Royal Caribbean & NCL Cruises Propose to CDC How They Plan to Cruise Safely

Norwegian Cruises and Royal Caribbean Cruises Healthy Sail Panel has submitted recommendations for the cruise industry’s return to sailing after 4 months of study. The report makes 74 recommendations of best practices in a 65 plus-page report to protect the health and safety of crew members and guests.

The Healthy Sail Panel is a group of recognized experts assembled by Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd, along with co-chairs Governor Mike Leavitt and Dr. Scott Gottlieb. Leavitt was a former Governor of the state of Utah & former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Service and Dr. Gottlieb was a former commissioner of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.

Their  areas of focus included:

• Testing
• Screening
• Exposure reduction
• Sanitation
• Ventilation
• Response
• Contingency Planning & Execution
• Destination & Excursion Planning
• Mitigating Risks for Crew Members

Some highlights from the report include:

• Guests should be tested 72 hours to 5 days prior to the cruise and provide a negative COVID test at the time of boarding.
• Individuals who have received a positive SARS-CoV-2 test or who have been in close contact with an individual with a confirmed infection within the last 14 days should not be permitted to board.
• Cruise operators should employ routine symptom screening to help ensure infections are identified as quickly as possible.
• Daily temperature checks should be conducted for guests and crew.
• Guests and crew members should wear face coverings/masks while in public areas to prevent any spread of infection.
• Enhanced sanitation protocols should be employed to both high and low touch areas of the ship, terminal, and cruise-line owned and operated destinations
• Cruise operators should increase the ratio of onboard medical personnel to guests and crew, as well as medical facilities to treat patients who may become critically ill from the infection or other unrelated illnesses
• Cruise operators should designate certain cabins as isolation/quarantine spaces.
• Shore excursions initially would be with the cruise line only and must meet strict protocols agreed upon by health authorities & the cruise line. You won’t be able to just walk off and enjoy a destination on your own initially.
• Upgrade all ship ventilation systems with H13 HEPA air filters capable of catching COVID-19 particles

The full list of recommendations from the healthy sail panel can be found by clicking the link.

As of now, both Royal Caribbean and Norwegian will take these recommendations to develop new operations and protocols in anticipation of a return to sailing possibly as soon as November of this year. Now it’s up to the CDC to respond. We will that it is likely that cruises will be suspended at least until December to iron out some of these details.

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