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Part of Royal Caribbean's plan to restart cruises is to conduct a series of test sailings that will give the cruise line the opportunity to validate its new health protocols.

Test cruises are non-revenue simulated cruises that are conducted in a manner as close to a real cruise as possible, albeit with volunteers onboard.

Here is a summary of everything we know about Royal Caribbean's test sailings and how they will be conducted.

Why offer test sailings?

In late October 2020, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) opened a pathway for cruise lines to restart with their Framework for Conditional Sailing.

Royal Caribbean is pursuing one of two pathways, laid out by the CDC, to get back to cruising. It requires that U.S-based ships conduct simulation cruises to test health and safety protocols if the cruise line expects to return to sailing with less than 95% fully vaccinated guests or crew. 

As a family brand, Royal Caribbean typically sees that children under the age of 12 make up 10% of our guests on board, and today, they are ineligible for the vaccine.

These test cruises will use cruise line employees (and possibly others) to help implement and tryout these new health rules.  The goal is to make tweaks and modifications to ensure that everything is running smoothly.

When will test sailings begin?

On May 5, 2021, the CDC has provided cruise lines with instructions on how to conduct test sailings.

Royal Caribbean has received permission for the following cruise ships to start test cruises:

• Freedom of the Seas – June 20 from PortMiami
• Serenade of the Seas – July 7 from Port of Seattle
• Odyssey of the Seas – July 19 from Port Everglades
• Allure of the Seas – July 27 from Port Canaveral
• Ovation of the Seas – July 30 from Port of Seattle
• Symphony of the Seas – Aug. 1 from PortMiami
• Independence of the Seas –  Aug. 1 from Port of Galveston
• Mariner of the Seas – Aug. 11 from Port Canaveral (2 Nights)
• Oasis of the Seas – Aug. 22 from Cape Liberty (6 Nights)
• Liberty of the Seas – Sep. 17 from Galveston, TX (4 Nights)
• Explorer of the Seas - October 29 from San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Navigator of the Seas - November 8 from Los Angeles, CA (2 Nights)

More test cruises are likely, with each ship needing to conduct test cruises in order to be certified by the CDC.

Prior to starting any test cruises, the CDC wants all cruise lines to ensure there are adequate health and safety protections for crew members.

Who can volunteer for a test cruise?

Test sailings will be conducted with a combination of Royal Caribbean employees and volunteers, although they are not sure how volunteers will be picked yet.

Royal Caribbean's Senior Vice President, Sales, Trade Support and Service, Vicki Freed, said, "We're going to be doing a series of sailings using our employees and other volunteers to test out the new protocols and make tweaks and modifications to ensure that everything is running smoothly and still deliver that Royal Caribbean amazing vacation experience."

The minimum requirements to be a volunteer will be you must be 18 or older, as well as have written proof the person has no pre-existing medical conditions that would place them at high-risk for COVID-19.

Royal Caribbean has set up an online form to take test sailing volunteer contact information.

What is Royal Caribbean required to do during a test cruise?

The purpose of these test sailings it to apply a variety of new cruise line policies and rules to ensure they mitigate any potential spread of a virus onboard.

Volunteers and crew members will be required to follow testing protocols, which includes rapid testing prior to both embarkation and disembarkation.

A simulated voyage must meet the following requirements:

• The minimum number of required volunteer passengers for each simulated voyage must be at least 10% of the maximum number of passengers permitted onboard for restricted voyages.
• All volunteers must show proof of being fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
• Volunteers must be made aware of the CDC's health notice regarding Covid-19 and cruise ship travel.
• All volunteer passengers must be informed in writing that they are participating in a simulation of health and safety protocols that are unproven and untested in the United States for purposes of simulating a cruise ship voyage and that sailing during a pandemic is an inherently risky activity. 
• All volunteer passengers must be at least eighteen years old or older on the day of the simulation and at the time that their consent to participate is obtained.
• Volunteers cannot be paid, and cannot go on a sailing in exchange for consideration or future reward.
• All volunteer passengers must agree in writing to post-disembarkation specimen collection for COVID-19 testing at 3 to 5 days after completion of the simulated voyage. 
• To facilitate contact tracing, the cruise ship operator must advise all volunteer passengers to notify the cruise ship operator if they develop symptoms of COVID-19 or are diagnosed with COVID-19 with any SARS-CoV-2 viral test within 14 days after the voyage. Passengers who develop symptoms within 14 days should be advised to be tested. The cruise ship operator must in turn report aggregate results to CDC in the after-action report or through an amended after-action report.

