Royal Caribbean wants to buy Covid-19 vaccines from Israel

In:
10 May 2021
By: 
Matt Hochberg

Royal Caribbean is preparing to begin cruises from Haifa, Israel in June, but it still needs to get more of its crew members vaccinated.


Photo by Port of Haifa

The agreement between Royal Caribbean and the State of Israel is for everyone onboard to be fully vaccinated, which is easy enough for the passengers who are all coming from Israel.  Israel has among the higher percentage of vaccinated populations in the world.

But getting vaccines for crew members has been a bit of a challenge, and a new report points to the cruise line attempting to negotiate the sale of vaccines for crew.

According to TheMarker, Royal Caribbean has been negotiating with the Israeli Health Ministry to purchase vaccines from Israel's inventory for crew members for whom no vaccine option has been found.

The proposal is for Royal Caribbean to buy vaccines off Israel now, and then replace the vaccines with new supplies they have ordered from drug manufacturers at a later date when those shipments arrive.

It is believed it may take almost a year until the vaccines Royal Caribbean ordered will arrive.

When Odyssey of the Seas visited Haifa for the first time a few weeks ago, there were reports crew members received vaccines at that time, but Israel's Health Ministry denies that took place.

It is not clear what would happen if all crew members are not vaccinated in time for the first sailing on June 2.

Over the last few weeks, Royal Caribbean has been working with the Ministry of Health to purchase vaccines from Israel for its employees, although no solution has yet been found.

Israel's Tourism Ministry is a major proponent of bringing cruise ships to Israel, and wants Israel to become a regular cruise destination.

A Tourism Ministry source said, "This is a company that is an important strategic partner for tourism to Israel and for the Israeli economy, which is why the Tourism Ministry has joined the Transportation Ministry in its request to start cruise tourism from Israel and to help vaccinate the crews.

"The eyes of the entire tourism industry are on Israel and the way it is behaving and opening up tourism. This is a one-time opportunity to make Israel the world leader in this industry too."

Odyssey of the Seas is a brand new cruise ship that was delivered to Royal Caribbean this year. It can accommodate up to 4,180 passengers.


Photo by Port of Haifa

Beginning this summer, Odyssey will offer cruises from Israel to destinations in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Sailings this summer will visit ports in Greece and Cyprus, including Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos and Athens, Greece and Limassol, Cyprus.  

The cruises will be the first ever out of Israel by a major cruise line.

Read moreFirst look around Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas

5 cruise trends Royal Caribbean doesn't do (and 1 it jumped on)

In:
10 May 2021
By: 
Matt Hochberg

Every cruise line does things just a little bit different from the rest, but there are at least a few industry-wide trends that Royal Caribbean simply does not do across the board.

Part of making each cruise brand stand out is adopting certain policies, incorporating a vision, and providing passengers with something that appeals to their base.  Royal Caribbean is no different, and has made a name for itself by offering a cruise vacation with its own flavor of offerings.

Some new cruisers, as well as people new to Royal Caribbean, may be surprised by some of the things Royal Caribbean does not do, which are found on other cruise lines.  There are any number of reasons why Royal Caribbean has not followed other lines with these trends, but when comparing lines, some of these omissions may stand out.

Here are the top five cruise industry trends I have noticed Royal Caribbean does not do, as well as one that they recently changed their minds about.

Ship within a ship

One of the hottest trends in cruises is the "ship within a ship" concept, which takes the suite level offerings to a new height.

Traditionally, passengers in suites enjoyed their luxurious amenities in their cabin, as well as a few perks sprinkled around the ship, such as a suite lounge, reserved seating and more.

A number of main stream lines, including Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), MSC Cruises, and Celebrity Cruises, have all adopted a new take on the suite life by dedicating entire sections of the ship exclusively to their top tier suite guests.

The idea is to give suite guests not just perks, but exclusive areas for them, including their own pool decks, restaurants, and concierge services.  Think of it like a mega velvet roped off area.

While Royal Caribbean has done more to offer its suite guests upgraded amenities for suite guests in recent years (Royal Suite Class), their ships lack a true "ship within a ship" offering that you find on some competitors.

