What should passengers expect when cruising returns?

By Donna Heiderstadt

For anyone who has enjoyed the ease and exhilaration of a cruise vacation, the unprecedented hiatus necessitated by the global COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t exactly meant smooth sailing. But the rough seas of uncertainty are beginning to calm and cruise lines are planning for a safe resumption of sailing in the first half of 2021.

As preparation moves forward—a limited rollout of ships on shorter voyages is expected initially—the “new normal” of the onboard experience is still being worked out. Will everyone need to be tested pre-cruise? Most likely. Beyond that, other questions loom: When and where will masks need to be worn? What will shore excursions be like? Will you be able to get a massage or sip a mojito in the hot tub? And perhaps tantamount for many cruisers, are ship buffets a thing of the past?

Cruise lines haven’t revealed all of the answers yet. There are still a lot of details to nail down, but some things are certain. The protocols developed to ensure onboard health and safety as the industry navigates the pandemic share a basic plan, much of it tied to guidelines issued by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and the Healthy Sail Panel, a group of public health and infectious disease experts convened by the Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line.

CONCIERGE LEVEL VERANDA STATEROOM ONBOARD OCEANIA

©2018 MICHEL VERDURE

It outlines 74 recommended practices for cruise lines to adopt. These changes will add pre-embarkation requirements and alter many of the social aspects of cruising. Asked about the cruise experience in the immediate future, Carmen Roig, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Crystal Cruises, notes: “Certain elements of the Crystal Experience will look different for guests and crew when we return to cruising – enhanced pre-boarding procedures with staggered boarding times and health screenings, masks and face coverings in certain instances, exploring ashore only with organized Crystal excursions, and even more rigorous cleaning and disinfection throughout the ship. What will not change is the attention to detail and the personalized service and connections guests will experience on board.”

Here is more of what passengers can expect.

PASSENGER AND CREW TESTING

Preventing passengers infected with COVID-19 from boarding – along with regular testing of crew – are top priorities. As the Healthy Sail Panel report noted, “Aggressive testing, health screenings and exclusion policies will be critical.” Testing procedures will vary by line, with guests notified of specifics upon booking. Also, expect enhanced medical staff and facilities onboard.

Oceania Cruises, a Norwegian subsidiary, will implement a pre-boarding health screening as well as touchless temperature checks of all passengers and crew at boarding, upon returning to the ship from a port of call, prior to all meals in dining venues and activities in public venues, and just before disembarkation. All ships will have a public health officer onboard as well as test kits for COVID. Pre-boarding testing is one of the Healthy Sail Panel’s recommendations. Oceania has not yet specified detailed testing requirements.

Crystal Cruises has already announced that its Crystal Clean + 3.0 program will require guests to complete a COVID test prior to departure for their cruise and provide a printed copy of their negative result at check-in. Failure to comply will result in denial of boarding. A second COVID test will also be required upon arrival at the pier and a negative test is necessary to board. Guests must also purchase travel insurance, either through Crystal or a third party.

CRYSTAL SYMPHONY AT SEA

Princess Cruises has also said a pre-travel COVID test will be required for guests and crew as well as health questionnaires, touchless temperature checks and secondary screenings and health checks throughout the cruise, when necessary. All MedallionClass ships (currently six, soon to be 11) will feature TrulyTouchless Embarkation with an app for completing the pre-cruise health questionnaire. The Medallion given to guests will even unlock their cabin door as they approach.

Holland America Line, Royal Caribbean and Cunard will also implement 100 per cent testing of all passengers and crew prior to boarding, plus health questionnaires and enhanced screening.

DINING AND BUFFET PROTOCOLS

First things first: The buffet isn’t totally going away. It’s just being tweaked for safety. Most cruise lines will offer buffet stations with masked crew members serving guests. Buffet stations on board Oceania, Crystal, Princess, Cunard and Royal Caribbean cruises will no longer be self-serve. Holland America Line, on the other hand, plans to convert buffet dining areas to service restaurants.

Dining capacity and smaller table configurations will also be adjusted and the timing, size and flow of guests in dining venues and bars will be managed. Likely, there will be increased room-service options. In addition, Cunard will ask guests to pre-reserve tables and guests will be permitted to dine only with their travelling group or companions.

GOING ASHORE

When cruising resumes, most cruise lines plan to require all passengers going ashore to do so on closely controlled excursions arranged by the ship with a smaller number of people allowed in each tour group. Mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing on buses and at attractions will be instituted. Holland America and Crystal have stated new shore excursion policies will be strictly mandated.

Oceania says it is working with destinations and tour operators around the globe to extend its health and safety protocols to cruise terminals, tour coaches and attractions. Princess is also working with local health authorities to introduce new protocols in every port, sanitize transportation and possibly reduce capacity on excursions. Royal Caribbean is extending their safety protocol to CocoCay, their private island in the Bahamas.

PERFECT DAY AT COCOCAY, THE PRIVATE ISLAND OF ROYAL CARIBBEAN IN THE BAHAMAS.

MASKS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING

Pack masks. They’ll be required when physical distancing isn’t possible on the ship and during shore excursions, although reduced passenger capacity should make social distancing somewhat easier. Safety drills will still be mandatory, but many lines have already re-engineered them so passengers can watch them on embarkation day on their cabin televisions.

When Royal Caribbean’s ships return, they will sail at 50 per cent occupancy. Oceania will limit the number of passengers onboard, implement a staggered embarkation process and reduce capacity in public areas. Some activities will also be modified to ensure social distancing. Fitness centres and spas will be affected, although most cruise lines are still finalizing the specifics. Cunard says it will operate its spas, salons, gyms, pools, casinos, shops, lounges and children’s clubs “subject to the latest approved guidelines to minimize contact, reduce the number of guests in each area, and maintain the highest levels of cleanliness.”

SOCIAL DISTANCING AT THE BAR

© PRINCESS CRUISES

CLEAN PRACTICES

There will be extra hand-sanitizer dispensers and hand-washing stations aboard all ships, but cruise lines are going further with enhanced cleaning protocols and air-filtration systems. Holland America Line will resume sailing with multipletimes-a-day cleaning procedures using safe disinfectants proven to kill the novel coronavirus, plus use emerging technologies in staterooms and public spaces. Oceania’s safety protocols include the strategic installation of H13 HEPA air filters capable of removing 99.9 per cent of airborne pathogens as well as total disinfection of its ships between sailings and 24/7 preventative disinfection of public areas and hightraffic touch points. Princess will sanitize both public spaces and staterooms with a disinfectant known to kill coronavirus and has upgraded its ships’ HVAC systems with MERV 13 filters to remove a large percentage of airborne particles. Royal Caribbean says that the air on its ships, continuously supplied from outside, is replaced every 12 to 15 minutes and that fan coil units in staterooms will scrub the air of pathogens using a MERV 13 filter that captures aerosols 0.3 to 1 micron in size with 90 per cent efficacy—fine enough to filter colds, flu germs and coronavirus.

While the exact cruise experience won’t be fully revealed until the industry enters its start-up phase, anyone booking a sailing in 2021 should expect life both onboard and off to mirror life back home, with plenty of preventative rules and regulations in place to keep everyone safe.