Specifically, the CDC mandates certain activities be conducted during the course of a test sailing:

• embarkation and disembarkation procedures, including terminal check-in, 
• on board activities, including at dining and entertainment venues,
• private island shore excursions (if a port is visited)
• evacuation procedures,
• transfer of symptomatic passengers or crew, or those who test positive for SARSCoV-2, from cabins to isolation rooms,
• quarantine of all remaining passengers and non-essential crew, and
• other activities as may be listed in CDC technical instructions and orders.

In addition, Royal Caribbean must meet standards for hand hygiene, face coverings, and social distancing for passengers and crew, as well as ship sanitation, as may be required by CDC technical instructions or orders.

Royal Caribbean must modify meal service and entertainment venues to facilitate social distancing during the simulated voyage.

How many test sailings will be needed?

It is unknown how many test sailings will be needed yet.

At least one simulation must be conducted for each ship.

Royal Caribbean has not shared details on its plans for test sailings.

How do I sign up for a test cruise a volunteer?

Royal Caribbean has a form set up where you can sign up, as well as a Facebook group where you can talk with other people interested in volunteering.

With a handful of Royal Caribbean Group ships sailing again, how soon will more ships be able to return to the water?

Celebrity Edge just began sailing from the United States this past weekend, and Freedom of the Seas is slated to begin cruises from Florida as well, so how soon can cruisers expect more ships to return.

Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain told Bloomberg he expects a "majority of our fleet" to be operating by the end of the year.

"We really feel that it's important to get the flywheel going," Mr. Fain explained. "Our objective is to bring our ships back fairly quickly."

"I would expect the majority of our fleet to be back operating before the end of the year."

The majority of ships very likely includes other brands within the Royal Caribbean Group brand, which includes Celebrity Cruises and SilverSea.

Thus far, Royal Caribbean International has announced restart plans for 13 of its ships to sail from the United States, Europe, and England.

Quantum of the Seas has been sailing from Singapore since December 2020.

Mr. Fain added that getting enough crew members to return has not been a problem, although he did say outbreaks in certain countries added restrictions on the traditional recruitment process.  

"We do have problems because some of the countries that we recruit from, such as India, have had outbreaks, have put in place certain restrictions, but even having to overcome those kinds of problems, our crew is so anxious to get back."

According to Fain, 22,000 crew members have been fully vaccinated already.

Which Royal Caribbean ships will restart first?

Royal Caribbean has a gradual restart plan in place to bring back ships into operation.

The summer months of June, July,  August & September will see the first cruise ships returning, and more could be announced later.

Things kick off with Freedom of the Seas from Miami on July 2.

Royal Caribbean plans to resume Caribbean cruises out of Port Everglades on July 31 with Odyssey of the Seas.

Symphony of the Seas will resume departures out of Miami on August 14.

Two ships will sail from Port Canaveral this summer. Allure of the Seas will resume departures out of the port on August 8 followed by Mariner of the Seas on August 15.

Outside of Florida, Royal Caribbean will restart sailings from Galveston on Independence of the Seas on August 15.

Alaska cruises will also restart this summer with Serenade of the Seas from Seattle on July 19. Ovation of the Seas will also sail to Alaska from Seattle, beginning on August 13.

Read more: Royal Caribbean Summer 2021 Cruise Planning Guide

The original Oasis Class cruise ship has gotten approval to start test cruises.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley confirmed on Tuesday Oasis of the Seas has received permission from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to start test cruises.

Other ships that have gotten approval to conduct test cruises include Freedom of the Seas, Allure of the Seas, Odyssey of the Seas, and Symphony of the Seas.

The CDC's provisional approval for simulated voyages on Oasis of the Seas is August 22-28, 2021.

Mr. Bayley commented later on that the test cruises will sail from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey.

Simulated voyages (also known as test cruises) are when cruise lines can operate ships with volunteer passengers in order to prove their new protocols work.

These are not cruises you can book, but rather, are limited voyages where a cruise line invites certain unpaid volunteers to help go through all the necessary steps and procedures to ensure cruise ships can be run safely.

Each cruise ship needs to be approved by the CDC in order to conduct test cruises.

