How to Check Health Status of Your Cruise Ship

Tens of thousands of people plan to board cruise ships and sail to fun in the sun this summer.

If you’re ready to pack your bags, you can keep tabs on your ship while counting down the days to embarkation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention manages a Cruise Ship Status Dashboard.

It shows travelers the COVID-19 status of the 93 cruise ships that opted into its program.

The dashboard includes all the companies you’d expect to see, including Disney, Carnival, Norwegian, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and more.

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The dashboard gives each registered ship a color status. The color shows past, and future cruisers if there are COVID-19 cases on board, and how the CDC is handling the reports.

The CDC also announced it’s relaxing the way it categorizes cruise ships ahead of the busy summer vacation season.

According to the CDC, if at least 90% of crew members are fully vaccinated and boosted, the ship would fall into the “Highly Vaccinated” category. Previously a cruise ship needed to have a 95% or higher vaccination rate to reach that level.

There are three classifications for cruise ships, according to the CDC.

1. Vaccination Standard of Excellence
   1. Highest CDC cruise ship category
   2. Crew vaccination rate of 95% or higher
   3. Given to ships where 90% of passengers are fully up to date on boosters
2. Highly Vaccinated
   1. Middle cruise ship category
   2. Crew vaccination rate of 95% or higher
   3. Given to ships where 90% of passengers are vaccinated, but aren’t current on all boosters
3. Not Highly Vaccinated
   1. Lowest cruise ship category
   2. Crew vaccination rate of 95% or higher
   3. Given to ships where less than 90% of passengers are vaccinated

The CDC requires all ships to have a 95% vaccination rate among crew members, regardless of which classification the ship falls into.

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Of the 93 cruise ships registered for the program, 92 are classified as “Highly Vaccinated.”

One ship, the Pearl Mist that operates under Pearl Seas Cruises reached “Vaccination Standard of Excellence” classification.

The change is important for cruise ship passengers because it could change quarantine requirements if there is an outbreak on board.