endless months until a vaccine made it safer to consider cruising again.
Back in September of 2021 my wife and I were among the first guests back onboard the Norwegian EPIC out of Barcelona, Spain after cruising again resumed. I remember how terrified I was that either of us might test positive and not being allowed to board the ship. My wife and I tested at home before we flew to Spain, once again when we got to Spain (because if we did this and then tested positive at the dock our quarantine would be covered) and then finally had to test yet again at the dock before we could board. It was all super stressful.
Then on top of this, unless you were eating, you had to wear a mask everywhere on the ship and if you forgot you were quickly reminded by the staff. I personally did not mind this part of the protocols as with everyone masked up the risk of picking up anything was greatly reduced. But I know most of the guests hated having to mask up all the time.
Now for 2025 we have a new viral outbreak that threatens to once again toss the cruise line industry into a full blown panic. Clearly I am talking about measles – one of the most contagious viruses known to man – that is again killing those who are unvaccinated. We did not have to find ourselves in this situation because in 2000 measles was “officially” listed as eliminated in the USA! But now due to anti-vax fools* we are staring down the barrels of another nightmare for the cruise lines (* I call anyone a fool who could be vaccinated against measles but chooses not to and thus endangers those around them). To a have proven safe vaccine that is 97% effective is simply remarkable.
Many say that cruise ships are a “floating petri dish” intimating that you are all but guaranteed to get sick since they are such an enclosed environment compared to say land based resorts but I challenge that argument. I have cruised many many times and never got a sniffle while other trips yes I have picked up a bug including my most recent 22 day sailing where I picked something up the last few days onboard. Other trips I have clearly gotten sick on the flights either to or from wherever I was going so aircraft or airports or an UBER could be the source of infection.
Point being, taking a cruise does not instantly mean you will get sick – but measles could change all that!
As mentioned we all know that measles is super nasty because someone can be contagious for so much longer than other bugs. Not just that, per reports, you can walk into a room where someone sick was hours after the fact and become infected if you are not vaccinated. That is terrifying and even more so when talking about cruise ships.
Right now cruise ships are full and I mean really full. They are sailing at more that 100% capacity and the most expensive premium cabins are booking up fast. All this could change in a hurry if reports start coming out about passengers testing positive for measles onboard a ship or a super spreader outbreak onboard a cruise. I could see mass cancellations coming in waves and having a devastating impact on the cruise lines yet again and so soon after COVID19.
Would this be an over reaction by the public? I would say yes because the bulk of the cruising demographic is older and either is old enough to have already been exposed to the measles virus and thus all but immune or are of the generation that were wise enough to get vaccinated against the virus as children. I would not be shocked, if measles infections do start to explode nationwide, that we again see a return to testing before you board a ship and masks required again around the ship. I would be fine with this but I am sure it would have a chilling effect on booking percentages.
What do you think? Are you concerned that the escalating measles outbreak will impact your cruise or booking a new cruise going forward? – René
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This is in my view a huge over dramatic take on the situation, most cruisers of a certain age will have been vaccinated particularly Europeans where take up is in the high 90%. It is only a few Americans who are antivaxers who may be forced to cancel. It’s never too late to get vaccinated.
This is silly to worry about, next time you have a blood test (like for A1C if you’re a frequently indulging cruiser), just have them tick off the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) antibody test.
(Same concern for airline travel.)
@Herm – My wife just did this as we were not sure if she only got 1 shot as a kid in the 60s. However, many today are refusing to have their kids vaccinated so…
Wow. It’s MEASLES, not Covid. When I was a kid everyone got the measles. If your friend had the measles all the parents would bring their kids over there so that they would get it and then they would be immune. and whatever happened to the German Measles? I guess no one should drive because tens of thousands of Americans die every year in car crashes. And no one should fly, look how dangerous that it.
You sound like CNN, that network is always trying to scare people.
Maybe this is just a ploy to get people to cancel their cruise so that you can get a great last minute deal (just kidding).
But seriously, this will not DEVASTATE the cruise line industry and no one who has been vaccinated should give this a moments thought. Please don’t add to the baseless hysteria.
@Steve – Measles kills people. Maybe you are thinking about chicken pox that does not.
Since we have a vaccine that is 97% effective and I have been vaccinated, why should I (or anyone else vaccinated) be worried?
@Barry – Because if we care about others, and care about cruising, those who choose not to be vaccinated could impact others and snowball to impact so much more. My point is we need to educate those who are not vaccinated to please do so ASAP!
Sorry that’s wasn’t supposed to be a reply, it was supposed to be a new comment.
If you’re vaccinated, you’re protected from measles. If you’re not vaccinated, you don’t care about measles. So this is a big nothingburger because the vaccinated don’t care all that much about the unvaccinated anymore. The unvaccinated cannot be saved from themselves, and the cruise lines shouldn’t be mandated to do so either. Have you read any of the wacko tripe from RFK Jr.? He isn’t going to mandate anyone or any cruise line do anything.
I agree with the other posts. The majority of cruisers are older and have received the measles vaccination. The only cruise line that could be a concern is Disney Cruises, or other family oriented cruises, which I stay away from. Family oriented cruises, along with other family oriented experiences, may need to initiate a vaccination policy, just as they did with Covid. I cruised in 2021 and had to show proof of Covid vaccination.
It’s not that we’ve received the vaccination, but that we have mostly all already had measles. Therefore, we are immune