Spectrum of the Seas does offer the closest thing to a ship within a ship concept, but that ship is heavily focused on the Chinese cruise market and sister ship Odyssey of the Seas did not retain that feature.

Read moreWhat is Star Class?

All-inclusive options

While a lot of people may think of cruises as sort of all-inclusive, they really are not, and Royal Caribbean purposefully leaves a lot of extra costs and options from the base cruise fare.

To be fair, main stream mass market cruise lines generally shy away from all-inclusive fares, but a number of cruise lines are starting to move in that direction in an effort to make pricing simpler for the guest.

Celebrity Cruises recently changed their pricing model to now include things like gratuities, wi-fi, drink packages and more. Likewise, Holland America Line also shifted to include shore excursions, beverages, WiFi and more.

Traditionally, Royal Caribbean's promotions tend to favor giving guests a discount on the cruise fare, and then allowing guests to add-on things like a drink package or wifi if they want it.

Cruise lines like Holland America or Celebrity are considered to be a premium cruise line, whereas Royal Caribbean is a contemporary line.  This means pricing and what is included traditionally differs to begin with.

That being said, cruise fares for certain countries include more in their base fare than in North America.  In the UK, drink packages and gratuities are often included with the cruise fare (albeit at a higher price).

Read moreCould Royal Caribbean follow Celebrity Cruises move to all-inclusive pricing?

Onboard brewery

A new trend many cruise lines are adding to their new cruise ships is an onboard brewery.

NCL recently developed their own brewery in partnership with Miami-based Wynwood Brewing Company by developing District Brew House. 

Onboard the NCL Bliss and Escape, you will find 24 rotating beers on tap, in addition to a wide variety of bottled beer, and even exclusive brews for NCL.

Carnival offers the RedFrog Pub, and even has its own private-label draft beer: ThirstyFrog Red.

The Carnival Vista has an actual working brewery onboard, and the Carnival Horizon has a combination Guy's Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse & Brewhouse.

Royal Caribbean has not gone in that direction quite yet.  At one time, they partnered with Chef Michael Schwartz to offer Michael's Genuine Pub on its Quantum Class ships, but their beers were all bottled and was more bar than brewery.

Kids partnerships programming

Partnering with a well-known children brand is a cruise industry trend that Royal Caribbean used to do, but went away from.

Carnival has a partnership with Dr. Seuss® and offers kids programming onboard that includes a special onboard character parade, interactive story time, arts & crafts activities, character breakfast featuring their favorite Dr. Seuss friends and more. 

MSC Cruises partners with LEGO®, which include larger LEGO play areas, building contests, video games and more.

Royal Caribbean has a partnership with Dreamworks Entertainment for many years, but ended the brand partnership in 2019 in order to focus on offering its own take on what kids could do onboard.

Royal Caribbean said the decision was made as part of its regular process of reviewing and refreshing their onboard offerings.

Read moreCruising with kids on Royal Caribbean

Celebrity Chefs

Royal Caribbean at one time dipped their toe into the celebrity chef pool, but they have generally shied away from this hot trend in cruises.

Specialty restaurants are very popular with passengers, and some lines have sought celebrities to make their offering stand out.

Carnival's new Mardi Gras will have Shaq's Big Chicken restaurant to capitalize on American's love affair with the fast-food chicken sandwich. Emeril Lagasse will also have a restaurant on the Mardi Gras.

Carnival also has a partnership with Guy Fieri, which serves up Guy's Burger Joint.  MSC Cruises partnered with Roy Yamaguchi to bring Asian Market Kitchen to MSC Seaside.

Royal Caribbean still has a partnership with Jamie Oliver to offer Jamie's Italian on its ships, but the newest ships in the fleet and most recent refurbishments have focused on revamping its in-house Italian specialty restaurant Giovanni's Table.

Other celebrity chef partnerships on Quantum and Anthem of the Seas have since ended.

The trend they changed their minds about: Waterslides

Strangely, Royal Caribbean did not have giant water slides on its ships for many years, while Carnival, Norwegian and just about every cruise line included waterslides on their ships.

