Cruisers are facing up to a COVID-19 ‘new normal’

Cruising sailors voyaging between countries in the Med or Caribbean, or sailing round the world, are facing new levels of complexity and costs when entering countries because of new COVID-19 protocols. Requirements for testing, and possibly quarantine, will stay in place for an indefinite period in many islands and countries along popular cruising routes.

Testing is likely to become a way of life for voyagers. In the Caribbean, cruisers must take a test on entry to each island, but can cruise without separate quarantine periods within CARICOM countries such as Barbados, Antigua, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago. Islands not in this organisation, such as the British Virgin Islands, are outside the cruising ‘bubble’.

Islands in the Pacific require tests on arrival and some also on departure. For example, the Galapagos Islands require proof of a negative test for each crewmember within 72 hours of departure from the previous country.

The cost of COVID-19 tests varies depending on the destination. Some countries provide them free to tourists but exit tests, if required by the next country, are usually charged at a cost of around €100 upwards. These costs, on top of the usual clearing in formalities, will significantly add to cruising bills while protocols remain in place round the world.

“The new normal requiring people to be tested is, I think, going to be part of their way of life,” observes Andrew Bishop, managing director of World Cruising Club. “There may be tests before you leave and a test on arrival and for those going on round the world further quarantines and tests, and that is going to introduce a huge cost, whether you are on rally or sailing independently.”

‘Getting tested is, I think, going to be part of the way of life’