Royal Caribbean and Norwegian have released a document
outlining their recommendations on what cruise will look like.
Instead of making you read the full 66 pages
we put all of the important information into a quick 10 minute video
of what cruising will look like and some of it's surprising!
We're cruise with Ben and David.
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The report filed to the cdc today from the healthy sale panel
includes 74 detailed best practices to protect the public health
and safety of guests and communities where the cruise ships do call.
The main aim of the report is to lead to a healthy return of service
and the preservation of human life.
Once again we state that we think cruising is the safest form of travel and always has been.
So let's break this up into the five different sections.
Number one is testing, screening and exposure reduction.
So this will involve taking aggressive measures to prevent from entering the ship in the first place.
This will be achieved through robust education, screening and testing of both crew and guests
prior to embarkation.
The document states that passengers should be tested
between five days and 24 hours before boarding
and receive a negative result that is shared with the cruise operator
before coming on board.
So yeah this is interesting.
It sounds like it's going to be done at your own cost and time before even departing your home
and arriving at the embarkation port.
It's going to be a difficult hurdle
depending on whether tests are easily accessible to you
and obviously the cost involved as well.
The panel emphasizes that a single test at the point of embarkation
such as what companies like MSC and Costa are doing
is not a substitute for an initial test performed before a guest departs their home location.
So this really goes against what MSC and Costa are doing because they just test at port.
Yeah interesting that isn't it
and also how they're going to authenticate the test results?
and how are you even going to get it to the cruise line?
Yeah and what type of test have you taken?
I it just got to be a simple swab test or a pcr test or something more?
How are you going to harmonize that between the different countries?
the different governments?
It seems like it's opened a little bit of a can of worms this one.
The report also states that they would prefer two negative tests from passengers
but they will need a minimum of one.
If rapid, reliable and clinically valid testing options become widely available
the addition of a second test at the pier or
immediately before boarding would be strongly considered.
And this is the same for the crew on board as well.
They must be tested in their home location before joining the ship.
Then potentially again at the port before boarding in addition to this
They'll be required to quarantine on the ship for seven days
after arriving for duty then another test will be carried out.
And if clear, they can start their duties on board.
At embarkation all guests and crew boarding the ship
will undergo a health screening to identify any symptoms consistent.
This is going to include a contactless temperature check
and anyone with concerns will undergo a secondary screening to determine
whether they may board the ship or whether they'll be denied boarding.
if you have had a positive test in the last 14 days
or been in contact with anybody who has you will also be denied
Boarding, check-in and disembarkation will be touchless.
Making it quicker and less crowded in the terminals.
Once on board
every crew member and guest will have their temperatures taken every day
preferably in the afternoon or late in the day when fevers are more likely to present.
And during the cruise, masks will be required in accordance to cdc recommendations.
So guests will be required to wear face coverings in any indoor congregate setting
regardless of physical distancing measures.
So basically you're going to be wearing a mask at all times.
You'll not be required to wear a mask in your own cabin
and a notable exception is obviously dining.
Restaurants and dining rooms should provide social distancing so that you can eat and drink
without the need for a mask.
Which is physically impossible.
You will also not need to wear them outside when physically distancing is available.
And crew members in close contact with passengers
will be provided with P.P.E. and a mask.
The report also confirms that ships will have a limited capacity on board
and returning to cruise will be a phased approach
to prove that all these plans actually work.
And social distancing is obviously going to play a large part
with areas on the ship and ports adjusted to allow six feet of social distancing.
This will include installing signage and floor markers around the ship and ports.
With particular emphasis on high traffic areas.
The second point is all about sanitation and ventilation.
Enhanced sanitation protocols will also be employed
to protect against the risk with particular attention to both high
and low touch areas including at the terminals and private resorts and islands.
Hand washing is going to play a large part
with more sanitization stations and hand washing stations installed around the ships.
And crew will be more readily enforcing hand washing and sanitization before entering any venues.
Cruise lines will also be required to upgrade HVAC systems on their ships
to minimize pathogen dispersal from infected guests and crew.
So this is the ventilation system on board.
New filters will be installed to trap the tiniest of particles.
These have all been proven to be successful on airlines recently.
So number three is response contingency planning and execution.
They will be implementing detailed plans to address positive infection on board.
Including contingencies for onboard treatment isolation and rapid evacuation and repatriation.
So basically they're going to want to get any infection on board off the ship as soon as possible.
They'll also be better training for the medical personnel on the ship
and more of them on board as well.
The onboard medical centers will also have more capacity
with new advanced equipment and medication to treat and diagnose.
And on each ship there'll be a crew member with direct responsibility for infectious disease prevention
and response.
Cruise operators will ensure they have a doctor on board
with intensivist training to manage the medical care of severely ill patients.
This basically means a doctor - qualified and experienced in ICU care.
Appointments with medical staff will be done virtually
or in the passenger's cabin to reduce risk to other passengers.
There'll be strict isolation protocols
and certain cabins which are not sold
to allow isolation on board.
Cruise lines will also need to pre-establish relationships with
onshore medical facilities to allow quick transfer.
And there's also going to be some type of contact tracing carried out aboard the ship.
Maybe it could be similar to MSC with the app or wristbands to track passenger movements.
Obviously as well there'll be detailed protocols and contingency plans for breakouts on board.
If there are cases at the disembarkment stage
cruise lines will be required to have a response plan and work with local authorities
and medical professionals on advice on what action to take next.
So number four is destination and excursion planning.
So shorter length cruises should be carried out at the return to service.
And cruise itineraries should be as simple as possible.
Utilizing private cruise line owned and operated destinations
or ports where there can be a tight control of the onshore experience.
So this means just expect some cruises to be doing private cruise resorts and islands.
Something we said that would happen at the beginning of the breakout.
And it's so much easier for cruise lines to prevent transmission.
Employees in these private resorts will all be tested and monitored daily to reduce risk.
And like MSC, guests debarking from a ship - at ports during cruises -
you will have to book a cruise line sponsored or verified excursion
as a way of limiting potential exposures in the destinations.
So you're not going to be allowed to get off the ship on your own and self-explore.
You must book an approved excursion.
Masks must be worn and physical distancing must be possible during the excursion.
All transportation and staff conducting the excursions
will be tested and coaches thoroughly cleaned.
So number five is mitigating risks for crew members.
As well as some of the stuff we've already mentioned
you're going to see things like managing the population density
of the crew areas on the ship.
This is going to basically mean less crew on board which makes sense with less passengers.
And where possible they should not share a cabin either.
So they should all be given their own individual cabin.
And crew members should be allowed to disembark at ports
which is really good news for them just to get fresh air and things
and they'll be protocols in place to reduce the risk of them
of them becoming infected.
One screening protocol that could be considered
is retesting 10% of the crew every week and over sampling the crew with high
touch, high exposure job.
There's also going to be extensive training for the crew.
So that's just about it.
What's next? Well the CDC need to approve these measures and protocols.
We don't know how long that's going to take we just really don't know.
But the current no sale order by the CDC is due to cease in nine days time.
Will we see that further lengthened or will it be removed due to these changes?
Could cruising be back a lot sooner than we really think?
Who knows!
What do you think let us know in the comments section below.
We could see a few select ships coming back maybe.
Fingers crossed.
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That's it until next time,
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