We may never know why Royal Caribbean resisted adding waterslides onboard, but it was a noticeable omission among families. Sure, the Radiance Class had one kiddy slide, but compared to the other ships, it was a lacking feature.

A few years ago, Royal Caribbean decided to change that and begin adding waterslides to its existing ships, and incorporating them into the designs of new ships.

Today, Royal Caribbean offers a few different water slides on its cruise ships, and most of its larger ships have at least a couple slides to enjoy.

Read moreWhich Royal Caribbean ships have water slides?

Royal Caribbean Post Round-Up: May 9, 2021

In:
09 May 2021
By: 
Matt Hochberg

Happy Mothers Day! All the moms out there deserve a big hug, thank you, and hopefully a new cruise booking too.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has given cruise lines new instructions for test cruises and even sailings from the United States.

The CDC released the next two phases of its Framework for Conditional Sailing Order (CSO) that will allow for the "eventual resumption of U.S. cruise industry operations."

The new instructions cover the test cruises that cruise ships would need to conduct in order to start sailing passenger sailings under a COVID-19 Conditional Sailing Certificate.

Royal Caribbean News

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 405th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available,which takes a look at the big cruise news outside of Royal Caribbean.

This week, Ashley and Matt look at all the cruise news happening with other cruise lines.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! We’d appreciate it.

New RCB Video: 10 Cruise ship mistakes travel agents see people doing all the time!

Have you subscribed to the Royal Caribbean Blog YouTube Channel? We share some great videos there regularly, all about taking a Royal Caribbean cruise! This week, we are sharing our latest video — 10 Cruise ship mistakes travel agents see people doing all the time! — and don’t forget to subscribe here.

Royal Caribbean Summer 2021 Cruise Planning Guide

This summer there were will be at least a few ships sailing from ports in the Caribbean and Europe, and I have important tips and things to know about reserving and planning for these summer sailings.

One thing is certain for these summer 2021 cruises, and that is there will be changes and new protocols in place that are new to any cruiser.

With that in mind, our Summer 2021 Cruise Planning Guide shares advice, tips, and news you should be aware of for cruises in summer 2021.

Royal Caribbean will begin hiring crew members from India again later this month

In:
08 May 2021
By: 
Matt Hochberg

Royal Caribbean will once again start hiring crew members from India.

Less than two weeks after announcing the cruise line would temporarily halt hiring crew members from India, later this month the policy will revert back.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley posted on Facebook that the hirings will once again commence, beginning on May 21st.

"We are starting crewing from India on May 21st," Mr. Bayley announced in his post, and said "enhanced protocols" will be used for these crew members.

Crew coming from India will undergo a rigorous set of testing and quarantine procedures to ensure they can safely join a ship:

  1. PCR Test
  2. 14 day quarantine
  3. PCR Test
  4. Charter flight
  5. PCR Test
  6. Given a Covid-19 vaccine
  7. Quarantine
  8. PCR Test

Mr. Bayley said these protocols will be in place at least for a "short time", although these sort of enhanced protocols will be used for crew members coming from other countries where new Covid-19 case counts are surging.

Since the additional quarantine requirements will take up more time than the usual onboarding process, crew contracts will be extended by 2 months.

Large scale vaccinations for crew

In addition to vaccinating crew members coming from India, Royal Caribbean has been systematically bringing ships to PortMiami to get crew members vaccinated there.

In less than a week, crew members from Explorer, Liberty, Navigator, Freedom, Independence and Mariner of the Seas have all received their first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Reports are more ships are to arrive soon as well for their jabs.

Mr. Bayley also celebrated the World Health Organization approving Sinopharm vaccine, which is China's vaccine option that is more easily available in China and other nearby countries.

A WHO emergency listing is a signal to national regulators that a product is safe and effective. It also allows it to be included in COVAX, a global program to provide vaccines mainly for poor countries, which has hit supply problems.

The WHO had already given emergency approval to COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and, last week, Moderna.

New renderings released of Royal Caribbean's new cruise terminal in Galveston

In:
08 May 2021
By: 
Matt Hochberg

We have a new idea of what Royal Caribbean's new cruise terminal in Galveston will look like once completed.

