Royal Caribbean reverses ban on Chinese cruisers, Norwegian adds green card exception
After banning Chinese passport holders from its cruise ships Friday, Miami-based cruise companies Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. have rethought their policies.
Royal Caribbean completely reversed its ban on Chinese cruisers Monday. Norwegian Cruise Line added an exception for U.S. green card holders sailing from the U.S. The policies were put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which has infected more than 43,000 as of Tuesday and killed more than 1,000, mostly in mainland China.
Competitor Carnival Corporation has not banned citizens of any country. The company will instead deny boarding to people who have visited China, Hong Kong or Macau in the last 14 days.
In a statement Monday, Royal Caribbean said the company implemented the ban because several countries have restricted travel for Chinese passport holders. Now, people who have traveled to China, Hong Kong and Macau in the last 15 days will be prevented from boarding.
“Now that these governmental restrictions have been clarified, we are able to clarify our own policies,” the company’s statement said. “Our 15-day restriction on all individuals who have traveled from, to or through mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau remains in effect, and so do restrictions on individuals who have been in close contact with persons who have traveled from, through or to China, Hong Kong and Macau in the past 15 days.”
Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to a question about what changed between Friday, when the company’s ban went into effect, and Monday.
This story was originally published February 11, 2020 at 12:15 PM.