Royal Caribbean International is pursuing one of two pathways, laid out by the CDC, to get back to cruising. It requires that U.S-based ships conduct
simulation cruises to test health and safety protocols if the cruise line expects to return to sailing with less than 95% fully vaccinated guests or crew.

Royal Caribbean says it is a family brand, which typically sees children under the age of 12 make up 10% of guests on board, and today, they are ineligible for the
vaccine.

"We are committed to continuing to deliver memorable family vacations, and it is why we are conducting simulation cruises."

During these test cruises, Royal Caribbean will go through a variety of scenarios to prove to the CDC that the ship can conduct sailings in a safe manner. Specifically, the new protocols aimed at preventing Covid-19 from getting onboard the ship are at the heart of these dry runs.

According to the CDC, passengers and crew must meet standards during the simulated voyage for hand hygiene, use of face masks, and social distancing for passengers and crew, as well as ship sanitation.

Royal Caribbean must modify meal service and entertainment venues to facilitate social distancing during the simulated voyage.

Royal Caribbean is just days away from restarting cruises from England, and the ship to kick things off has arrived to start up operations.

Anthem of the Seas arrived in Southampton, where she will begin offering cruises on July 7, 2021.

Anthem will offer a combination of 4-night cruises to nowhere in early July and 5- to 8-night British Isles cruises, starting 15th July, that feature visits to destinations such as Liverpool, England, Kirkwall in Scotland and Belfast, Northern Ireland. 

All crew members onboard will be fully vaccinated.

Anthem’s summer itineraries are open for bookings and are available to UK residents above the age of 18 who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and those under the age of 18 with negative test results. In addition, all crew onboard are fully vaccinated.

Ben Bouldin, vice president, EMEA, Royal Caribbean commented: "Anthem of the Seas has always been a firm favourite for UK guests, and we have seen incredible demand for our sailings since announcing our return in March. With a jaw-dropping lineup of onboard activities, restaurants and entertainment, Anthem presents the perfect getaway this summer. We can’t wait to welcome families back on board one of the most revolutionary ships in our fleet for a summer of adventure."

Anthem of the Seas will offer "staycation cruises" around the British Isles.

Royal Caribbean International's first cruises back in the United States are officially a go.

Freedom of the Seas received a Conditional Sailing Certificate from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to offer revenue cruises with paying passengers.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley shared the good news, just days before Freedom is scheduled to return to service.

"This is exciting progress," Mr. Bayley said in a social media post. "We look forward to welcoming our guests onboard."

When she sails, Freedom of the Seas will be the first Royal Caribbean cruise ship to return to service in the United States.

Freedom’s first revenue sailing will celebrate Fourth of July weekend, July 2-5, departing from Miami and visiting Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island destination, in The Bahamas. 

Freedom of the Seas completed her test cruise last weekend, which was a 3 day, 2 night simulated voyage to Perfect Day at Coco Cay.

Test cruises are part of the Conditional Sail Order (CSO) that the CDC implemented as a way for cruise ships to resume operations.

Since Royal Caribbean will not require at least 95% of its cruise passengers to be fully vaccinated, test cruises are needed to demonstrate to the CDC that the onboard health protocols work.

All of the crew members will be fully vaccinated on Freedom of the Seas, and any unvaccinated guests (mainly children, according to the cruise line) will be subject to additional testing requirements and specific health protocols. 

Some of the protocols for unvaccinated guests include being limited from accessing certain venues onboard, as well as being required to get travel insurance for sailings beginning in August.

Here is a list of the full health protocols for Freedom of the Seas sailings from Miami.

RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com will aboard the first sailing of Freedom of the Seas next week to share what the first Royal Caribbean International sailing from the United States in 15 months is like for passengers.

Another policy change has been announced by Royal Caribbean for unvaccinated cruisers, this time requiring travel insurance on Florida sailings.

Unvaccinated passengers booked on cruises sailing from Florida homeports between August 1 through December 31, 2021 will be required to get medical expense and evacuation insurance that covers a positive case.

This policy applies to sailings from August 1 through December 31, 2021, and all bookings — except bookings made between March 19, 2021 and June 28, 2021.

The cruise line has begun sending emails to guests with the specific policy requirements:

For cruises departing from Florida homeports from August 1 through December 31, 2021, as a condition of boarding, each unvaccinated guest 12 and older must provide proof of a valid insurance policy that has a minimum of (a) $25,000 per person in medical expense coverage and (b) $50,000 per person for quarantine and medical evacuation related to a positive COVID-19 test result.