The Terminal 3 cruise terminal is under construction, and a new artist concept rendering of the building and surround area has been released.

Construction of the terminal was delayed due to the global health crisis, but work began in April 2021 on the 10 acre parcel of land that will soon be home to Allure of the Seas.

Terminal 3 will be built at Pier 10 for exclusive use by Royal Caribbean, and it appears Bermello Ajamil & Partners Inc.are the architects chosen to work on the project.

If the firm's name does not sound familiar, their work certainly speaks for itself, as they have worked on a variety of terminals and cruise projects.

Their work includes:

  • Terminal A in PortMiami
  • Port Everglades Terminal 25 & 18
  • MSC Ocean Cay Marine Reserve Private Island
  • Cape Liberty Cruise Terminal
  • Disney's Castaway Cay Private Island

The main building has the Royal Caribbean logo prominently featured against many shades of blue around a circular design.

The cruise terminal is estimated to cost $100 million and encompass 150,000 square feet of space.

When the project was announced, Royal Caribbean said the new terminal would be large enough to handle Royal Caribbean's largest cruise ships, including an Oasis Class ship or one of the new Icon Class ships.

The facility will feature state-of-the-art technology, including mobile check-in and facial recognition to expedite guest arrival. The terminal will be designed and developed sustainably to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental) certification standards.

The contract maintains a target completion date of September 1, 2022 to complete the terminal, which is well ahead of the planned arrival of Allure of the Seas on November 13, 2022.

Royal Caribbean did ask the Port of Galveston for some extra buffer time to complete the terminal in case the cruise industry remains shutdown longer than anticipated.

Royal Caribbean had asked for a 6-month extension but negotiations resulted in only a 3-month extension. The cruise line is obligated to begin paying rent when the first ship docks at the new terminal, but not later than September 30, 2023.  

Original Concept Art for the Galveston Cruise Terminal 3

The plan for now is for Allure of the Seas to arrive on November 13, 2022.

The Port of Galveston has been working on their portion of the project throughout global health crisis and remains on track to support the project with utilities, parking lots, road and traffic improvements, landscaping, dredging, and other work.

Norwegian Cruise Line warns it could move cruise ships from Florida due to vaccine passport ban

In:
07 May 2021
By: 
Matt Hochberg

Will Florida's new law that prevents a company from asking for proof of a Covid-19 vaccine create a problem for cruise lines trying to restart cruises?

While Florida's Governor does not think there is an issue with the new law, at least one cruise line has said it is indeed an issue.

During the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) earnings call with investors, CEO Frank Del Rio described the new law as "an issue".

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a new law that prohibits businesses from being able to ask for proof of a vaccine from their customers.

Senate Bill (SB) 2006 specifies the new law prohibits "a business entity from requiring patrons or customers to provide documentation certifying vaccination against or recovery from COVID-19."

Mr. Del Rio believes this may come down a legal issue between state and federal jurisdiction, but he also said there is a possibility their cruise ships would have to sail from another state.

"At the end of the day, cruise ships have motors, propellors and rudders, and God forbid we can operate in the state of Florida for whatever reason, then there are other states that we do operate from."

"We can operate from the Caribbean for ships that otherwise would've gone to Florida. We certainly hope that doesn't come to that. Everyone wants to operate out of Florida, it's a very lucrative market, it's close drive market."

Mr. Del Rio indicated NCLH is having discussions with the Governor's office, but thinks this is "a classic state versus Federal Government issue".

Governor DeSantis doesn't think cruise ships need to ask passengers for proof of a vaccine, because of how well cruise operations are doing overseas.

On Tuesday, Governor DeSantis dismissed the notion cruise ships need the ability to require a vaccine, "These cruise ships are sailing in other parts of the world where they don't even have vaccines available and they're doing it safely and people are having a good time on it. So so they can do it."

It was not clear if he was talking in general terms, or in reference to the federal guidelines.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) presented its instructions for cruise lines this week on how to apply for test sailings and restart cruises, which include a few possibilities of requiring a Covid-19 vaccine to sail.

The CDC will allow cruise lines to skip a test sailing if they can ensure 95% of the passengers are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. 

