Covid tests and champagne – first international cruise since lockdown leaves Britain

A British couple have spoken about their experience boarding the first international cruise to call at a UK port since lockdown.

Ben and David Hewitt-McDonald were among 19 passengers who embarked SeaDream I in Portsmouth yesterday for a 17-day transatlantic voyage to Barbados.

The pair, who run a YouTube cruising channel, had to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coronavirus test within 72 hours before boarding. Ben, 36, said: “We anxiously waited as the whole trip was depending on the tests. It was a relief to get negative results back on Saturday evening.

“Check-in was really smooth – a completely touch-free process with all staff wearing full PPE and clear social distancing. While our baggage was sprayed down and disinfected with a misting gun, our temperatures were taken as well as blood oxygen readings.”

Husband David, 31, added: “We were then retested for Covid-19 with a rapid PCR test by the ship's doctor and about 15 minutes later we were cleared to board the ship. We were incredibly excited.

“After another quick temperature check, we were through security and boarding the ship. Approaching the gangway we were required to sanitise our hands and have our shoes disinfected. Once on board we were greeted by big smiles and a glass of champagne.”

The couple from Norfolk, known for their YouTube videos on Cruise With Ben & David, said it was the first time they had been on a ship for eight months. Ben said: “The crew are wonderful and obviously very excited to see guests back on board. The ship itself is spotlessly clean – we feel much safer than we do on land.

“Leaving Portsmouth was quite emotional – while social distancing we raised a glass with our fellow passengers as we were finally back to the place we love most. The atmosphere on board is very upbeat, everyone has been waiting a long time for this moment. This is going to be an epic trip.”

It certainly will be. First the ship, which normally takes 112 passengers but is thought to be carrying fewer than 40, will take five days to sail to Madeira, which only decided to allow cruise ships to dock again on Friday.

Then it’s another nine sea days before the passengers see land again – at Kingstown, the capital of St Vincent and the Grenadines. After a day on neighbouring Mayreau, the smallest inhabited island of the Grenadines, they will arrive at Bridgetown, Barbados, on November 5.

Every day during the voyage, the guests will have their temperatures checked and their cabins will be misted and treated with UV light to kill bacteria and viruses.

Ben said: “We are looking forward to the sea days and being away from all the negative news around Covid and Brexit, to be cut off from the world for a few days.

“It’s going to get warmer the further south we travel and we will be resting, clearing our minds, eating some lovely food and enjoying the beautiful sunsets and sunrises at sea.”

In Barbados, which is on the UK’s exempt list, Ben and David will not have to quarantine as they are "transiting" and flying straight home, though they will still be required to produce their negative Covid-19 tests.

When SeaDream I arrives at the island it will become the first cruise line to begin sailing in the Caribbean on November 7 – other lines, such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line, have pushed back their restart dates until December following the extension of the US no-sail ban to October 31.

However, SeaDream, a Norwegian-based family-owned company founded in 1987, has been used to setting ‘firsts’ during the Covid-19 crisis. It was also the first luxury line to restart operations in June in Norway with SeaDream I, which was joined a week later by sister ship SeaDream II (the line prefers to call them "yachts").

The latest voyage began in Oslo on Friday and picked up more passengers in Rotterdam before arriving in Portsmouth.

Ian Diaper, the port’s head of operations said: “It’s testament to everyone’s hard work that SeaDream Yacht Club was confident to use Portsmouth as the first UK port to manage a turnaround call since sailings were suspended. It was great to see a cruise ship in the port once more and pleased to see operations go to plan.”

SeaDream ships are much more suited to the balmy waters of the Mediterranean or the Caribbean than a transatlantic crossing. Most meals are taken outside on deck, there’s a popular bar at the top of the yacht and guests can even sleep outside on Balinese beds wearing monogrammed pyjamas.

Though the ship is tiny compared to some of the giants that sail the Caribbean, it tends to anchor off shore and send passengers to less-visited beaches on rigid-inflatable boats. Guests can also use a marina at the back of the ship that includes a banana boat, jet skis and paddleboards.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office still advises against ocean cruising and no firm date has yet been set for the first British-based cruise line to sail.

But Ian Diaper in Portsmouth said: “The UK ports are ready, the cruise lines are ready, the framework agreement is in place and the travelling public have shown the confidence to return – surely it's now only a matter of time.”