The first US cruise ship to set sail from American shores in 15 months, Celebrity Edge, cast off from Fort Lauderdale last weekend on a seven-night cruise through the Gulf of Mexico, to Mexico and the Bahamas – but at under 40% of its capacity.
Celebrity Edge can normally take 2 900 passengers, but the Edge is the first ship to get CDC approval to sail from a US port, and RCI Group ceo, Richard Fain, who was on the voyage, said it was important to get things right, rather than move too fast.
CNN reporters on board reported that the cruise demonstrated quite a list of changes to the usual cruise experience familiar to many American guests – staggered arrival times for guests, no buffets, four ICU beds on board, and hand sanitisers prominent in all the public areas.
100% of staff are vaccinated, and also all passengers of eligible age. In order to gain approval to set sail, the Celebrity Edge had to ensure at least 95% of the people on board the Edge were vaccinated. Because currently children 11 and younger are not eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in the US, there were very few children on this cruise, said the CNN reporters.
The traditional first-day lifeboat drill, when passengers practise for an emergency, is now done through a series of video safety briefings on the cruise app. Passengers can check into their muster stations any time before 17h00, allowing them to avoid the usual crowds mustering for the drill.
On this cruise, at ports in Mexico and Bahamas where vaccination rates are low, passengers are only allowed on curated excursions, managed by Celebrity. Temperature checks will be required at the ports of call. Guests will not be able to participate in third-party excursions as they might have in the past. They will also be required to keep masks on both indoors and outdoors, while on these excursions, which are led by operators certified by local and state authorities.
According to the report, a sign is displayed in the boarding area, saying: ‘Healthy at Sea – Proof of vaccination will be recorded and may be reviewed for signs of fraud.’
