Court ordered mediation between the State of Florida and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) appears to have failed.

According to a state official, court ordered mediation between the two parties has not reached any kind of a settlement.

A report by WESH says an official in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration confirmed the mediation effort over the last few days has gone no where.

Florida is suing the CDC to drop the Conditional Sail Order (CSO) so that cruise ships can restart operations immediately.

Read more: Why does the CDC regulate the cruise lines?

ClickOrlando reported Taryn Fenske, communications director for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, issued a statement that the state filed a response to the CDC’s request for more time to relitigate the case.

"After more than a week of good-faith negotiations by the State of Florida in mediation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), after Florida sued the CDC to overturn the agencies unlawful No Sail Order, the CDC continues to impose ridiculous, unlawful regulations that targets a single industry by imposing vaccine requirements – something no other business or industry must do."

"These requirements not only discriminate against one industry, but children, families, and small businesses. Despite Florida’s sincere efforts to reach a compromise, the United States District Court declared an impasse."

On May 18, Judge Steven D. Merryday ordered Florida and the CDC into mediation to work out an agreement by June 1st.

Mediation is a common process in the courts where a neutral third person called a mediator helps the parties discuss and try to resolve the dispute.

The official with DeSantis’ administration says the state will wait on a ruling on its lawsuit, which is expected "soon."

Florida believes the CDC does not have the right to hold back the cruise industry for this long, and is unlawful.

Instead, Florida wants cruise lines to be able to sail without any kind of restart approval process.

The CDC not only believes it has the jurisdiction to act in this manner, but thinks dropping the CSO would create a problem for the cruise lines.

In legal paperwork filed this week, the CDC explained an injunction would end cruising in Alaska for the season (because Alaska Tourism Restoration Act (ATRA) only benefits ships operating with a Conditional Sailing Certificate under the CSO).

The ATRA temporarily permits “covered cruise ships” to meet an alternative standard, where a “covered cruise ship” is defined as one that  “has been issued, operates in accordance with, and retains a COVID–19 Conditional Sailing Certificate of the CDC” and “operates in accordance” with that Certificate.

In addition, the CDC thinks if the CSO was waived as a result of the lawsuit, the public would not trust cruise ships are safe, "an injunction would cast considerable doubt on public confidence in the industry, particularly in the State of Florida, which is publicly battling with the industry over its own laws."

The same official from Governor DeSantis' administration says Florida will maintain its ban on cruise lines asking for proof of vaccination from passengers.

Florida would fine the cruise line $5,000 for each passenger who is asked for proof.

The CDC's inbox is getting full as cruise lines are rapidly applying to restart cruises.

A motion filed in court on Monday related to Florida's lawsuit against the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gave an update on where the CDC stands in granting approval for test cruises to begin.

According to the federal agency, cruise lines and ports have been busy making preparations for cruises to restart.

As of June 1, 2021, the CDC says it has provisionally approved 4 requests for test cruises to begin, with another 6 requests "under review".

The CDC also said it has received and provisionally approved 2 conditional sailing certificates for highly vaccinated cruises. These are cruises which will meet or exceed the mandate of having at least 95% fully vaccinated passengers and 98% fully vaccinated crew members.

In addition, port agreements covering 22 vessels at 5 ports of call have been approved, and another 6 are awaiting review.

The CDC divulged this information as an example to mediators that the CDC is indeed living up to its end of the bargain with the cruise lines to get ships back into service.

Read more: Everything you need to know about Royal Caribbean test cruises

"In short, cruising is set to resume as planned, and Florida cannot establish an irreparable injury that would occur in the absence of an injunction," representatives for the CDC stated in its motion.

So far, the public is aware of two of the four ships approved for test cruises: Freedom of the Seas and the Disney Dream.

The CDC has not listed what the other ships are, nor which other ships have applied for permission.  Thus far, the public is only made aware of specific approvals when a cruise line executive announces or leaks the information.

In terms of port agreements, Galveston, Port Canaveral, Port Everglades and PortMiami are all known to have signed agreements with various cruise lines to support test cruises.

