In a display of unity to get back to cruising, industry giants Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. have formed a collaboration to develop enhanced cruise health and safety standards in response to the global Covid-19 pandemic.
The companies have asked former Utah Governor Mike Leavitt and former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb to serve as co-chairs of a Healthy Sail Panel. The panel is tasked with developing recommendations for cruise lines to advance their public health response, improve safety, and achieve readiness for the safe resumption of operations.
The panel’s members are globally recognized experts from various disciplines, including public health, infectious disease, biosecurity, hospitality and maritime operations. They have been collaborating for nearly a month and will offer initial recommendations by the end of August.
The cruise lines said the work will be open source, and could be freely adopted by any company or industry that would benefit from the group’s scientific and medical insights. “This unprecedented disease requires us to develop unprecedented standards in health and safety,” said Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO 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.”
“We compete for the vacationing consumer’s business every day, but we never compete on health and safety standards,” said Frank Del Rio, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. “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.”
Fain and Del Rio said they initiated the panel to assure the plans they will submit to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other regulators apply the best available public health, science and engineering insights. The work of the panel will be shared with the entire industry and regulators.
“In convening the Healthy Sail Panel, we sought the participation of a diverse group of leading experts in areas of science and public health that are directly relevant to the considerations listed by the No Sail Order,” said Gov. Leavitt. “We view our work as a profoundly important public health effort. The health and safety of passengers, crew, and the communities that cruise ships visit will be the principal focus of this project.”
The guidelines are destined to become the industry standard, commented Kelly Craighead, president and CEO of Cruise Lines International Association, which represents all the major cruise lines.
“Health and safety are the highest priority for all CLIA cruise line members as demonstrated by this initiative on the part of two of our largest members. We commend this and parallel efforts of all of our members, large and small, who are working tirelessly to develop appropriate protocols based on input from health authorities and medical experts in the U.S. and abroad.”
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