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Earlier this week, the cruise industry Healthy Sail Panel published a list of 74 protocols that cruise lines will put in place in order to start sailing again. The list is 65 pages long and includes a variety of protocols such as:
–Negative Covid tests for crew and guests prior to boarding
–Facemasks for guests and crew
–Physical distancing on board
–Cruise line sponsored excursions only
–Increased ventilation and filtration systems
You can read a summary of all 74 protocols here.
The travel industry is all abuzz with excitement that this list will finally nudge the CDC to lift the current no-sail order.
My Issue with the List
I agree with all of the recommendations from the Healthy Sail Panel. Will it be a pain in the butt to get on a cruise ship? Yes, definitely. But, I know that die-hard cruise fans will still go through the trouble to resume their favorite vacation.
My big issue with the protocols is the enforcement of the safety measures, particularly the enforcement of wearing face masks. Based on what I see in my city, people are quick to ditch the mask or wear it below the nose. I saw this happen on my flights this past summer, even though flight attendants kept repeating over the loudspeaker that masks must be worn over the nose.
When cruisers become lax with the mask wearing, I doubt that cruise employees will enforce it. Why? Because the crew depends on high survey results and high tips for survival. They won’t want to piss off guests by constantly reminding them of the rules.
So while this list of protocols looks good on paper, in practice I believe it will be very hard to implement and enforce correctly. I still plan to wait until after I get a vaccine to board a cruise ship.
What do you think of the safety protocols? Is the list enough for the CDC? Will guests comply with he mask requirements?
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
As for mask enforcement, it can be done. Our local amusement park requires that masks are worn properly, and it is enforced. It’s rare to see someone not wearing it properly. Social distancing is also enforced and widely followed. But this is also an outdoor destination with plenty of space.
As for the cruise guidelines… smoke and mirrors.
Even if they come up with a 100% accurate rapid test before boarding, people still get off the ship in ports. Are they going to test again before boarding? If they do and you test positive, you’re stranded. I love cruising, but… hard pass.
@projectx I’m glad your local amusement park is enforcing masks. Those employees don’t rely on customer tips, though, so I feel like they are more likely to correct guest behavior than on cruise ships.
Cruising will return probably no later than January but I think the mask mandate and the issue of what happens will be two of the biggest impediments to the commercial success of cruising. The requirement to take only cruise line sponsored excursions will be a deal breaker for some as well. I know personally I will not cruise as long as there is a mask mandate. I could probably fill a blog with posts on the mask issue alone but in brief I agree that enforcement will be an issue. Masks are uncomfortable and extended wearing is problematic for some people. Combine that with being on vacation in probably a warm locale and you are going to get poor compliance whether it be not wearing it or wearing it improperly.
I also would worry what happens if there is case during the trip. The affected people may be allowed off but what about everyone else? Is the trip effectively over because ports will not allow passengers to come ashore?
My opinion is that cruising will not really return until there is a vaccine and the mask mandates go away. Forcing healthy people to wear a mask signals they do not think it is safe and besides we all know that cruise ships are petri dishes. When the mask mandates go away the other issues will be gone as well.
I wouldn’t cruise with the mask mandate either. I also wouldn’t like it if I only had to take their excursions. No thanks to cruising for now – too many restrictions for me.
Also, I wouldn’t count on that vaccine being even 50% effective and to get that you’d probably need more than 1 dose.
@Lynn It does sound like the vaccine will be 2 doses. I’ll still take it. I want to resume traveling asap.
I work in a public service job and I can tell you from observation that mask rules will not be followed until their is a clear policy communicated to all as to what will happen when someone is caught not following the policy–until that happens, everyone will do exactly what they feel like doing.
Draconian enforcement of a mask mandate will just cause many people to not cruise and the people most onboard with masks are, or at least should be, the ones least likely to take a cruise given that it is high up on the list of risky activities. A catch-22 for the cruise industry for sure.