In the words of Yogi Berra, “It’s like deja vu all over again.” Masks and vaccination mandates are returning to the cruise industry, at least for many cruise ships calling in Australia. 

In March of 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, 700 passengers and crew on the Diamond Princess became infected with the Covid-19 virus. The virus also spread across other cruise ships, ultimately resulting in the total shutdown of the worldwide shutdown of the cruise industry. 

Since then with the advent of safety protocols including masking, testing and vaccinations, the cruise industry has restarted, benefitting from the pent-up demand. But the pandemic is not quite over. Two weeks ago, the Majestic Princess arrived in Sydney, Australia with 800 passengers who tested positive for Covid-19.

Last week, the Grand Princess arrived in Melbourne with 200 infected passengers. According to James Walker’s Cruise Law News close to 2,000 infected passengers in cruises calling on Australian ports.

The good news is that the new cases are reported to be generally mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic.

Now, Carnival Corp, the corporate parent of Carnival, Princess, and Holland America, has brought mask and vaccination mandates back for its cruise lines sailing in and around Australia amid a rise in COVID-19 transmission.

Passengers and crew members have to wear masks at all times inside unless they are eating or drinking. They must also wear masks outside when they cannot socially distance and “when on company transfers (tenders and buses),” Carnival Australia said.

Guests must also wear masks when embarking and disembarking.

Guests over the age of 12 must also be fully vaccinated for sailings in the Australian region, though the company allows for a small number of medical exemptions. All passengers need to take a COVID test prior to boarding, among other health and safety measures.