Even if cruise ships engage in test sailings, volunteer cruisers onboard these simulated voyages need to be vaccinated as well.

Norwegian Cruise Line has already committed itself to requiring 100% of its passengers and crew members to be vaccinated, and submitted a plan to the CDC about a month ago.

Thus far, NCLH has not heard back from the CDC.

"We want clearance for 100%," said Del Rio after being asked about Florida's law. "And as of today, which is a little over a month since we submitted our proposal to the CDC, we've not yet heard back from them. And that is very disappointing."

Norwegian Cruise Line CEO says July cruises from U.S. "not possible"

In:
06 May 2021
By: 
Matt Hochberg

The chances of cruises from the U.S. this July seem unlikely, given recent comments from Norwegian Cruise Line.

Speaking at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. quarterly earnings call, CEO Frank Del Rio told Wall Street analysts a July restart in the United States is "just not possible".

"The July U.S. launch, at least for our company, is just not possible,” Del Rio confessed.

"It was possible back in early April when we proposed to the CDC 100 percent vaccination, so from April 5, 90 days would be early July so that was possible."

"But today we're in early May, and we're looking past that."

While he did not say exactly which dates would be practical, he did indicate they need about 90 days to get a ship ready to restart.

"Our team is working through the new guidance, but at first glance, however, it appears the path forward is a bit rockier and a bit steeper than originally expected."

Royal Caribbean has not commented on the fate of July cruises from the United States.

Mr. Del Rio also said he was disappointed in the new CDC rules for test sailings in the United States “at first read” and found them onerous and in part “preposterous."

"I'm disappointed, at first read. I'm going to give the CDC the opportunity to explain and clarify, and we have a call with them this afternoon."

The new guidelines from the CDC were released on Wednesday and include requirements such as mask wearing, vaccines for volunteers, social distancing, and more.

According to Del Rio, Norwegian plans to start off with a 100% vaccination mandate for cruise ship passengers.

In response to a question about how the CDC has treated the cruise industry, Mr. Del Rio responded, "We're perplexed. We're flabbergasted. We're outraged."

"We're willing to vaccinate every single person onboard a cruise ship. There isn't another venue on earth -- not a school, a factory, your office -- that can make that claim."

Royal Caribbean releases new Enchantment of the Seas 2022-2023 sailings from Baltimore

In:
06 May 2021
By: 
Matt Hochberg

Royal Caribbean has released new sailings to book on Enchantment of the Seas.

The new sailings are part of the 2022-2023 Northeast United States deployment, and begin on November 3, 2022.

Enchantment of the Seas will return to Baltimore, offering a variety of longer sailings that range in duration between 7 and 12 nights.

Enchantment of the Seas will remain in Baltimore, having replaced Grandeur of the Seas after it looked like Grandeur would be sold to Pullmantur Cruises.  That plan was cancelled following the global health crisis shutting down the cruise industry and subsequent financial difficulties for Pullmantur.

There are a great variety of ports you can visit during your Enchantment of the Seas cruise, including Charleston, South Carolina; Perfect Day at CocoCay; St Kitts; Antigua and more.

Read moreMust Do Royal Caribbean: Enchantment of the Seas

The new sailings are available to book immediately.

You can view the full list of sailings available to book here.

The release of the the Enchantment sailings follows the release other deployments, including 7-night CaribbeanLong Caribbean Winter 2022-2023Short CaribbeanNortheast and China & Hawaii sailings a few weeks ago.

Read more3 surprising facts about Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas

The remaining piece of the 2022-2023 deployment schedule is Fall 2022 - Winter 2023 Singapore sailings, which will be released the week of July 19, 2021.

Planning on booking a 2022 or 2023 cruise? These stories will help:

Texas joins lawsuit against CDC to get cruises restarted

In:
05 May 2021
By: 
Matt Hochberg

Another state has joined the lawsuit to get cruise ships sailing again.

The State of Texas has joined the lawsuit against the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that was started by Florida.

Texas is the second state to join the lawsuit, following Alaska last week.

DisneyCruiseLineBlog discovered the filing, which was filed on May 5.

In the lawsuit, Texas says it is suing the CDC because the "CDC’s outdated and unlawful regulation harms the State of Texas, its economy, and its citizens."

