Never has one sailing meant so much to so many.
Saturday, Celebrity Edge became the first large ship to sail from a U.S. port on a revenue cruise in well over a year.
Richard Fain, chairman and CEO of the Royal Caribbean Group, the parent company of Celebrity, was aboard and posted a video with his ecstatic response to the sailing while standing on the bridge. (Don’t miss the rendition of “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning!”)
Throughout the pandemic, Fain has been posting videos for the travel trade from his backyard in South Florida. This one was the first on board a ship.
“This is the first cruise and just one cruise, but it’s the start of something huge,” he said.
Celebrity Edge sailed on schedule Saturday evening, and Fain is onboard for the sailing. It’s operating at roughly 41 per cent occupancy; reportedly with fewer than 1200 guests.
Cruise Week’s correspondent aboard the Edge reports Celebrity explaining, “the reduced capacity sailings will allow for natural social distancing.”
Allan Brooks, director of Market Sales in Canada for Celebrity Cruises, told Open Jaw, "Today marks a great day for our brand, our company and the entire cruise industry. Celebrity Cruises was chosen to be the first cruise line to sail out of the US and we are very proud of this honour.
"Our leadership and all employees have spent the past 15 months working very hard towards this day and while this is an incredible moment, it also bring a great deal of responsibility. We have stayed in close contact with the CDC and US Gov. to ensure we were well aligned and our protocols we above and beyond what was requested or required. With a robust list of procedures, training and retro fitting the ships we are confident in a very successful return the cruising. After experiencing a number of successful cruises out of St. Maarten we know we are prepared to handle a wide variety of scenarios to ensure the safety and health of our guests and crews safety."
Fain does reportedly admit there’s still “confusion” about safety regulations. As Open Jaw reported, stuck between a rock and a hard place with Florida’s ban on requiring proof of vaccination and the CDC’s requirement that ships must sail with 95 per cent of vaccinated guests in order to qualify for relaxed regulations like no mask mandates and being able to go ashore independently, Celebrity found a narrow path to satisfy both.
As Celebrity’s president and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo said last week prior to the sailing, the cruise line is “allowed to ask” for proof of vaccination. “And if people say, ‘No, I'm not, or I choose not to tell you,’ then that's fine. We treat them as a non-vaccinated guest.”
If they hit that 5 per cent threshold of non-vaccinated guests, Perlo revealed Celebrity’s plan. “We're closing the sailing.”
Backing up Perlo’s assertion that by far the majority of cruise guests want to sail on vaccinated cruises, Cruise Industry News reports that measure was not necessary. “All guests are reported to be vaccinated except for two adults and 24 children, while 100 percent of crew onboard have been vaccinated, most having been inoculated shoreside at Port Everglades over the course of the last month.”
On board the Edge on Saturday, Fain reminded everyone this is just the beginning for the family of cruise lines – and indeed, the entire cruise industry.
Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas departs on her first revenue cruise on 02JUL from Miami, and other ships from other lines are queuing up to follow suit.
Free Testing on Board "to ensure Canadians are in compliance for a safe return home."
Canada's Brooks adds that, from a Canadian point of view, "July fifth will mark another great day for the travel industry as a whole, easing the border restrictions. Fully vaccinated guests will be able to cruise again and we are here to welcome them with open arms. While the need to quarantine is gone, some restrictions are still in place. Testing prior to return and testing at the border being at the top of the list, the good news is that we are offering free PCR testing onboard at the end of the cruise to ensure Canadians are in compliance for a safe return home.
"We are thrilled to be back to doing what we love and see our guests back onboard enjoying the service, the food and the beautiful destinations we visit. We also know our valued travel partners are standing by to take calls and start booking again," he told Open Jaw, with this resounding final word:
"We are back, baby!"
