RCL and NCLH collaborate on health

ROYAL Caribbean Cruises (RCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) have announced the formation of a joint “Healthy Sail Panel” which is working on the development of recommendations for cruise lines to advance their public health response to COVID-19.

The expert panel is co-chaired by Dr Scott Gottlieb, the Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration from 2017 to 2019, and Mike Leavitt, former Utah Governor and ex-Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Other members include seven eminent physicians and scientists, NCLH EVP Vessel Operations Robin Lindsay, and Captain Patrik Dahlgren, RCL SVP Global Marine Operations.

It has been tasked with delivering its initial recommendations by the end of next month.

The work of the group will be “open source” and can be freely adopted by any company or industry that would benefit from its scientific and medical insights.

“This unprecedented disease requires us to develop unprecedented standards in health and safety,” said Royal Caribbean Group CEO and Chairman Richard Fain.

“Bringing aboard these respected experts to guide us forward demonstrates our commitment to protecting our guests, our crews and the communities we visit,” he said.

NCLH CEO Frank Del Rio said “we compete for the vacationing consumer’s business every day, but we never compete on health and safety standards”.

“While the cruise industry has always had rigorous health standards, the unique challenges posed by COVID-19 provide an opportunity to raise the bar even higher,” Del Rio added.

Fain and Del Rio said they had created the panel to ensure the plans they submit to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other regulators will apply the best available public health, science and engineering insights.

MEANWHILE Carnival Corporation has also announced its own health initiative, in the form of a joint “virtual scientific summit” conducted in partnership with the World Travel & Tourism Council.

To take place on 23 Jul at midnight Australian time, the three-hour public summit will share the latest scientific knowledge and evidencebased best practices related to prevention, detection, treatment and mitigation of COVID-19.

Details on the program and panellists are now available at covidsciencesummit.com.