The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said Thursday that because of the spread of COVID-19 variants, everyone, regardless of vaccination status, should avoid cruise travel.

In Thursday’s advisory, the CDC also updated its Travel Health Notice level to Four, the highest level, meaning transmission of COVID-19 is happening at “very high” rates.

“Even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants,” the CDC noted in its advisory. “The virus that causes COVID-19 spreads easily between people in close quarters on board ships, and the chance of getting COVID-19 on cruise ships is very high, even if you are fully vaccinated and have received a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose.”

As of Dec. 30, each of the three Carnival Cruise ships that operate out of Long Beach—Miracle, Panorama, and Radiance—were designated as “Yellow” on the CDC’s Cruise Ship Color Status, which means each ship currently has COVID-19 cases on board.

On the Miracle, the CDC has started an investigation, while on the Panorama and Radiance the CDC has investigated and ship remains under observation, according to the agency.

A spokesperson for Carnival Cruises referred The Post to a statement posted by the Cruise Lines International Association on Thursday. According to that statement, cruise lines found the CDC’s new advisory “perplexing” but agreed to work with the agency.

“The decision by the CDC to raise the travel level for cruise is particularly perplexing considering that cases identified on cruise ships consistently make up a very slim minority of the total population onboard—far fewer than on land—and the majority of those cases are asymptomatic or mild in nature, posing little to no burden on medical resources onboard or onshore,” says the cruise lines association’s statement.

“While we are disappointed and disagree with the decision to single out the cruise industry—an industry that continues to go above and beyond compared to other sectors—CLIA and our ocean-going cruise line members remain committed to working collaboratively with the CDC in the interest of public health and safety.”

CNBC reported Thursday that stock prices of Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean all fell on the news of the CDC’s new advisory.

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Anthony Pignataro is an investigative reporter and editor for the Long Beach Post. He has close to three decades of experience in journalism leading numerous investigations and long-form journalism projects for the OC Weekly and other publications. He joined the Post in May 2021.