The CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, Richard Fain, has highlighted the changing times since the CDC’s conditional sail order in October and hopes for a more topical approach to the resumption of cruising.
“The CDC issued the conditional sale order last October in an effort to provide a path for cruising to reopen in the United States … When the conditional sale order was written, there were no vaccines. The disease was on an upward trajectory and heading towards a terrible peak. Testing was less available and more costly, and therapeutics were limited. In general, the situation looked very bleak back then,” Fain said in a video post on social media.
“Last October, preparing for resumption service based on extensive protocols made good sense. But today, a vaccine approach makes much more sense than this old protocol-based approach. The vaccines are bringing down the incidence of COVID-19 in society; the testing enables us to catch cases early. And the preparation we’re doing allows us to handle individual cases safely and simply,’ he added.
Fain said that he expects that the CDC will take these changes into consideration.
“We look forward to a constructive dialogue with health officials in the United States and elsewhere, for the path forward under these new circumstances,” he said.
According to Fain, 100,000 cruisers have sailed aboard Royal Caribbean Group’s ships since the pandemic started, with 10 having tested positive for the coronavirus.
“And all of them have been handled smoothly and without undue disruption of other guests’ cruises. And without undue burden on the communities and the governments involved,’ he said. “Our experience with these 100,000 guests is a very powerful proof of concept. In essence, we’ve just had 100,000 test cruisers and demonstrated that the process works.”
The cruise industry overall has carried more than 350,000 passengers since the pandemic with “minimal disruption,” he added.
“This is precisely what we thought would be the case. And now it is the most powerful and reliable evidence in multiple real-world settings,” he said. “No longer are we talking about when will cruising restart cruising has already restarted.”
Fain also said that Royal Caribbean’s post-pandemic cruises have received higher ratings from guests than pre-pandemic.
Fain also stated that the coronavirus vaccines are a “gamechanger,” but he can’t say yet if all Royal Caribbean sailings will require them from guests.
“We have announced three cruises that will require inoculations for all adults, and there are likely to be more. But each circumstance is different. And I would note that the cruises we are currently operating are operating without requiring vaccines,” he said.
Fain finally called on people not to become complacent, as letting “our guard down” and stopping to take simple precautions would cause another spike.
“I, therefore, encourage all of you to get your vaccine, follow the CDC advice, and we can be sailing in time to meet President Biden’s goal of reopening society in time for the Fourth of July,” he concluded
In a major blow to the Alaska and Canada/New England cruise markets, Canada announced a year-long ban on cruise ships.
This applies to ships carrying more than 100 people through Feb. 28, 2022, and means a stunning double-season hiatus in some of cruising’s key destinations following the cancellation of Alaska and Canada/New England cruising in 2020.
Great Lakes, St. Lawrence and Canadian Arctic expedition cruises are also impacted.
Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra issued the new guidance with the view to keeping Canadians and transportation workers safe and healthy as top priorities.
The risk to health care systems
The government said cruise vessels in Canadian waters pose a risk to health care systems, adding it will continue to evaluate the situation and make changes as necessary to ensure the health and safety of Canadians.
Orders could be rescinded if situation changes
Should the COVID-19 pandemic sufficiently improve to allow the resumption of these activities, the minister of transport has the ability to rescind the interim orders.
‘As Canadians continue to do their part to reduce the spread of COVID-19, our government continues to work hard to ensure Canada’s transportation system remains safe. Temporary prohibitions to cruise vessels and pleasure craft are essential to continue to protect the most vulnerable among our communities and avoid overwhelming our health care systems. This is the right and responsible thing to do,’ Alghabra said.
Advice against Canadians taking cruises
Canada also reiterated its advice to citizens and permanent residents to avoid all travel on cruise ships outside Canada until further notice.
Arctic coastal waters
In addition, adventure-seeking pleasure craft remains prohibited from entering Arctic waters, and passenger vessels carrying more than 12 people are still prohibited from entering Arctic coastal waters, including Nunatsiavut, Nunavik and the Labrador Coast.
There is no national ban for smaller cruise ships certified to carry 100 or fewer people. They must follow provincial, territorial, local and regional health authority protocols for timelines and processes around their operations.
Transport Canada said essential passenger vessels, such as ferries and water taxis, should continue to follow local public health guidance and protocols, and follow mitigation measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and prevent future outbreaks.
Carnival Corp. looking at options to preserve part of Alaska season
Carnival Corp. & plc expressed its disappointment, noting that if the extension is not amended as pandemic conditions improve, or through action by US authorities, the company’s brands will have to cancel their Alaska and Canada/New England seasons.
‘Given the unexpected length of the order, it will take us some time to assess whether there are any options to preserve a portion of the 2021 Alaska season,’ the company said in a statement. ‘We will be consulting authorities in both the US and Canada before we take any additional action.’
Carnival added the cruise industry has demonstrated its commitment to health and safety by developing extensive protocols in consultation with a panel of world-class medical experts, to be implemented when service resumes.
‘In addition, we recognize our importance to the economic health of many Alaskan communities and will continue to pursue any option which might permit safe operation of any portion of the season,’ the company continued.
Denali, Fairbanks, Kenai lodges will operate
Though Carnival Corp.’s cruise program is uncertain, the company committed to operating its Denali, Fairbanks and Kenai lodges this summer to support land vacations in Alaska’s interior and help fellow Alaska businesses and the thousands of people who rely on the tourism industry.
‘While this is beyond our control, we remain committed to operating any portion of our Alaska season and we are hopeful that positive progress relative to the pandemic accelerates to the point that the Canadian transport minister will rescind the interim order and allow cruise vacations to resume in 2021,’ Carnival said.
NCLH isn’t cancelling cruises visiting Canada yet
Meanwhile, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is ‘currently studying the order and its implications’ and has not cancelled cruises that visit Canadian ports.
