Tag Archives: Covid-19

Royal Caribbean Appoints Asia Pacific Director of Sales

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Royal Caribbean has announced the appointment of Kenneth Yeo as its regional director of sales for the Asia Pacific. The company said that the position is new and designed to drive growth in the region.

Yeo, who brings over two decades of commercial experience across diverse industries, will lead the trade, corporate, and retail sales teams based in Singapore, supporting the Asia Pacific region. He will also work closely with the trade marketing, and operations divisions.

Royal Caribbean said it has enjoyed exceptional engagement with its trade partners in recent years – working closely to deliver strong promotional campaigns, enabling valuable guest support, and navigating the challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Yeo will continue to build on this as the company gears up to progressively return to service across the region.

 Angie Stephen, managing director, Asia Pacific, Royal Caribbean International, said: “It is time to expand our senior leadership team and we are thrilled to welcome Kenneth onboard. His wide-ranging experience and leadership roles – both locally and internationally – together with his understanding of the diverse needs of consumers across the region will be invaluable to Royal Caribbean. The region holds tremendous opportunity for growth. Kenneth will be key to driving collaboration with our trade partners, who remain instrumental in providing added value to us and our guests.”

Yeo also commented: “Embarking on this journey with Royal Caribbean is certainly a career-defining moment for me. I look forward to steering the team to even more extraordinary wins, building on our successes to further the growth of the cruising industry amidst and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Cruising is back and will be better than ever.”

Here Are Royal Caribbean’s New Protocols for July Cruises Aboard the Freedom of the Seas

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Royal Caribbean International has confirmed its health and safety protocols for the Freedom of the Seas and its July sailings from Miami.

The company said it strongly recommends that all guests 16 and older be fully vaccinated and that at check-in, guests will be asked to provide documentation of their vaccination, such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card.

Those who are 16 and older and do not have or are unable to provide documentation will be considered unvaccinated.

Unvaccinated guests must undergo additional COVID-19 testing per the following:

  • As a requirement to sail with Royal Caribbean, all unvaccinated guests must undergo multiple COVID-19 tests. Testing at the terminal prior to embarkation and onboard prior to disembarkation will be conducted by licensed and accredited third-party testing providers that the company have contracted.
  • Unvaccinated guests must register for this testing and agree to the third-party testing provider terms and conditions. Registration details will be sent via email in advance.
  • The total charge from the third-party testing vendor for these tests is $136. This amount will be applied to the guest’s onboard expense account. Royal Caribbean will pay the testing vendor(s) on the guest’s behalf and will not retain any part of the testing costs. For children not yet eligible to be vaccinated, the company will cover the cost of any required testing.

The testing requirements for unvaccinated guests:

Pre-Cruise

Unvaccinated guests 16 years of age and older will need to undergo an RT-PCR test administered by an accredited laboratory of the guest’s choice, and taken within three days of sailing. Royal Caribbean said it will require documentation of a negative result for this test prior to embarkation. All costs for this test are the unvaccinated guest’s responsibility.

At the Terminal

Unvaccinated guests 2 years of age and older are required to take an RT-PCR test when checking in at the terminal, which will be administered by testing vendors. Registration details will be sent via email in advance.

Prior to Disembarking

While onboard, unvaccinated guests 2 years of age and older will be required to undergo antigen testing within 24 hours of disembarking at the end of the voyage. This test will be conducted the day before the cruise ends by one of the company’s testing vendors. Guests will be notified on board about how to register for this test.

The Cruise Experience

  • Royal Caribbean said that vaccinated and unvaccinated guests are required to wear masks indoors unless seated and actively eating or drinking.
  • Masks are not required in a guest’s stateroom when they are with their travelling party, outdoors, or at Perfect Day at CocoCay, unless in a crowded setting. Guests under the age of 2 do not need to wear a mask.
  • Masks won’t be required for vaccinated guests when in venues (bars, lounges, restaurants and entertainment) or at events designated for vaccinated guests only.
  • In the coming days, the company said it is expecting updated guidance from the CDC on mask policies for vaccinated guests and may revise these protocols.
  • Venues will be set up with proper spacing and Royal Caribbean said it would ask guests to abide by physical distancing, especially when interacting with those outside of their travelling party.
  • SeaPass cards will be required to access lounges, shows and dining venues.
  • All dining venues will offer spaced seating. The company said it is “strongly encouraging” guests to make dining reservations via Cruise Planner before the cruise or the Royal Caribbean app onboard.
  • In the Main Dining Room, the company said it will designate areas for vaccinated and unvaccinated reservations to dine separately.
  • My Time Dining will not be available to unvaccinated guests. In addition, while Windjammer will be open, the food will be served by the ship’s crew
  • Venues will offer spaced seating and more showtimes throughout the sailing. Select showtimes will be for vaccinated guests and others for vaccinated and unvaccinated guests. More information will be provided onboard.
  • All guests are subject to restrictions and requirements as defined by local authorities in the ports the ship visits. “It is reasonable to expect that unvaccinated guests will be subject to stricter protocols than vaccinated guests,” the company said.

Crew Members Go Months Without Shore Leave During Pandemic

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Some crew members working back onboard have not stepped a foot ashore for months, according to Cruise Industry News’ research.

Employees of AIDA, Norwegian Cruise Line and Marella Cruises, and other major cruise lines have said on the grounds of anonymity that they have largely not been allowed to leave the cruise ship they’re working on, with one crew member admitting that this left him feeling “pretty depressed.” Some crew interviewed asked not to identify their ships or employers. 

An employee working on the Norwegian Jade said that he and his fellow crew members have been on board for two months with only one shore leave – for vaccination purposes.

“We left the ship escorted with busses to get our vaccinations done where there were military police. Once vaccinations got done, we were escorted back to our bus to go straight back to the ship,” he said.

“Everyone was assigned to a group with a leader and counted before (boarding) the bus and on the bus,” he added.

However, according to him, Norwegian’s no-shore-leave policy will be re-evaluated once the ship cruises with guests for two months.

“Shore leave might be discussed,” he said. “If a crew member is coming to travel, bring a long lens camera because right now it’s about staying healthy while supporting our families.”

A crew member with a major cruise line also said that he was not allowed to go onshore.

“Before the pandemic, crew shore leave was allowed whenever crew member was off duty, with shuttle buses organized more or less every 30 minutes, or you could go on your own,” he explained.

An employee working on a Marella cruise ship for the last two months said that he was lucky to be able to go ashore before shore leave was banned entirely.

“I have been ashore once for 30 mins, which was strictly to buy essentials and come straight back. Shortly after, shore leave was banned entirely by the company because they are restarting operations soon, and they worry that if a crew member brought COVID onboard they wouldn’t be able to have passengers,” he said.

“I’ll be on board for another few months but highly doubt I’ll be able to go ashore again,” he added.

According to him, prior to the pandemic, crew members could go ashore “more or less every day.” Not being able to leave the ship, as well as lack of socialization, is making crew members “pretty depressed,” he said.

However, other crew members were more optimistic.

“Shopping-wise, the cruise lines have brought the necessities onboard to purchase. They also have agreements with Amazon and port agents so that you can still purchase personal items online. Ships need to stay in the guidelines right now in order to keep us up and running,” one crew member said.