Norwegian Cruise Line announced updates of its global health and safety protocols removing all requirements for testing, masking and vaccination for COVID-19 as of October 4, 2022.

In light of significant, positive developments in the public health environment, Cruise Line has updated its health and safety guidelines, which are now more aligned with other global travel organizations.

"Health and safety are always our first priority; in fact, we have been leaders in health and safety since the beginning of the pandemic," said Harry Sommer, Norwegian Cruise Line's president and chief executive officer. "Many passengers have been waiting patiently to go on their long-awaited holiday at sea and we can't wait to celebrate their return."

With Cruise Line's relaxation of health and safety protocols, NCL will continue to follow travel guidelines as required by the destinations it visits. For all country-specific travel requirements, travelers should visit www.ncl.com/travel-requirements-bi-country. Guests can also visit www.ncl.com/freestile-cruise/cruise-travel-documents for more information on the necessary travel documents they will need for their NCL trip.

The cruise sector has been hit hard by the pandemic that began in 2020. In the US, the main market for this type of tourism, fleets were paralyzed for more than a year and then had to adopt strict measures against infection. Revenue volume in 2020 was down 59% from 2019, but still reached $63.4 billion. The number of passengers embarked, which was 5.8 million, fell by 81%, according to global data from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the most important of those in this category.

Two years later, major cruise lines predict an "extremely bright" future for the sector, as their representatives said at the last Seatrade Cruise Global conference held in Miami Beach this year.