Specifically, Texas believes the Conditional Sail Order (CSO) is unlawful and has a great effect on the local economy.

This litigation concerns the lawfulness of a CDC regulatory order with a profound effect on the Texas public fisc, including tax revenues to the state and the well-being of multiple industries vital to the State’s economy. The CDC order also raises constitutional concerns bearing on the lawfulness and reach of the CDC’s authority.

The first hearing in the lawsuit is scheduled for May 12.

The lawsuit comes just days after a rally was held in Galveston when the Carnival Breeze and Carnival Vista arrived at the port to begin crew vaccinations.

Carnival Cruise Line joined members of the Federal Maritime Commission, Galveston city and port officials and local businesses at the Port of Galveston to highlight the economic impact of cruising in Galveston and throughout Texas.

In the lawsuit, Texas believes the Port of Galveston is uniquely situated to address local Covid-19 concerns. The port is located just one mile from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston UTMB is one of the largest academic medical hospitals in the country, and its facilities include a National Biosafety Level 4 Laboratory.

The Port of Galveston has also already held a table-top exercise preparing for possible COVID-19 outbreaks on-ship.

Texas also states the shutdown has cost the state $1.2 billion in direct spending. The cruise shutdown has also cost 23,000 jobs, and $1.6 billion in lost wages across the State of Texas.

What the lawsuit aims to do

The purpose of the lawsuit is to get the CSO dropped immediately, so that cruise lines can pursue restart plans.

While the CDC has recently updated its guidance and provided instructions for cruise lines to restart operations, the lawsuit wants the cruise lines to be unencumbered by the regulations.  

Texas wants the cruise lines to adhere to "reasonable restrictions within its statutory authority" instead of the CDC's order.

How does the new CDC update factor in?

One major change that the lawsuit does not cover is the recent announcement by the CDC to provide the test sailing steps for cruise lines to restart sailings.

Cruise lines received final technical guidelines on Wednesday from the CDC for the trial runs. When Florida filed its lawsuit last month, much of the impetus behind it was a lack of progress by the CDC.

Test cruises will be between two and seven nights and must have enough passengers to meet at least 10% of the ship's capacity. Volunteers must be 18 or older and either fully vaccinated or free of medical conditions that would put them at high risk for severe Covid-19.

Restrictions on board will include face masks and social distancing.

Alternatively, cruise ships could skip the test sailings if they can ensure 98% of crew and 95% of passengers are vaccinated.

CDC announces new instructions for cruise lines to be able to restart cruises from United States

In:
05 May 2021
By: 
Matt Hochberg

Cruise lines now have what they need to resume cruises from the United States.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the next two phases of its Framework for Conditional Sailing Order (CSO) that will allow for the "eventual resumption of U.S. cruise industry operations."

According to the CDC, cruise line now have all necessary requirements needed "to start simulated voyages before resuming restricted passenger voyages and apply for a COVID-19 conditional sailing certificate to begin sailing with restricted passenger voyages." 

The new instructions cover the test cruises that cruise ships would need to conduct in order to start sailing passenger sailings under a COVID-19 Conditional Sailing Certificate. 

CDC may adjust these requirements and recommendations based on public health considerations and other factors.

Phase 2B - Test cruises

Cruise lines can apply to the CDC at least 30 calendar days prior to when a test cruise is scheduled to sail.

The documentation included in the application will specify the dates and location of the test sailing, include verification that it adheres to the various agreements and requirements of the CSO, and other documentation.

Also included in the application will be the list of protocols or practices to be simulated, which must, at a minimum, incorporate the requirements for conducting simulated voyages under these technical instructions.

Test cruises can be skipped at a cruise line's discretion if 98 percent of crew are fully vaccinated and submit to CDC a clear and specific vaccination plan and timeline to limit cruise ship sailings to 95 percent of passengers who have been verified by the cruise ship operator as fully vaccinated prior to sailing.

After applying, the CDC will respond "in a timely manner".  The CDC can oversee and inspect the test cruise, including through in-person or remote means allowing for visual observation.

