Royal Caribbean’s test cruise gets green signal from CDC

if 95% of the crew and 95% of passengers are fully vaccinated, so there will be no need for a test cruise

27th of May 2021

Dominica welcomes its first Seabourn Odyssey at Woodbridge Bay Port on Tuesday

Now Royal Caribbean international can run a simulated cruise with volunteers after getting permission from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After giving rejections to many ships since March 2020 now the United States given green signal to first cruise of Royal Caribbean.

“To all our colleagues, loyal guests and supporters all over the world, I am proud and pleased to share some bright and wonderful news!” Royal Caribbean International CEO Michael Bayley wrote on his public Facebook pages and an image of the approval letter from the CDC.

Freedom of the Seas will start its sailing from June 20 to 22 from Port Miami.

The agencies in April said that if 95% of the crew and 95% of passengers are fully vaccinated, so there will be no need for a test cruise.

“During these meetings, participants asked questions and discussed the fastest path back to sailing without compromising safety CDC and the cruise industry agree that the industry has what it needs to move forward, and no additional roadblocks exist for resuming sailing by mid-summer.”

Much about Royal Caribbean’s voyage is still unknown: How many people will be on board, how they will be chosen, what will happen on the ship and where it will stop. The CDC says the ship must carry at least 10% of the maximum number that will be allowed to sail on its first two non-test cruises.

Freedom of the Seas can carry 3,934 passengers with two people to a room, but it’s unclear how much capacity will be reduced initially.
“There are logistics to figure out, and we will share details once they have been worked through,” Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Lyan Sierra-Caro said in an email.

Royal Caribbean hasn’t specified what its requirements for test cruise passengers will be. The company has said it will require all crew and passengers over 16 to be fully vaccinated for cruises to Alaska starting in July if those get CDC approval. Everyone 12 and older on those cruises will have to be fully vaccinated as of Aug. 1.

The CDC said that the volunteer passengers should be 18 years old or more and they should be fully vaccinated. In case they are not vaccinated, they should be confirmed that they are not at a high risk of COVID-19, and The passengers should produce a negative COVID-19 PCR test before starting the voyage.