The Port of Galveston announced on Tuesday that Royal Caribbean was "near completion on May 26" of its port agreement.

Test cruises and port agreements are all part of Phase 2A of the CDC's Conditional Sail Order (CSO).

The agreements also detail how the port, health district and cruise lines plan to respond in the event of an outbreak with medical care, transportation and housing, if needed. The cruise lines must demonstrate that they have agreements in place with providers for all of these services.

Procedures detailed in the agreements include the following:

• Simulated passenger cruises
• Compliance with port COVID safety procedures
• A tabletop exercise with cruise line and port staff on port COVID safety procedures and protocols
• An emergency response plan in the event of an outbreak
• A plan for medical evacuations at sea coordinated with the U.S. Coast Guard
• Cruise terminal and transportation vehicle cleaning requirements

Florida objects to the CDCs conclusion

The purpose of the motion by the CDC was to essentially say Florida's lawsuit is meritless, but Florida objects.

The CDC believes not only are cruises in the process of restarting, it says, " Florida cannot establish an irreparable injury that would occur in the absence of an injunction."

The agency believes an injunction against the CSO would actually hinder, not help, Florida's goals.

According to the CDC, an injunction would end cruising in Alaska for the season (because Alaska Tourism Restoration Act (ATRA) only benefits ships operating with a Conditional Sailing Certificate under the CSO).

The ATRA temporarily permits “covered cruise ships” to meet an alternative standard, where a “covered cruise ship” is defined as one that  “has been issued, operates in accordance with, and retains a COVID–19 Conditional Sailing Certificate of the CDC” and “operates in accordance” with that Certificate.

In addition, the CDC thinks if the CSO was waived as a result of the lawsuit, the public would not trust cruise ships are safe, "an injunction would cast considerable doubt on public confidence in the industry, particularly in the State of Florida, which is publicly battling with the industry over its own laws."

Lastly, the CDC said an injunction would "otherwise undermine the carefully laid plans for safe resumption of passenger operations."

The motion says the CDC shared this information with the State of Florida via email on Monday, and Florida "partially opposes this motion and will file a response."

We already know Freedom of the Seas will begin test cruises in June 2021, but are revenue cruises already planned as well?

A week ago, Royal Caribbean announced it would start test cruises on its first ship to get approval from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Freedom of the Seas.

Friend of RoyalCaribbeanBlog @UltimateCruiseNews spotted on the Miami Dade County cruise ship schedule at PortMiami listing Freedom of the Seas cruises, beginning on July 2, 2021.

The schedule seems to have Freedom of the Seas offering 3- and 4-night cruises from PortMiami through the month of July.

In addition, the Royal Caribbean app shows very similar dates for Freedom of the Seas on its schedule.

Royal Caribbean has not cancelled its July sailings across the board, and still has bookable cruises on Freedom of the Seas from Cape Liberty, New Jersey on the cruise line website.

Royal Caribbean has not made any announcement about a redployment for Freedom of the Seas, but the schedule might shed light onto what could be coming.

In comparing the Royal Caribbean app dates to the PortMiami schedule, as well as what is listed on Royal Caribbean's website, it seems the app has both sailings loaded in at the moment.

Of course, the docking schedule does not contain much information in the way of determining what the intent is for the ship. Could these sailings in July be revenue cruises? More test cruises? A mistake by the county?

Freedom of the Seas will definitely be conducting test cruises from PortMiami between June 20-22, 2021, and that is reflected on the schedule.

Simulated voyages (also known as test cruises) are when cruise lines can operate ships with volunteer passengers in order to prove their new protocols work.

These are not cruises you can book, but rather, are limited voyages where a cruise line invites certain unpaid volunteers to help go through all the necessary steps and procedures to ensure cruise ships can be run safely.

Each cruise ship needs to be approved by the CDC in order to conduct test cruises.

As to how accurate the July sailings listed are, and if they are the precursor to Royal Caribbean announcing revenue cruises remains to be seen.

