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Royal Caribbean and its sister line Celebrity Cruises have both announced they are relaunching their services in June – but say passengers can only travel if they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The move ends a yearlong forced hiatus following the outbreak of the pandemic.
But the decision to only allow vaccinated customers on board has sparked calls to boycott firms from some, who say the cruise line are ‘eroding freedoms’.
Vaccine critic Dr. Simone Gold tweeted: ‘WOW: @RoyalCaribbean cruises is now requiring you to get an experimental vaccine to book a cruise with them.
‘I will be boycotting the company instead. Who else is with me? #BoycottRC’
Jan Nolin said: ‘@RoyalCaribbean my medical information is none of your business! I won’t be patronizing any business that requires my personal health information.’
Another Twitter user, Shelley Orr, added: ‘Our freedoms are eroding right before our very eyes!!’
Royal Caribbean and its sister line Celebrity Cruises have both announced they are relaunching their services in June. Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas cruise ship is moored at Marina Bay Cruise Center after a passenger tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during a cruise to nowhere, in Singapore, December 9, 2020
The move ends a yearlong forced hiatus following the outbreak of the pandemic. The Celebrity Infinity Cruise ship returns to PortMiami from a cruise in the Caribbean as the world deals with the coronavirus outbreak on March 14, 2020 in Miami, Florida
But the decision to only allow vaccinated customers on board has sparked calls to boycott firms from some, who say the cruise line are ‘eroding freedoms’
The Celebrity Millennium ship will relaunch on June 5 from St. Maarten.
One itinerary will stop in Aruba, Curacao and Barbados, and another will stop in Tortola, St. Lucia and Barbados.
Royal Caribbean Group’s namesake line will start a week later with a voyage leaving from Nassau, the Bahamas on the Adventure of the Seas.
Passengers will also have to adhere to the requirements of the country they visit.
Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International called the vaccines ‘a game changer’.
He added: ‘With the number of vaccinations and their impact growing rapidly, we believe starting with cruises for vaccinated adult guests and crew is the right choice.
‘As we move forward, we expect this requirement and other measures will inevitably evolve over time’
Celebrity Cruises CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo said returning to the Caribbean ‘marks the measured beginning of the end of what has been a uniquely challenging time for everyone.’
She told Good Morning America that all guests and crew over the age of 18 must be fully vaccinated with the COVID-19 shot. Children will be required to show a negative PCR test within 72 hours of their cruise.
With the Caribbean such a popular destination, ‘It´s not entirely surprising to see both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean finding a way to return to the region,’ said Colleen McDaniel, editor or Cruise Critic, a website that reviews cruises.
‘But it is massive news for the cruise industry, and for the Caribbean itself.’
In the Dutch Caribbean country of St. Maarten, tourism accounts for nearly 80% of all jobs, and nearly 80% of tourists arrive on cruise ships.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has held up cruise ship operations in U.S. waters since March 2020, although it has laid out guidelines for cruises to resume with conditional sailing certificates.
It notes: ‘CDC recommends that all people avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises, worldwide, because the risk of COVID-19 on cruise ships is very high.
‘It is especially important that people with an increased risk of severe illness avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises.
‘Cruise passengers are at increased risk of person-to-person spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, and outbreaks of COVID-19 have been reported on cruise ships.’
Men wearing protective gear are seen near the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where 10 more people were tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan February 7, 2020
Passengers disembark the Royal Caribbean International’s cruise ship Ovation of the Seas after it arrived in Sydney Harbor after returning from New Zealand 16 December 2019
The Caribbean is a popular destination for American customers.
So is Alaska, but the Canadian government has banned cruise ships carrying more than 100 passengers through February 2022, which will stop many ships from visiting Alaska this summer.
The ships accounted for most of Alaska’s 1.3 million visitors in 2019, before the pandemic.
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