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Rival cruise giants join to form new Covid-19 health standards

Royal Caribbean is the world second-largest cruise company - JAMES D MORGAN
Royal Caribbean is the world second-largest cruise company - JAMES D MORGAN

Two major cruise lines are putting aside their rivalries to collaborate on “enhanced cruise health and safety standards” in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings – which counts Regent Seven Seas, Oceania Cruises and the eponymous line among its brands – and Royal Caribbean Group, also parent company to Celebrity Cruises and Azamara, have brought together a group of experts for the Healthy Sail Panel, which will devise industry-wide recommendations for cruise lines on public health.

The response to Covid-19 is being examined by the experts, as well ways to improve safety and achieve readiness for the resumption of operations.

The group’s work will be ‘open source’ and could be adopted by any cruise line, a joint statement from the companies stated.

“This unprecedented disease requires us to develop unprecedented standards in health and safety,” said Richard Fain, the chairman and chief executive of Royal Caribbean Group.

“Bringing aboard these respected experts to guide us forward demonstrates our commitment to protecting our guests, our crews and the communities we visit.”

Norwegian Cruise Line plans to sail passengers again from October 1
Norwegian Cruise Line plans to sail passengers again from October 1

President and chief executive of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Frank Del Rio, said “We compete for the vacationing consumer’s business every day, but we never compete on health and safety standards.

“While the cruise industry has always had rigorous health standards, the unique challenges posed by Covid-19 provide an opportunity to raise the bar even higher.”

The panel has already been working for a month, the lines said, and initial recommendations are expected by the end of August.

Fain and Del Rio said they had set up the panel to make sure plans submitted to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other regulators “apply the best available public health, science and engineering insights”.

Former Utah Governor Mike Leavitt, who was also Secretary of the US Department Health and Human Services, and Dr Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, are co-chairs of the panel, which is comprised of professionals with experience in public health, infectious disease, biosecurity, hospitality and maritime operations.

The cruise operators, the second and third biggest lines in the world, voluntarily suspended their operations in March 2020 along with the rest of the industry. The Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings stable won’t resume sailing until at least October 1, while Royal Caribbean’s brands are looking to get passengers back on board from the middle of September.

Another line, MSC Cruises, has also formed a group of experts to work on enhanced protocols. It is their responsibility to “review policy initiatives, technical innovations, or operational measures related to Covid-19,” said executive chairman Pierfrancesco Vago.

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Last week, the European Union released interim guidelines for the cruise industry in an effort to help the restart of sailing across the continent.

The 49-page document recommends cruise operators develop a “strategy for reducing the risks for Covid-19 among cruise ship passengers and crew” which “should cover the entire process, beginning at the time of booking and extending until passengers and crew have returned to their homes.”

In the States, the CDC’s no-sail order expires on July 24 but member cruise lines of trade body CLIA have voluntarily extended their pause until September 15.