In March 2021, the Port of Los Angeles website listed Navigator of the Seas on their schedule prior to Royal Caribbean making their own announcement.

Los Angeles pulled down their schedule for a short time until Royal Caribbean made their formal announcement.

Optimism surrounding the cruise industry's chances of restarting are likely the most optimistic they have been in well over a year, and that includes Royal Caribbean.

Over the last couple of weeks, Royal Caribbean (and its sibling cruise brands) moved the closest yet to real sailings out of the United States, and it has a lot of cruise fans excited.

After more than 15 months of no cruises from North America, we are swiftly looking at the real prospect of summer cruises.  Essentially, restart plans went from "if" to "when" in many people's minds.

While a restart is very close, cruise lines are not out of the proverbial woods quite yet, and there are some hurdles and challenges left to overcome.

Here are the most important things you should know about Royal Caribbean's restart plans.

Adults (and some kids) need to be vaccinated

For months, Royal Caribbean was uncertain if passengers would need to be vaccinated, and the answer now appears to be yes.

If you are thinking about going on a cruise ship this summer or fall, you will need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

The cruise line updated its policy recently to all adults over the age of 16 on North American sailings will need to be vaccinated in order to go on a cruise before August 1.  After August 1, that age restriction drops to 12 years old.

Royal Caribbean has not said much since the policy was changed, but it is clear they are looking to mitigate risk as much as possible.  In an industry that is unfairly and unfortunately associated with outbreaks, they cannot afford to take chances.

Could this policy change? Certainly as life gets back to normal and the vaccine becomes more widely available, there is always a chance this policy could be relaxed.  But in the meantime, plan to be vaccinated if you want to cruise this summer.

Test cruises will be necessary first

While Celebrity Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line are going to straight to revenue sailings, Royal Caribbean International will have to conduct test cruises first, and then move to revenue sailings.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gave cruise lines two choices: get 95% of passengers and 98% of crew fully vaccinated and skip test cruises, or do test cruises first.

Royal Caribbean opted to do test cruises simply because they are a family cruise line and knew they could not get to 95% of its guests fully vaccinated, primarily due to the amount of children onboard.

This means each ship will need to conduct a series of test cruises to demonstrate its new health protocols can work before the CDC will approve a ship to sail with paying passengers.

Speaking of test cruises, if you are interested in being a volunteer on a test cruise, there does appear to be a way to volunteer and hope you get picked.

So far, Royal Caribbean has announced test cruises will begin in June on Freedom of the Seas, but expect more ships to get the go-ahead as well.

Slow approach to restart

Don't expect Royal Caribbean to announce all, most, or even half of its ships restarting immediately.  Or even over the next few months.

For many months, Royal Caribbean (and all cruise lines) have been emphatic that their restart will be slow and methodical.

Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain said very early on in the shutdown restart will be structured, "We don't expect that... someday somebody blows a horn, and all the ships start operating right away. We think that it will be a gradual start, a little bit like society is opening up gradually."

"So we would imagine that we would start with fewer ships, and more likely to be more drive markets in the beginning, and then it would then evolve and grow from there."

As an example, Norwegian Cruise Line just announced restart plans for 8 ships, and many are not going to begin their first sailings until October or November 2021.

So far, Royal Caribbean has only announced Alaska cruises from Seattle as the confirmed sailings from the U.S. this summer.

As cruise fans, we are eager to get back onboard on our favorite ships from ports of call nearby, but keep expectations inline.

CDC still holds a lot of influence

Like it or not, the CDC is still mostly in charge.

The road to restart goes right through the CDC's jurisdiction, and the cruise lines seem to be past trying to shake them off and are now focused on getting approval to sail.

The tone of discussions with the CDC has radically improved lately, especially with the CDC rolling back burdensome rules and protocols.

Perhaps more surprising is cruises sailing from outside the United States still seem to be based on CDC guidance.

Royal Caribbean has not released its health protocols for Adventure of the Seas cruises from Nassau, Bahamas due to in part, the CDC.

