All the latest from the cruise industry, including insights into which cruise lines are returning to the water; health and safety protocols, what popular cruise lines are saying about the industry, and how the future of cruising has changed, for the better!
Healthy Sail Panel
Many cruise lines have already revealed their own health and safety policies as they prepare to return to the water. Much of these involve the same principles: sanitation, health screening, social distancing and reducing capacity on-board.
Cruise industry leaders, Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd have come together to work collaboratively on the development of their enhanced cruise health and safety standards, creating the Healthy Sail Panel which will be rolled out across seven cruise lines as well as be widely available for the broader cruise industry.
Working alongside the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and forming the foundation of implementations required for the return of cruise, the panel collated over 70 recommendations to enhance the health and safety measures for guests and crew.
These five areas of focus include over 70 recommendations, each addressing the improvements required to reduce the risk of infection and spread of COVID-19 on cruise ships, as well as the overall health and safety for guests and crew. These include:
Testing, screening and exposure reduction – Robust testing prior to embarkation with health screening for all guests and crew and denial of boarding to anyone displaying symptoms or tests positive.
Sanitation and ventilation – Stringent sanitation protocols and hand hygiene measures in place for all guests and crew, alongside appropriate heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems are introduced to prevent airborne transmission.
Response, contingency planning and execution – Increase of medical staff and facility capacity available to all guests and crew, including the ability to test for COVID-19 on-board. This also includes the ability to isolate suspected cases, implementing contact tracing methods and developing a thorough response to evacuation for certain scenarios.
Destination and excursion planning – Visits ashore are limited to private, cruise line-owned and operated destinations or ports which are strictly controlled and health and safety protocols are in place, reducing the risk of transmission and infection.
Mitigating risks for crew members – Protocols in place for all crew spaces; full and regular training provided to all crew and collective responsibility applied to all crew to create a safer environment.
Royal Caribbean and the rest of the Healthy Sail Panel have shared that these protocols will be reviewed and allow for more learnings and continuous improvement. The recommendations will enable the panel to provide a path for ships to return to the water safely and protect both passengers and crew.
If you would like to read more about the Healthy Sail Panel’s protocols, see the full article in the link below.
Read about the Healthy Sail Panel
Cruise Health & Safety Protocols
Many of the cruise lines have already revealed their own health and safety policies as they prepare to return to the water. Much of these involve the same principles: sanitation, health screening, social distancing and reducing capacity on-board.
In line with CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) regulations and advice from authorities such as the WHO (World Health Organisation) and CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), protocols which have been revealed so far are thorough and stringent, ensuring that the safety of the guests and crew are the main priority.
To find out more about each cruise line’s health and safety protocols, read our blog which outlines the precautions and preventative actions the cruise industry has in place to continue cruising safely.
Read about Health & Safety Protocols
Cruise industry comes together to develop new COVID-19 Framework
As well as working on their own protocols, cruise lines in the UK have been commended for their developments of procedures and protocols. CLIA has published a framework in collaboration with the UK Chamber of Shipping which outlines guidelines for cruise lines to restart operations in and around the UK and for UK customers.
The framework will support cruise lines to implement health and safety protocols that have been specifically highlighted to enable a safe return to cruise.
This positive step now allows the cruise lines to work alongside these guidelines in order to allow a phased return to sailing and progress to getting more cruise lines back on the water. The framework supports ongoing work from the cruise industry, with a ministerial endorsement for all the work done so far, while also recognising the value of the cruise industry within the UK.
To read the article in full, click the link below for further information.
Thoughts from the cruise lines
As more and more encouraging steps are being taken to resume cruising, many of the cruise lines have spoken out about their experiences developing their new health and safety protocols as well as what these recent announcements and insights mean for their future sailings.
Royal Caribbean
Including Royal Caribbean, Azamara, Silversea & Celebrity Cruises
Richard Fain, Chairman of Royal Caribbean, has shared that once the recommendations are in place from the Healthy Sail Panel, a series of ‘non-revenue’ test sailings will take place, where crew can ‘rehearse and validate the new protocols.’
You can watch Richard Fain address these recommendations and update on where cruises for Royal Caribbean are now, in a recent video communication, here.
Norwegian Cruise Line
Including Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises & Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings President and Chief Executive, Frank Del Rio supported the positive thoughts at a recent virtual conference.
You can read more details on these cruise industry leaders and what they have to say, here.