Are cruise ships safe?
Before sailing, ships have to meet the CDC's COVID health and safety requirements, but that doesn't mean boarding a cruise ship is without risk.
"Cruising during a global pandemic is difficult," Caitlin Shockey, spokesperson for the CDC, told USA TODAY.
"While cruising will always pose some risk of COVID-19 transmission, CDC is committed to ensuring that cruise ship passenger operations are conducted in a way that protects crew members, passengers and port personnel, particularly with emerging COVID-19 variants of concern."
Bari Golin-Blaugrund, vice president of strategic communications for Cruise Lines International Association, the industry's leading trade organization, said that cruising is now a safer option than