An email update yesterday told guests, "As we’ve been working to finalize all the details, we’re taking a lot into consideration, including the CDC’s recommendations, Bahamian Health Authority’s guidance, and our own Healthy Sail Panel’s expertise – to find that sweet spot."

No matter where ships sail this summer, the CDC will be along for the ride for at least a while longer.

Florida

Celebrity Cruises referred to it as "the elephant in the room", and Florida has gone from chief enabler to major blocker of cruises restarting.

In short, Florida passed a law that prohibits any business from asking their customers for proof of vaccination.  While this may make sense in the case of restaurants or supermarkets, it creates an enormous problem for cruise lines who are battling a sensationalized media that counts any case onboard a ship as a modern day Pandora's Box.

The Governor's office has been adamant about enforcing the policy across the board, including the cruise lines. Meanwhile, cruise executives are talking about some kind of compromise that is in the works.

What ends up happening is anyone's guess, but Florida is the epicenter of the cruise world, and while ships could sail from other states, it is a market too large to ignore.

In the meantime, it is a story to keep an eye on as it relates to where and when cruise ships will be able to sail from first.

Royal Caribbean's restart plans are moving faster with their ambitious policy of trying to get crew members fully vaccinated.

Ever since Royal Caribbean committed to getting all of its crew members vaccinated, the logistics of doing so seemed to be a challenge, but things are moving swiftly now.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley shared on Facebook that over half the crew members currently onboard cruise ships are vaccinated.

"Over 50 percent of our current crew fleetwide are vaccinated!  We are getting there slowly but surely," he shared in a Facebook post.

Mr. Bayley indicated that there are 10,620 crew members onboard, and 5,730 of them are either partially or fully vaccinated.

Over the last few weeks, Royal Caribbean ships have been coming in and out of Florida ports to get crew members their vaccine shot. 

On just Thursday, Adventure of the Seas came to Port Canaveral to get 352 more crew members vaccinated, and Explorer of the Seas had 182 of their crew members getting their second Pfizer shot.

Port Canaveral is one of at least three U.S. ports welcoming cruise ships in so that its crew members can get vaccinated.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees approved an expansion to vaccine eligibility in Florida to include individuals who are in the state for purpose of providing good or services for the benefit of residents and visitors of Florida.

The vaccine is a critical part of Royal Caribbean's restart plans to ensure its ships can be as clean and safe for everyone onboard.

Royal Caribbean Group Chairman and CEO Richard Fain reiterated his company's plan to get the crew ready for cruises during a video update this week, "we intend to vaccinate all of our crew. That process has already started and we expect that essentially one hundred percent of crew members will receive their vaccines before the cruise starts in the US."

In addition to the crew members, all adults over the age of 16 on North American sailings will need to be vaccinated in order to go on a cruise before August 1.  After August 1, that age restriction drops to 12 years old.

Royal Caribbean quickly made the decision to require the vaccine after months of saying no decision had been made, and changing rules might have played  a part in that decision.

The  U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been revising its rules for cruise ships, dropping many requirements for guests who are fully vaccinated.

Just this week, the CDC relaxed mask-wearing and social distancing guidelines for fully vaccinated passengers.

To that point, Mr. Fain was excited about the limited restrictions on a cruise ship thanks to the lowered requirements for vaccinated passengers and crew, "We're optimistic that masks won't be required anywhere if you're vaccinated."

"As we restart, there will be some more restrictions than before, but we expect there will be temporary and similar to what we've all become used to on land."

The showdown between Florida and cruise lines that want to sail with fully vaccinated adult is slowing down Royal Caribbean Group's return to service announcement.

Celebrity Cruises announced it would restart cruises from the United States in late June, but Florida law prohibits a business from asking its customers if they vaccinated against Covid-19.

The law has been a concern among cruise lines and cruise fans since it was signed into law, but with cruise ships about to restart operations, could those plans be halted by Florida law?

Royal Caribbean Group has not said much on the topic, but during a webinar with travel agents on Thursday, Celebrity Cruises addressed the issue and seemed to indicate that while the issue is a problem, it is not impassable either.

