Cruise lines agree to testing
Travelers must be checked for virus within five days of voyage.
The plan for cruise lines to return to sailing has a road map, and it involves mandatory COVID-19 tests for everyone sailing and wearing of masks.
Cruise Lines International Association, the trade association for companies that include Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival, Disney and MSC Cruises among others, made the announcement Monday, saying that all member lines had come to an agreement for some basic, but major compo
nents for any line’s safe return to cruising in North America amid the coronavirus pandemic.
All U.S. cruises remain under a no-sail order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that expires on Sept. 30. CLIA members, though, have also ex
tended any plans to return to voyages until at least November.
Before any line can sail, though, it must enact a CDC-approved plan for a safe return to sailing.
Each line had already been
working on their own plans, with one effort from Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings LTD, called the “Healthy Sail Panel” that formed last June releasing its report Monday with 74 recommendations.
“Both early detection of infected individuals and risk mitigation strategies are needed in order to reduce the risk of an outbreak,” reads the report. “No single measure is sufficient, but all should be interconnected with other measures. … We believe that taken together, the totality of measures being recommended will enable cruise operations to resume operations prudently.”
The CLIA press conference that followed said member lines agreed to mirror most of the recommendations, although specifics from line to line may differ.
Chief among the panel’s recommendations were that anyone planning to sail should have taken a COVID-19 test between five days and 24 hours of departure and have received a negative result. Anyone who tests positive should not board, or even come to the port.
And neither should anyone in that person’s traveling party.
In addition, before boarding, passengers will be screened for symptoms, including the taking of temperatures and answering questions, which might lead to a secondary screening to determine if they should be allowed to board.
CDC guidelines for social distancing and face protection should be followed by wearing of face coverings indoors and maintaining 6 feet of social distance when checking in, and while sailing, in major public areas indoors where people congregate.
The panel recommended that anyone refusing to answer questions or follow the safety protocols not be allowed to board.
The panel also laid out a slow return to sailing for cruise lines, beginning with short cruises, and traveling to ports that they control, such as private islands. And for excursions, they would require passengers to take only those arranged by the cruise lines, so there’s more assurance safety protocols can be followed.
As far as capacity, the panel did not recommend a limit, but did recommend that single-person cabins be made available for crew as much as possible. Crew also would need a negative test between five days and 24 hours before boarding, and then once on board be quarantined for an additional seven days before beginning duties.
A major aspect of the recommendations was treatment for anyone who may become ill with COVID -19 symptoms while on board, including having knowledgeable staff and a relationship with an on-shore medical establishment that could help with telemedicine consultations. The recommendations call for beefing up the medical personnel-to-passenger ratio as well.
Anyone suspected of the infection should be quarantined on board in a separate area, as should anyone who came into contact with that person. Some form of contact tracing should be implemented on board as well.
Anyone suspected of infection should be able to leave the ship and travel back to the mainland for treatment.
All cruise operators should upgrade the HVAC systems on their ships to, ideally, MERV 13, which filters particulate matter to a degree that is used in hospitals and general surgery.
The plan is similar to those rolled out in Europe, but in some cases, not as stringent. MSC Cruises and Carnival Corp.-owned Costa Cruises have begun limited Mediterranean cruises while Carnival’s German brand AIDA plans to return as well.
The panel had members of both MSC and Carnival observing alongside CLIA and CDC officials.
“The pandemic presents serious challenges, but we believe that with the ongoing advances in areas such as testing and therapies, our recommendations provide cruise operators with a robust set of thoughtful preparations, innovations, strengthened protocols, and enhanced facilities preparedness that will enable them to safely resume sailings,” states the report.
Both CEOs of the two major cruise line companies that formed the panel pledged to follow the guidelines in an effort to return to sailing.
“We understand our responsibility to act aggressively to protect the health and safety of our guests and crew, as well as the communities where we sail, and we asked the panel to help us learn how to best live up to that responsibility,” said Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain. “We were inspired by the depth of the panel’s work.”
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings President and CEO Frank Del Rio called the recommendations “robust and comprehensive.”