Royal Caribbean announces return
It’s the news cruise enthusiasts have been awaiting for a year: Royal Caribbean International has announced it will again sail from North America this summer.
Well, technically. Actually, the cruise line says it will be running a schedule of sevenday sailings aboard its Adventure of the Seas ship from Nassau, Bahamas.
Travelers will have to fly or find a separate water service to Nassau. Onboard capacity will be reduced. Health protocols will be in place, including mask wearing and social distancing except when sitting in restaurants or on beaches. Violations of mask-wearing rules in the Bahamas could result in a $200 fine or 30 days in prison, according to that nation’s protocols.
Bookings will be available beginning March 24. Schedules and itineraries have not been released yet, but according to Royal Caribbean, sailings will begin June 12 and run through August.
The ship will port at three destinations — Freeport on Grand Bahama Island; Cozumel, Mexico; and Royal Caribbean’s private island, Perfect Day at Coco Cay.
The ship will be docked at the Coco Cay island for two days rather than the traditional single day. It’s unclear how many days it will spend in Cozumel, Freeport or Nassau.
Royal Caribbean worked with Bahamas officials to set up the summer schedule. The nation’s prime minister and minister of tourism and aviation were quoted in the cruise line’s announcement as saying the nation is eager to greet visitors again.
“This is truly a new day for tourism,” Prime Minister Hubert A. Minnis said. “It should inspire many small- to medium-sized businesses, tour operators, taxi drivers, restaurants and retailers to prepare for brighter days ahead, the best we have ever had.”
Meanwhile, cruise lines with ships based in U.S. ports continue to wait for resumption guidance that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention promised in October would be forthcoming, even as they continue to take money for sailings scheduled as early as May and June.
That guidance, whenever it is released, is expected to require cruise lines to operate “test cruises” to ensure their health protocols will be safe and effective. Cruise lines anticipate it will take several weeks after the guidance is issued before they’ll be cleared to sail with passengers.
According to Chris Gray Faust, managing editor of the consumer-focused website CruiseCritic.com, the CDC isn’t expressing any eagerness to restart cruising.
“From what we’ve heard, there’s been little to no movement recently on these requirements,” Faust said by email. “So it’s not entirely surprising that the lines are now looking elsewhere to countries that are better positioned to welcome them, with strong safety protocols and requirements for both guests and crew.”
Among Royal Caribbean’s requirements: All members of the ship’s crew will be vaccinated. Adult passengers must also be vaccinated, but travelers under 18 will be required only to test negative for COVID-19.
In addition, the Bahamas has its own requirements, including obtaining a Bahamas Travel Health Visa by securing a negative test five days prior to sailing, and uploading proof of it (and paying a fee) to the island’s government.
Royal Caribbean’s decision to resume sailing in the Caribbean rather than await an all-clear signal from the CDC comes in the wake of successful restarts by ships based in Singapore and Israel, adhering to health protocols developed by a voluntary panel of health experts assembled by cruise industry leaders.
Other cruise lines resuming operations outside of U.S. control include Royal Caribbean subsidiary Celebrity Cruises, which will sail from St. Maarten beginning in June with similar protocols.
Also, Crystal Cruises plans to sail a limited season of luxury seven-day trips from Nassau and Bimini beginning in July.
Conspicuous by its absence from these plans are Carnival Cruise Line and affiliate lines such as Holland America and Princess Cruises. A Carnival Corp. spokesman declined Monday to comment about competitors’ plans.
Carnival Cruise Line spokesman Vance Gulliksen said that while the company is “encouraged by the progress of vaccine distribution and what it represents for improved public health, as well as for the recovery of the travel industry,” the company has not announced any sailings from non-U.S. homeports or sailings requiring vaccinations.
“Our decisions will be informed with input from our global medical and science experts and the requirements of the places we operate and visit,” he said.
Cruise fans are excited to be able to get back on board their favorite ships, according to recent surveys by CruiseCritic.com. In a survey of 2,124 Cruise Critic readers taken in mid-March, 85% say they would cruise if vaccines were required.
Cruise line announced it will be running a schedule of 7-day sailings aboard its Adventure of the Seas ship from Nassau, Bahamas.