Volunteers for test cruises

Cruise lines will need volunteers to help test out the ships during these simulated voyages. and has outlined new requirements for volunteers:

  • 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.

Test cruise requirements

Here is a list of what cruise lines need to do during a test sailing.

  • At least one simulation must be conducted for each ship for which the cruise ship operator intends to commence restricted passenger voyages. 
  • Simulated voyages must be between 2-7 days in length with a least one overnight stay to test the efficacy of the cruise ship operator’s ability to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 onboard the cruise ship, including through embarkation, disembarkation, and post-disembarkation testing.
    • CDC recommends a minimum voyage length of 3 days with 2 overnight stays.
  • The cruise ship operator 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, as required by CDC technical instructions or orders.
  • The cruise ship’s color-coding status must be Green or Orange at the time of the simulated voyage.
  • Activities conducted on voyages that occurred outside of U.S. waters during the period of the No Sail Order (NSO) and the CSO that were not conducted as part of a CDC-approved simulated voyage, do not count towards the activities that must be simulated on a simulated voyage. 
  • The cruise ship operator must modify meal service and entertainment venues to facilitate social distancing during the simulated voyage.
  • These activities must be conducted on one, or over the course of many, test sailings:
    • Embarkation and disembarkation procedures, as approved by U.S. port and local health authorities as part the cruise ship operator’s Phase 2A agreements, including procedures for terminal check-in.
    • Onboard activities, including seating and meal service at dining and entertainment venues.
    • Medical evacuation procedures.
    • Transfer of symptomatic passengers or crew, or those who test positive for SARS-CoV-2, from cabins to isolation rooms.
    • Onboard and shoreside isolation and quarantine, as per the terms of the cruise ship operator’s Phase 2A agreements, of at least 5% of all passengers and non-essential crew.
    • Recreational activities that the cruise ship operator intends to offer as part of any restricted passenger voyages, e.g., casinos, spa services, fitness classes, gymnasiums.
    • Private-island shore excursions if any are planned during restricted passenger voyages. The following measures must be observed on the private island:
      • Only one ship can port at the island at any one time.
      • A routine screening testing protocol must be implemented for island staff who are expected to interact with volunteer passengers or crew.
      • Mask use and social distancing must be observed on the island.
    • Port of call shore excursions if any are planned during restricted passenger voyages. The following measures must be observed on port of call shore excursions:
      • Self-guided or independent exploration by passengers during port stops must be prohibited.
      • Shore excursions must only include passengers and crew from the same ship.
      • Cruise ship operator must ensure all shore excursion tour companies facilitate social distancing, mask wearing, and other COVID-19 public health measures throughout the tour.
      • Cruise ship operators must have a protocol for managing persons with COVID-19 and close contacts at all foreign ports of call. At a minimum, the protocol must include the following:
        • Disembarkation and housing of persons with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 needing shore-based hospital care and their travel companion(s) for the duration of their isolation or quarantine period.
        • Commercial repatriation of U.S.-based persons with COVID-19 and close contacts only after meeting criteria to end isolation and quarantine per CDC guidance. For commercial repatriation of foreign-based persons with COVID-19 and close contacts, cruise ship operators must consult with all relevant public health authorities.

A test cruise can be ended if a threshold of COVID-19 cases is met or exceeded during the sailing.

The CDC lists the threshold at 1.5% of COVID-19 cases is detected in passengers or 1.0% of COVID-19 cases is detected in crew. This threshold can be changed later by the CDC for a variety of factors.

As an example,  if there were 1,000 passengers on a test sailing, 15 positive cases among the guests would end the cruise.

Major step forward

The new instructions provided by the CDC are the best sign yet that cruises may restart from the United States sooner, rather than later.

The test cruise instructions also put into writing the CDC's letter to the cruise lines sent last week, which provides an option to restart sailings sooner if cruise lines adhere to a 98% vaccinated rate for crew members and 95% rate for passengers.

The new instructions are a long time coming, having been promised back in October 2020 when the CSO replaced the No Sail Order.

Moreover, they follow up on the disappointing instructions the CDC provided in early April that made it seem like nothing had really changed.  With these new instructions, there appears to be a path forward.