It’s the news that many cruising fans have been waiting to hear for over a year now – cruise ships might be sailing the seas sooner rather than later. In fact, Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain suggested that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) might be granting permission for ships to sail again, as many cruise lines are looking for a July target date. Here’s what you need to know.
Royal Caribbean CEO Says CDC About To Grant Cruising Permission
As of press time, Royal Caribbean is the first cruise line to receive approval from the CDC to test one of its ship in U.S. waters. Fain says that while there is certainly more dialogue with the CDC before, nothing is certain until they get the greenlight and right now things are looking very positive.
“A cruise ship can be as safe or safer than your local community … as a result the CDC has now clarified and updated their rules to allow us to start sailing from U.S. ports,” Fain said.
Caitlin Shockey, spokesperson for the CDC confirmed that they are working closely with the cruise line to make sure that it will be up and running sooner rather than later. She said,
“CDC has provisionally approved one cruise ship from Royal Caribbean to begin simulated voyages in June, following a request to conduct a simulated voyage and the submission of an accurate and complete port agreement.”
Reports say that Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas ship will be allowed to sail with volunteer passengers. The company also said that all passengers must be vaccinated, should they want to sail with Royal Caribbean this summer. Fain added that he thinks travelers will be booking their next cruise sooner rather than later because of the range of new safety measures, including reduced capacity, social distancing and enhanced cleaning processes.
Tell us, how you do feel about this? Are you planning any trips this summer? If so, will you be staying close to home, going on a cruise, or traveling internationally for the first time in a year? Drop us a line with your thoughts in our comments section below. Also, don’t forget to come back to The Go Family for all the latest updates on Covid-19 related travel news right here.
Be sure to check out our vlog The Go To Family. Connect with us on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest !
[…] Act,” temporarily allowing foreign-flagged cruise ships to sail directly from Washington State to Alaska without the necessity of docking in Canadian port. The bill will expire on either the date on which […]
[…] Carnival is sending out a video reminder to its avid and future cruisers as the line begins to ready itself for sailing for the first time in over 15 months. […]
[…] on board, though these are CDC recommendations. As are the use of digital menus over handheld.Physical barriers, such as sneeze guards and partitions physical guides, such as tape on decks and other signage to […]
[…] skies above Lake Eola will be lit up again this Independence Day as the in-person 4th of July celebrations return to […]