Dondra Ritzenthaler, Celebrity Cruises Senior Vice President of Sales and Trade Support & Service addressed the "elephant in the room" during her call, and said they are working with the Governor's office to find a solution to the issue.

Ms. Ritzenthaler praised Governor Ron DeSantis' efforts to help get cruise ships going on the federal level, and even thought the law makes sense for local businesses, "our governor was the one that started really pushing the CDC and talking to the White House."

"When he came out with the policy that says that he will not require in the state of Florida people to show proof of vaccinations, he was talking about restaurants, bars, hotels, Disney, places that weren't cruise ships because at the time, cruise ships weren't open yet."

She went on to say that cruise executives from Royal Caribbean Group, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, and Carnival are working with Governor DeSantis, "we're ironing out a statement that will articulate how cruising will be different than in the state."

The cruise lines are working towards a solution where the law still prevents a supermarket or restaurant from asking customers to see proof of vaccination, but exclude cruise lines since things are different on a cruise ship, as well as due to regulations mandated by the CDC.

Until a resolution is found, Ms. Ritzenthaler said Royal Caribbean Group's full protocols are on hold, "I would say that we are super close, but we will not come out with our total protocols and return to service until we get that formal statement from the governor."

Earlier today, the governor's office told WFTS, "The CDC has no legal authority to set any sort of requirements to cruise. Moreover, the CDC has acknowledged, on record, that the federal government chose not to make a legal requirement for vaccine passports. Now the CDC provides coercive guidance” in the absence of any federal law or congressional authorization, requiring cruise ships to violate state law."

"Companies doing business in Florida, including Celebrity Cruises, should immediately cease to impose such discriminatory policies upon individuals. Companies that violate this law would be subject to a fine of $5,000 each time they require a customer to present a 'vaccine passport' for service," DeSantis said.

Earlier in May, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO Frank Del Rio said his cruise ships would move their Florida-based vessels to home ports in other states or even to non-U.S. ports in the Caribbean if they were forced to comply with the new rule.

"At the end of the day, cruise ships have motors, propellors and rudders, and God forbid we can operate in the state of Florida for whatever reason, then there are other states that we do operate from."

"We can operate from the Caribbean for ships that otherwise would've gone to Florida. We certainly hope that doesn't come to that. Everyone wants to operate out of Florida, it's a very lucrative market, it's close drive market."

Another Royal Caribbean cruise ship will be returning to service this summer.

Hong Kong has given Royal Caribbean approval to restart cruises aboard Spectrum of the Seas with short sailings with no port stops.

Spectrum of the Seas would be the first Royal Caribbean cruise ship to resume sailings in China, and there will be a series of cruises between July and November.

Similar to Quantum of the Seas in Singapore, Hong Kong has approved limited sailings with strict protocols onboard.

According to the Hong Kong Cruise Society, here are the sailing dates and itineraries:

• 2-night cruises: July 30 / Sep 05,17
• 3-night cruises: Aug 05,12,19,26 / Sep 02,07,10,23,30 / Oct 07,14,21,28 / Nov 04,11,18,25
• 4-night cruises: Aug 01,08,15,22,29 / Sep 13,19,26 / Oct 03,10,17,24,31 / Nov 07,14,21,28

The new sailings have not yet been released by Royal Caribbean.

Guests looking to book a sailing can only book oceanview or higher categories (no interior rooms). 

In addition, guests 16 years or older must be fully vaccinated and have received their second dose at least 14 days ago prior to boarding. 

Passengers must also provide a negative PCR test within 48 hours of boarding the ship.

Many of these protocols come from Hong Kong's government, which just approved "cruises to nowhere" on Wednesday.

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah confirmed Royal Caribbean was one of the lines with permission to sail from Hong Kong.

Spectrum of the Seas was one of the first cruise ships to have her cruises cancelled due to the global health crisis, with her season cut short in China and moved to Australia for a short period of time before the cruise industry shutdown completely in March.