The insurance policy must name the unvaccinated guest as the policy holder or beneficiary, and may be purchased from a travel insurance company of the guest’s choosing or through the Royal Caribbean Travel Protection Program, which includes the requisite coverage.

This new insurance requirement is yet another policy change aimed to address unvaccinated cruisers sailing from Florida homeports, where cruise lines cannot mandate vaccines for its passengers due to Florida laws.

Florida signed a law that prohibits businesses, schools, and government agencies from requiring people to show documentation certifying Covid-19 vaccinations or post-infection recovery before gaining entry.

Other states have no such laws, or have provisions that allow for the law to be bypassed if required by the federal government.

In addition to requiring travel insurance, unvaccinated guests 12 and older are also required to pay for third-party Covid-19 tests, which will cost $136 USD per guest on sailings of 6 nights or less, and $178 USD per guest on sailings of 7 nights or more. 

For guests age 2 to 11, Royal Caribbean will cover the cost of any required testing.

Royal Caribbean strongly recommends its passengers get fully vaccinated before their cruise, if they are eligible.

The first Royal Caribbean cruise ship to sail from Florida will be Freedom of the Seas on July 2, although more ships will begin sailing from the state later this summer.

By the end of August, five Royal Caribbean cruise ships will be sailing from Florida.

Thus far, Royal Caribbean has only released full protocols for Freedom of the Seas sailings from Miami, where unvaccinated passengers will have to wear masks at all times while indoors, unless actively eating or drinking.

Vaccinated passengers on Freedom of the Seas will be issued wristbands that show they are vaccinated and allow them access to vaccinated-only venues and events.

Passengers who are unvaccinated will have a hole punched in their SeaPass cards.

All passengers will have to show their SeaPass cards to access lounges, shows and dining venues on the ship.

It looks like Disney Cruise Line's return to service will take a little while longer.

Disney announced on Monday its first scheduled test cruise has been postponed due to concerns surrounding test results.

DCL will not start a test cruise it had scheduled on the Disney Dream due to Covid-19 test results “considered positive by the CDC”.

Disney Dream was scheduled to sail from Port Canaveral on June 29 on a 2-night cruise with about 300 volunteer employees onboard. Instead, the simulated voyage will be rescheduled for next month.

A few weeks ago, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had given the Disney Dream permission to conduct a test cruise between June 29 and July 1.

Disney Dream is the second cruise ship to cancel its scheduled test cruise due to Covid-19 onboard, following Odyssey of the Seas test cruises being pushed back a few weeks.

Thus far, only Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas has successfully completed a test cruise.

Test cruises are required by the CDC if a cruise ship will not reach 95% of its cruise passengers being fully vaccinated (along with 98% of its crew members).

Disney and Royal Caribbean rely on many families to sail, and since children cannot be vaccinated, the test cruises are necessary since less than 95% of the passengers will be vaccinated.

Each cruise ship needs to conduct test cruises in order to receive approval by the CDC.

While cruise ships are slowly returning to service in North America and Europe, when people will be able to cruise down under remains a mystery.

Australia still has a cruise ship travel ban that runs through September 2021, leaving many cruises scheduled for later this year in a state of flux.

Australia's Health Minister Greg Hunt announced an extension of the legislation governing Australia's coronavirus travel ban until at least September 17.

Royal Caribbean sent an email to guests with cruises booked sailing from Australia that updates will hopefully be available soon, but in the meantime, final payment dates will be suspended until further notice for Australia cruises.

"The final payment due date will be suspended until further notice for those sail dates that reach Final Payment while we iron out the details of our next steps."

"We’re currently working through this latest government update, and it is taking a bit of time to finalize, but we are getting closer to sharing details with you very soon."

The final payment date is the when full payment for the cruise is required.  Ordinarilly, if final payment was not made, the reservation would be cancelled.

Royal Caribbean did something similar with Alaska cruises earlier this year, when they kept pushing back the final payment date until Alaska cruises got the go-ahead to sail this year.

Since March 27, 2020, no foreign-flagged cruise ships may enter Australian waters.  The Australian Health Principal Protection Committee reviews the ban regularly.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) said the ongoing red light on cruises is putting 18,000 jobs at risk, and estimated it has cost the nation $6 billion since last March.

