Temperature screening, distancing, deep cleaning and the end of self-service buffets are watchwords for the new era of cruising.
Norwegian Cruise Line became the first major line to reveal details of the health and safety protocols to be implemented once service resumes. They sound regimented, but they’re meant to be reassuring.
Norwegian said it has consulted with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on safety measures. Each ship will have a new staff position of public health officer, who will be responsible for overseeing screening and outbreak-prevention initiatives and for monitoring the daily sanitation of all public areas and guest accommodations.
Prior to boarding, all passengers and crew will undergo enhanced health screenings, Norwegian said. Those considered at risk will undergo additional screening. Staggered embarkation and online check-in will be implemented to allow for physical distancing.
To allow for adequate onboard social distancing, Norwegian will reduce passenger capacity and limit guest counts in public areas. Onboard activities and shows will be operated at a reduced capacity and in some cases “slightly modified in order to ensure safe social distancing.”
Norwegian said its ships will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected prior to every cruise with standards developed in partnership with the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program. Embarkation terminals will be sanitized continuously and, where possible, fogged before and after each embarkation and debarkation. During the cruise, all cabins, suites and public areas will be cleaned, sanitized and disinfected at an increased frequency, using electrostatic sprayers.
A “24/7 prevention schedule” will feature continuous disinfection of public areas and high-traffic touch points such as elevators. Buffets and beverage stations will be full-service with staff available to serve guests, Norwegian’s statement said.
The cruise line will also expect guests to frequently wash their hands, especially when entering food and beverage areas. “Hand sanitizer will be prominently placed and easily accessible throughout the ship,” Norwegian added.
“We will only visit safe, open ports of call which may cause changes to your itinerary,” Norwegian notes. It will partner with destinations and tour operators to extend the health and sanitation protocols on shore.
Norwegian said it will install equipment to do touchless temperature checks of guests when they return to the ship from a port of call as well as onboard before entering dining areas and public rooms as well as before disembarkation.
Physical changes to ships include medical-grade air filters that remove 99.95 per cent of airborne pathogens and each ship also will have isolation accommodations “should the need arise.” Increased medical teams will also be equipped with testing kits.
The cruise line said that the new protocols are “just the start of a wave of new technologies and enhancements we are rolling out, so that you can explore the world with the ultimate peace of mind.”
Norwegian is aiming at sailing again beginning Oct. 1, but Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings chairman Frank Del Rio is suggesting only a few ships a month will return to service, and the fleet wouldn’t likely be in full operation until the spring of 2021.