With Spectrum of the Seas restarting cruises in July, this adds another ship to the list of Royal Caribbean ships that will be able to resume operations, including Adventure of the Seas from the Bahamas, Anthem of the Seas from Southampton, and Jewel of the Seas from Cyprus.

Royal Caribbean also received permission to start test cruises on Freedom of the Seas in June.

The last Royal Caribbean International cruise ship to sail before the cruise industry shutdown will be the first one to restart operations.

Royal Caribbean has received permission from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to start test cruises in preparation for regular revenue sailings.

Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley shared the good news that Freedom of the Seas will sail her test cruises from PortMiami.

Royal Caribbean had teased over the weekend that it had submitted a proposal to the CDC in order to sail a test cruise, and just two business days later, they received permission.

According to the letter by the CDC shared by Mr. Bayley, the test cruise can commence on June 20-22, 2021.

The CDC also stipulated a few key requirements before the test cruises can begin:

• List how the maximum number of passengers on the first two restricted sailings.
  • There needs to be at least 10% of the maximum number of passengers on the first two restricted voyagers.
• Volunteers need to be advised of the CDC's Travel Health Notice for Covid-19 and Cruise Ship Travel prior to the cruise
• Freedom of the Seas must retain an approved color-coded status with the CDC leading up to the test cruise.
• CDC requirements related to testing and quarantine of crew and passengers
• Any deficiencies during the cruise must be documented
  • Essentially, a significant departure from the protocols that may occur onboard.

Read more: Here's how to sign up to be a volunteer for a Royal Caribbean test cruise

Simulated voyages (also known as test cruises) are when cruise lines can operate ships with volunteer passengers in order to prove their new protocols work.

These are not cruises you can book, but rather, are limited voyages where a cruise line invites certain unpaid volunteers to help go through all the necessary steps and procedures to ensure cruise ships can be run safely.

Each cruise ship needs to be approved by the CDC in order to conduct test cruises.

Read more: Everything you need to know about Royal Caribbean test cruises

Mr. Bayley celebrated being able to get its first ship back in the water for operations, "After 15 months and so much work by so many during very challenging times.  To all our colleagues, loyal guests and supporters all over the world I am proud and pleased to share some bright and wonderful news!"

"Onwards and upwards team!"

Royal Caribbean issued a statement, welcoming the opportunity to get back to cruising, "After 15 months of hard work and collaboration, today’s approval of our simulated cruises is the latest promising step in our path to return to sailing in the U.S.

"We look forward to welcoming our crew, loyal guests and supporters from around the world this summer. "

Freedom of the Seas was one of the last cruise ships to return to port once Royal Caribbean announced it would halt all cruises due to Covid-19.

The ship was actually denied entry to San Juan, Puerto Rico to finish its sailing, and had to tack on an extra few days to get to Miami instead.

CDC's test cruise requirements

If a test cruise sounds like a great vacation, you should be aware of all the important steps Royal Caribbean must follow and complete during a test sailing.

While the ship is indeed conducting a cruise as if it were a normal cruise, the CDC wants the cruise ship to test out procedures and ensure it can handle any health situation it could encounter.

Each ship must conduct at least one simulated cruise, and each voyage must be between 2-7 days in length with a least one overnight stay, including through embarkation, disembarkation, and post-disembarkation testing.

For what it's worth, the CDC recommends a minimum voyage length of 3 days with 2 overnight stays.

Passengers and crew must meet standards during the simulated voyage for hand hygiene, use of face masks, and social distancing for passengers and crew, as well as ship sanitation.

Royal Caribbean must modify meal service and entertainment venues to facilitate social distancing during the simulated voyage.

