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Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Cancel Voyages Amid Omicron Scare

Submitted by jhartgen@abi.org on

Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line on Wednesday canceled sailings amid rising fears of Omicron-related coronavirus infections that have dampened the nascent recovery of the pandemic-ravaged cruise industry, Reuters reported. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd called off its Spectrum of the Seas cruise for Jan. 6 after nine guests on its Jan. 2 trip were identified as close contacts to a local Hong Kong COVID-19 case. The contacts have tested negative but the cruise ship will return to Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong on Jan. 5 to test all guests and crew who must take a second test on Jan. 8, the company said. A similar decision to cancel trips by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd was made against the backdrop of the U.S. reporting the highest daily tally of any country for new coronavirus infections on Monday.