When, how and where are we going back to cruising? Royal Caribbean plans and policies for upcoming voyages. Told by the crew!
Let's address the elephant in the room, shall we?
When?
Royal Caribbean Group brands, TUI and Mein Schiff, have already set sail in Europe, and this week MSC's first sailing within Italy was a total success!
But what about Royal Caribbean itself? Let's be honest, as of right now, August 2020...
We don't know yet!
No, not even us crew members know, believe me, we are anxiously waiting, we feel land-sick spending so much time on solid ground! We are all hoping and assuming for before the end of the year.
Some staff has already been contacted in order
to be ready and in place for re-manning ships!
Here is one question I can answer for you right now:
What is the return to sailing depending on?
Basically arrangements between the newly implemented Healthy Panel and the C.D.C.
What's great about this: Royal Caribbean has teamed up with Norweigian cruises to achieve a joint goal, having two huge cruise lines work together will shorten development times and create stronger leverage to have the procedures approved.
In addition to this, the development and application of an effective vaccine will boost the speed at which the whole cruising operation will go back to full capacity and to be worry-free.
Lastly yes, sorry Florida, but the numbers of cases and infection in the U.S. does affect the likeliness of the C.D.C. to approve cruising. Wear a mask!
Royal Caribbean is considering the extension of future cruise credit for those whose bookings have been canceled after seeing such a high number of reservations for 2021 with most suite cabins already sold-out.
Who
For the safety of all onboard, everyone embarking will need to undergo temperature checks and probably, as we have seen on other cruise lines, expedited COVID tests before boarding. Let's touch base a little bit regarding how the ships will be manned. According to the Royal Caribbean newsletter for the crew, staff will be selected, amongst other needs, according to:
Experience, specialty skills, and overall performance
What's great about this: Cruisers will enjoy the best service available provided by the best on their field, the most experienced and more capable will be in charge of bringing cruising back in a totally safe and enjoyable way!
How?
This is the other big question, how will cruising be affected in the near future for cruisers? Details are currently being worked out, as I mentioned earlier, withing the Healthy Safe Panel. But thanks to the procedures put in place for the quarantined crew and the recent news in the cruising world (MSC first success sailing) we know some things for sure:
Pre-Boarding screening will be conducted including:
Temperature checks.
Fast Covid testing.
Full Covid tests for travelers from infected countries.
The use of masks will be mandatory in common areas both for passengers and crew.
Masks will be compulsory only when social distance is not possible, so you should be allowed to take it off during shows and while seated in large venues.
Social Distance must be maintained in all venues:
Schedule for boarding to avoid queues.
Separate show sittings with fewer seats available.
Distancing signage around the vessel, at restaurants and elevators.
All passengers are to remain within their family group at all venues.
Daily Temperature Checks
Both for crew and Passengers
Heightened Sanitization Protocols
All public areas will be constantly disinfected especially between groups using the space like between shows and restaurant sittings.
The usual hand washing procedures will be enforced more regularly.
100% fresh air policies are in place to avoid the recirculation of air in the vessel.
Contact-less technology will be a must in the near future sailings
On-Line check in for boarding day.
Apps to contact guest services instead of queueing at the front dest.
Menus available on your phone.
Reservations for restaurants and shows through the Royal App.
Booking shore excursions from your phone.
Royal Caribbean has launched the innovative MUSTER 2.0 the first digital pre-sailing muster safety drill that will allow passengers to view emergency information from their stateroom TVs and on the App.
Wrist bands will replace the need for cabin keys and physical payment methods. On MSC they are being used for contact tracing between guests.
All on-board apps are free to download and to use and work on the free onboard ship's Wi-Fi without the need of purchasing an internet package.
What's great about this: Royal Caribbean newest ships are already equipped with all the necessary technology like wristbands and apps.
Where
A controlled environment is key to assure a healthy vacation.
Following this logic, we can analyze where cruising will be taking us in the near future.
The biggest ships on the fleet will sail first.
They will allow social distancing as they sail with a reduced capacity.
The newer ships are already equipped with all the technology needed to maintain a safe contact-less environment.
Gradually more and more ships will restart their itineraries as more crew can make it back on board and the prevention protocols prove effective.
Royal Caribbean's private islands will be the first destinations to cruise to. Followed by small islands in the Caribbean and finally bigger cities that pose bigger risks.
Following the same logic expect more days at sea! Luckily it's precisely on this bigger ships that you will find all the on board entertainment you need.
MSC has put their foot down regarding passengers being requested to only go ashore within a shore excursion program. Meaning transportation and exposure will be monitored for safety.
What's great about this: Cruising will be one of the safest forms of vacation post-pandemic. Within a controlled and heavily sanitized and monitored environment.
As expected not even us, crew members, insiders if you will, have answers yet... but to bring some peace of mind to everyone I would like to transmit a very encouraging remark our CEO Richard Fain conveyed in one of his communications back in June: to explain it plainly he rejects the idea of a new normal. And he bases this reflection on the fact that constant change IS normality and while we can expect to learn a lot of new things through this shared worldwide experience and that we will need to adapt in the near future, cruising will always be, at heart, the same incredible experience; one that is always changing anyway! Cruising has come a long way and is constantly striving to be at the edge of what vacations, entertainment, traveling, and sailing are. This is not a before and after kind of situation, but one more evolutionary step along the way. I invite you to check out his far more articulate own words on >this video right here<
As always I thank you for taking the time to read my blog today, I hope you got some useful information and found some positivity along the way!
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