‘We are currently exploring several initiatives that may allow such cruises to continue, especially for the important Alaska season,’ the company said. ‘Given the fluidity of the current environment, we will also continue to work with the Canadian government to amend their current suspension.’
Royal Caribbean Group
Royal Caribbean Group said only: ‘We understand and appreciate the Canadian government’s focus on combatting COVID-19. The health and safety of our guests, crew and communities we visit is our top priority. Royal Caribbean Group is ready to work with health and transportation officials on a path forward to address the impact on multiple sectors of the Canadian economy.
‘We will be reaching out to our guests and travel partners with more information on future plans.’
Great Lakes reaction
Reacting to the news, Stephen Burnett, executive director of The Great Lakes Cruise Association, said: ‘We respect this decision by Transport Canada on behalf of the federal government. The Great Lakes Cruise Association is working closely with the Association of Canadian Port Authorities’ Cruise Committee who have launched a historic initiative that brings together all ports and regional authorities, regional associations and other cruise ports from across Canada as one voice engaged in meaningful dialogue and to provide input into the government of Canada for the eventual resumption of cruise activity in Canada.
‘Together our industry is optimistic that, when the time is right and it is safe to do so, the cruise will be back. At that point, we will look forward to welcoming cruise lines, their guests and crew back to our port cities and local communities.’
Vancouver and economic impact
The Port of Vancouver concurred, voicing its support for the direction of Transport Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada while adding it will work together with other Canadian cruise ports through the Association of Canadian Port Authorities to develop ‘consistent national safety protocols for the resumption of cruising across Canada as soon as conditions allow.’
The port added that Vancouver’s cruise industry will be critical to the region’s recovery. Cruising stimulates $3.17m indirect economic activity for each ship that calls at Canada Place and $2.2bn of total economic impact.
How Cruise the Saint Lawrence will use the pause
During this pause, Cruise the Saint Lawrence said it will push forward with the development of a Health Safety Plan as well as a Sustainable Development Strategy to ensure that all sectoral players enjoy a safe, profitable and sustainable relaunch in 2022.
‘The outlook for the resumption of activities in 2022 appears positive,’ the association continued, ‘with 200 port bookings to date, representing an estimated 300,000 passenger-days for our member ports of call, significant economic benefits for the tourism industry as a whole and 100,000 overnight stays for hotels in Québec and Montréal.’
According to Tony Boemi, president of Cruise the Saint Lawrence, ‘This latest pause will enable us to continue work on innovative passenger and ship greeting initiatives. In this regard, the implementation of our Sustainable Development Strategy has begun. This strategy is designed to help us rethink how we do what we do, enhance our contribution to socioeconomic vitality in Québec and preserve local ecosystems.’
On Jan. 25, 2020, the cruise industry saw the start of the events that left the industry with damages it’s still recovering from. Cruise lines started cancelling their sailings due to the outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan and around China.
Citing urgent guidelines from the Chinese government to combat the spread of the coronavirus, Costa Crociere, MSC, Royal Caribbean and Genting Cruise Lines all suspended their cruise operations in mainland China on Jan. 25, 2020.
Ships marking a year without passengers:
Astro Ocean’s Piano Land.
MSC’s Splendida.
Genting’s SuperStar Gemini.
Costa’s Serena, Atlantica and Venezia, plus the neoRomantica which has since been sold to Celestyal.
Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas.
February continued as cruise lines first banned or put in restrictions for passengers from specific countries.
Then countries in Asia started to shut down to tourism and cruise lines issued non-stop itinerary changes for immediate and future sailings, and slowly relaxed booking and refund policies.
Even more, cruises were cancelled in Asia on Feb. 15, 2020, following the outbreak onboard the Diamond Princess in Japan,
Princess Cruises later reacted to the growing spread of the coronavirus in Asia and worldwide by pausing all of its ship operations for 60 days from March 12, 2020. On the same day, Celestyal Cruises also announced it was suspending operations.
AmaWaterways and Avalon Waterways (as well as its sister brands Globus, Cosmos and Monograms) said they were taking a voluntary pause in operations, too.
On March 13, 2020, the Canadian government announced it would be deterring the start of its cruise season (normally in April) to at least July. The ban was then extended twice, the last time until February 2021, which will make Canada cruise less for nearly a whole year.
Also on March 13, 2020, Windstar Cruises stated it would be suspending its sailings through April 30, 2020.
On March 14, 2020, CDC issued a No Sail Order and Suspension of Further Embarkation for cruise ships in waters subject to U.S. jurisdiction; the No Sail Order was extended on April 9, 2020, July 16, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2020, as cruise lines continued announcing more and more cancelled cruises affected by the order.
July 2020 saw the start of the long-awaited cruise resumptions in Europe with TUI Cruises starting on July 24, MSC on Aug. 16 onboard the Grandiosa and on Oct. 20 onboard the Magnifica, Costa Crociere on Sept. 6, and AIDA Cruises on Oct. 17. Mystic Cruises restarted sailing in early September under its Nicko brand. And in Asia, Dream Cruises’ World Dream has been operating short cruises to nowhere since Nov. 6.
Sadly, the pandemic claimed the lives of the following brands: Pullmantur Cruceros, Cruise & Maritime Voyages, FTI, Blount Small Ship Adventures, and Jalesh Cruises, while a record-high 13 ships were reduced to scrapping in 2020.
However, new brands – such as Swan Hellenic and Tradewind Voyages – were born in 2020, too.
And while safe returns demonstrated by TUI, MSC and other cruise lines give hope already, cruise lovers around the world are still patiently waiting for other brands to join. And, with the No Sail Order being replaced with the Conditional Framework in late 2020, it looks like these times may be just around the corner.
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