The first Royal Caribbean cruise ship to return to service just wrapped up its first sailing in Singapore, marking a major achievement for the cruise line that has worked for months to get to this point.
Royal Caribbean announced on Thursday that Quantum of the Seas completed its first revenue sailing after careful planning with Singapore's health and tourism authorities.
This is the first cruise ship to be able to resume operations, and it is limited to residents of Singapore. Quantum sails 3- and 4-night cruises with no port stops, which Royal Caribbean calls "ocean getaways".
Angie Stephen, Royal Caribbean's Managing Director of Asia Pacific told the press the cruise line is incredibly proud of this momentous day, "We are thrilled to once again welcome guests aboard Quantum of the Seas and offer Singapore residents the opportunity to get away, relax, and start enjoying the travel experiences they’ve been missing for so many months."
"We are grateful to the Singapore Government for their partnership in making these pilot cruises a reality and pledge our commitment to providing our guests with the safest possible cruise experience."
Cruising safely
How can a cruise ship sail during the middle of a pandemic?
Royal Caribbean implemented a series of comprehensive, multilayered health and safety measures that were derived from science, data driven and developed with expert guidance from the Healthy Sail Panel, Royal Caribbean Group’s Head of Public Health and Chief Medical Officer and the Singapore Ministry of Health.
Before a guest boards the ship, the new protocols begin with pre-departure health screenings, and meet all regional requirements and guidelines, including the CruiseSafe Certification standards jointly developed by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and DNV GL.
Quantum of the Seas has a reduced capacity onboard, and has implemented mandatory universal testing during embarkation and debarkation, and enforced mask wearing, physical distancing and enhanced cleaning practices across the ship, among other required practices.
In addition, all guests will need to scan their SafeEntry QR code required by Singapore upon embarkation and debarkation and have the Singapore Trace Together Bluetooth app or Token at all times during the cruise.
In addition, Royal Caribbean cruise ships have a new HVAC system that continuously supplies 100% fresh, filtered air from outdoors to all indoor spaces. There are also upgraded medical centers to handle any situation.
Read more: Easy guide to Quantum of the Seas new health protocols
New changes to cruise favorites
Royal Caribbean has made sweeping changes to Quantum of the Seas so that it could be ready for the new health challenges of the public.
The cruise line calls its collection of new health protocols, "The Royal Promise", and it encompasses all the new changes onboard to protect guests from the current health crisis.
New to the cruise experience is Royal Caribbean’s Tracelet, a custom wearable required for all guests and crew on board Quantum of the Seas. The technology helps monitor physical distancing and the cruise line’s contract tracing procedures.
Quantum of the Seas 18 restaurants, bars and lounges have been thoughtfully transformed for healthier and safer dining. At Windjammer Marketplace, previously a self-service experience, dedicated crew now serve guests and offer a greater variety of grab-and-go items.
For a healthier and safer adventure for all, guests and crew must wear masks on board and during signature experiences like skydiving in the RipCord by iFLY simulator and riding the North Star glass observation capsule.
Royal Caribbean believes this combination of safety and a fun cruise create vacation getaways that are very appealing for residents of Singapore.
See the changes for yourself
Quantum of the Seas completed its first cruise back, and you can see all of these changes in action with our photo updates.
I posted a new update for each day of the first sailing to share a look at what going on a crusie in 2020 looks like.
