What happened Cruise ship stocks jumped on Wednesday following positive news on the COVID-19 front. As of 3:30 p.m. ET, shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NYSE: NCLH), Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL), and Carnival (NYSE: CCL) (NYSE: CUK) were up 8%, 5%, and 5%, respectively. So what Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) said early data from its laboratory studies suggest that a third dose of its vaccine can help to protect against the Omicron variant. The drugmaker reported that a booster shot increases the level (or titer) of neutralizing antibodies by 25-fold, which could provide a similar level of protection against this latest coronavirus mutation as two doses of its vaccine do against the original strain of the virus. Image source: Getty Images. Pfizer also said that it intends to have a variant-specific vaccine for Omicron available by March -- should it be needed. Additionally, Pfizer expects to receive clinical results for its oral antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, in the coming days. The pharmaceutical giant anticipates that the pill could potentially help reduce hospitalizations and death from COVID-19 by nearly 90%. Now what Many travel-related stocks surged on the news. Investors are betting that if Omicron can be controlled with booster shots and antiviral pills, people will be more willing to book flights and cruises. That, of course, would bode well for Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Line. The major cruise ship operators would love nothing more than to see their ships safely filled with customers once again. And if this hopeful scenario comes to pass, their stocks could rise further in the months ahead. 10 stocks we like better than Norwegian Cruise Line HoldingsWhen our award-winning analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* They just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of November 10, 2021 Joe Tenebruso has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Carnival. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source