Two major cruise lines, Royal Caribbean International and Carnival Cruise Line, have announced plans to ease onboard masking requirements in the coming weeks.
Royal Caribbean plans to drop its indoor mask requirement for fully vaccinated passengers starting Friday. Carnival Cruise Line’s new policy, which will lift mask requirements in most venues, takes effect March 1.
A third cruise line, Norwegian Cruise Line, announced earlier this month that it would let passengers ditch their face masks starting March 1.
Royal Caribbean and Carnival’s updated policies were announced shortly after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its voluntary COVID-19 program for cruise lines. Under the updated guidance, cruise lines that opt into the program can lift masking requirements if 95% of passengers and crew members are fully vaccinated or up to date with their shots.