The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has dropped its cruise health travel notice on Wednesday after two years of essentially telling Americans not to take a cruise.

Dropping the notice is key for the industry as the CDC is no longer warning the industry’s largest source market (United States) not to cruise.

The CDC has previously been lowering its cruise ship travel warning, going from Level 4 (the highest), to Level 3, and a few weeks ago, Level 2.

Virgin Voyages was quick to comment, welcoming the news.

Tom McAlpin, CEO of Virgin Voyages said, “We’re absolutely thrilled to see that the CDC recognizes that it’s time to remove the Travel Health Notice website. While we feel this was a long time coming, we recognize this move as a demonstration of all of the hard work this industry has done to ensure that we’re offering the safest way to travel. It’s refreshing to see them meet us where we’re at, and clearly where our consumers are at considering the major uptick in demand we’ve seen.”

For Holland America Line, a key Carnival Corporation brand, it was also a key step forward.

“The CDC’s removal of its health notice related to cruise travel is an important step forward in recognizing the work we have done to protect our guests,” said Gus Antorcha, president. “At Holland America Line, we continue to operate vaccinated cruises and have created a safe and healthy environment for our guests, our teams, and the communities we serve, helping to ensure cruising is among the safest forms of socializing and travel.”