Mandatory vaccines not part of Hornblower reopening plans
Despite its two sister companies in the U.S. requiring guests and staff to be vaccinated effective July 1, Hornblower Cruises says the mandate will not apply to its Niagara Falls operation.
American Queen Steamboat Company and Victory Cruise Lines — part of the San Francisco-based charter company Hornblower Group — announced Tuesday that a COVID-19 vaccination will be mandatory for all guests, shipboard crew members and nonshipboard employees.
But Hornblower Niagara Cruises spokesman Stephen Murdoch says the mandate doesn’t apply to Niagara Falls for one simple reason — guests aren’t staying overnight on the boats.
“The recent announcement … is only applicable to our overnight division,” he said. “Versus our sightseeing or single day excursions, such as Niagara Cruises.”
John Waggoner, CEO and founder of American Queen Steamboat Company, says the vaccination requirement will give guests an “added level of assurance to join us as we return to sailing.”
Meanwhile, Hornblower is still determining when, and how, it will open its 2021 season. Murdoch says opening day will be determined by “weather conditions and provincial authority guidelines.”
Last year, Hornblower announced its earliest opening ever for Niagara Falls on March 28 before the pandemic shuttered those plans. It instead began operations on July 1 with reduced capacity to 100 people and temperature checks for passengers.
One day later, service stopped because it was classified as a “tour or guide service” by the province and not a cruise attraction, which meant it couldn’t operate with more than 10 people aboard (including staff) under Stage 2 of the province’s pandemic re-opening.
A week later, Hornblower reopened by offering VIP charter cruises with a maximum of six guests per ride.