And then there is a laundry list of activities that the CDC says the ship needs to test across one or many separate test cruises:

• Embarkation and disembarkation procedures, as approved by U.S. port and local health authorities as part the cruise ship operator’s Phase 2A agreements, including procedures for terminal check-in.
• Onboard activities, including seating and meal service at dining and entertainment venues.
• Medical evacuation procedures.
• Transfer of symptomatic passengers or crew, or those who test positive for SARS-CoV-2, from cabins to isolation rooms.
• Onboard and shoreside isolation and quarantine, as per the terms of the cruise ship operator’s Phase 2A agreements, of at least 5% of all passengers and non-essential crew.
• Recreational activities that the cruise ship operator intends to offer as part of any restricted passenger voyages, e.g., casinos, spa services, fitness classes, gymnasiums.
• Private-island shore excursions if any are planned during restricted passenger voyages. The following measures must be observed on the private island:
  • Only one ship can port at the island at any one time.
  • A routine screening testing protocol must be implemented for island staff who are expected to interact with volunteer passengers or crew.
  • Mask use and social distancing must be observed on the island.
• Port of call shore excursions if any are planned during restricted passenger voyages. The following measures must be observed on port of call shore excursions:
  • Self-guided or independent exploration by passengers during port stops must be prohibited.
  • Shore excursions must only include passengers and crew from the same ship.
  • Cruise ship operator must ensure all shore excursion tour companies facilitate social distancing, mask wearing, and other COVID-19 public health measures throughout the tour.
  • Cruise ship operators must have a protocol for managing persons with COVID-19 and close contacts at all foreign ports of call. At a minimum, the protocol must include the following:
    • Disembarkation and housing of persons with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 needing shore-based hospital care and their travel companion(s) for the duration of their isolation or quarantine period.
    • Commercial repatriation of U.S.-based persons with COVID-19 and close contacts only after meeting criteria to end isolation and quarantine per CDC guidance. For commercial repatriation of foreign-based persons with COVID-19 and close contacts, cruise ship operators must consult with all relevant public health authorities.

After a few weeks absence, Royal Caribbean Group Richard Fain is back with a new update with his most optimistic outlook yet for cruises to restart.

Mr. Fain started off his video update to travel agents by stating how good things are looking, "we can now state with a high level of confidence that ships from the Royal Caribbean group will be operating out of US ports as early as next month."

Cruises restarting as early as next month follows up on the news that Royal Caribbean applied to the CDC for test cruises to begin, which Mr. Fain repeated again, "Last week, we formally submitted our request for sailing authorization to the CDC."

"We're hopeful that they will issue that permission shortly."

The opportunity for cruises to restart again from the United States is something Fain sees as the result of widespread vaccine distribution, public pressure on government officials, and a change in the relationship with the CDC.

While the cruise industry's relationship with the CDC was tenuous after some early requirements, things have changed, "over the past weeks, that level of dialogue has improved one thousand percent and that dialogue has allowed us to understand their concerns. But in addition to that, dialogue has enabled the CDC to understand our concerns."

"It has also enabled the CDC to review so much helpful data that we have acquired from our sailing's abroad."

Vaccines

Mr. Fain talked about how vaccines will work, and he said Celebrity Cruises and Silversea will follow the CDC's option to have 95% passengers vaccinated and 98% of crew members vaccinated, but Royal Caribbean International will go a different route.

Mr. Fain echoed a new policy posted on its website that says everyone who is eligible to get a vaccine will be expected to get one. However, since Royal Caribbean is so family oriented and there are often large numbers of children, he does not think reaching 95% is possible.

"On these cruises[with many children], we may not reach the ninety five percent threshold, but even here the vast majority will be vaccinated."

Health protocols and changes onboard

So what will a cruise be like once they can sail again?

"As we restart, there will be some more restrictions than before," Mr. Fain explained, "but we expect there will be temporary and similar to what we've all become used to on land.

Mr. Fain talked about what to expect, and here are some key takeaways.

• Buffets will be full service
• No masks for fully vaccinated, "We're optimistic that masks won't be required anywhere if you're vaccinated and since most people will be."
• Some ares where social distancing required, but with lower capacity onboard initially, it should not be an issue.
• Upgraded air conditioning
• Guests will have choice of going on their own shore excursions, "In most cases, our guests can also arrange their own excursions and these will be regulated by by local rules."

These updates are exactly what Celebrity Cruises announced last week for what guests could expect, and a good sense that those rules are going to be the reality.