CLIA Managing Director Australasia Joel Katz said the cruise ship ban has had a major impact on Australia's economy, "After months of discussions with government, the suspension has been extended again without any clear route from government towards a careful and responsible resumption of cruising."

"The cruise industry has done an enormous amount of work to implement extensive new health protocols globally, but Australia is now the only major cruise destination in the world where there is no progress towards their adoption."

"The cruise industry is not asking for special treatment or to simply reopen the doors to cruising."

When Royal Caribbean restarts sailing on its first cruise ship back in service, a few areas of the ship will be unavailable to unvaccinated passengers.

Freedom of the Seas will sail from Miami on July 2, and Royal Caribbean has updated its website with a list of places on the ship that are available to vaccinated or unvaccinated passengers.

Royal Caribbean says all cruise companies sailing from U.S. ports are guided by CDC regulations which currently govern many aspects of cruise ship operations. 

Guests who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 will have full access to venues onboard, and won't need to wear a mask at vaccinated-only venues. 

This list of areas unavailable to unvaccinated passengers applies to Freedom of the Seas from Miami in July 2021 only. Royal Caribbean has not announced a list of venues similar to this list for other ships yet.

Unvaccinated guests have access to the turquoise colored boxes and not to the white boxes. 

Your SeaPass card will be required to access lounges, shows and dining venues.

Vaccinated guests will receive a wristband and those who are unvaccinated (or choose not to disclose if they are) will have a hole punched in their SeaPass card.

The concept of areas specifically for those vaccinated is not new, as the cruise line previously announced such plans.

According to its website, Royal Caribbean says it thinks most guests will be vaccinated, and primarily children will make up the majority of unvaccinated passengers.

"On your sailing, most guests (and all our crew) will be vaccinated and those that aren’t are primarily children."

"Travel parties with vaccinated and unvaccinated guests, such as parents with kids, should stick to those venues marked unvaccinated, when together."

It is important to remember the protocols will likely change often with changes to onboard rules throughout the summer and fall.

Volunteering to show vaccination status

Due to Florida law, Royal Caribbean cannot ask if a passenger is vaccinated or not, so it is up to the passenger to inform the cruise line if they are vaccinated.

For guests sailing on the July 2nd Freedom of the Seas cruise, an email was sent to allow them to submit their vaccination status.

Unvaccinated guests 16 years of age and older will need to undergo an RT-PCR test administered by an accredited laboratory of the guest’s choice, and taken within three days of sailing.

Royal Caribbean will require documentation of a negative result for this test prior to embarkation. All costs for this test are the unvaccinated guest’s responsibility.

There is now even more time to earn double Crown and Anchor points.

Royal Caribbean announced it has extended the Loyalty 2X Points benefit so that it applies to existing bookings, as well as new bookings made between now and September 30, 2021 for cruises sailing through December 31, 2022.

Prior to this extension, the program was good for bookings made through June 30, 2021 and departing between now and September 30, 2022. This is the third time Royal Caribbean has extended the Double Points offer.

Double points means guests earn twice the amount of points per night than usual in the Crown and Anchor Society.

There is no change to existing cruises booked during the extended time period, as they already qualify for the benefit as well.

Since the Double Points benefit was announced, it was a big hit with guests because it allows people to move up the cruise line's customer loyalty program faster.

Instead of the usual one point per night, Royal Caribbean said it would double the points per night (including other staterooms as well):

• Standard room: 2 points per night
• Suite room: 4 points per night
• Solo guest in standard room: 4 points per night
• Solo guest in suite: 6 points per night

Loyalty 2X Points is available to Gold, Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Crown & Anchor Society members.

Crown and Anchor points will be applied once the guest has paid their booking in full and completed their sailing. 

Why you want double points

Earning double the amount of points per night means you can earn points quicker, which is something Royal Caribbean has rarely offered in the past.

By earning more points, you can reach the higher tiers of Crown and Anchor Society faster, and there are some really lucrative benefits for reaching the Diamond and Diamond Plus tiers.

Complimentary alcoholic drinks, balcony discounts, complimentary photos, and reserved seating at shows are just some of the great freebies guests who reach the top tiers of Crown and Anchor Society can expect.

Moreover, this type of offer has rarely been seen.  Previous extra point offers were much more restrictive and have not been made available for a while.