Royal Caribbean Chairman and CEO Richard Fain has released yet another video for travel advisors, in which he presents an optimistic, reassuring tone.
Fain, wearing an “I Voted!” sticker, said the cruise industry is grateful for the conditional framework to allow the resumption of sailing issued on Oct. 30 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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“This is really a big deal and we are really very excited about what the future holds for us,” he said. “It’s not the end of the journey but it is an important milestone on that journey and it provides a clear pathway for our resumption of service. Boy, it certainly feels good to be able to say that!”
He said the 74 recommendations provided by the Healthy Sail Panel – which RCG did in concert with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings – figured in the CDC’s response.
They “have been embraced by our company, endorsed by the entire cruise industry, and clearly helped persuade the CDC that we have a thoughtful and comprehensive plan to resume service in a safe and healthy manner and we’re ready to do it,” Fain said.
In fact, he said, the plan’s main goal was to define a way to make a cruise ship “a healthier environment with less risk of disease than Main Street USA.”
He said he envies businesses that can more easily reopen and outlined the steps cruise lines will take.
“We have to train our crew in the new procedures, and we have to get them safely back to our ships this includes having every one of them take multiple COVID tests before they leave home and after they arrive to their homeport and then engaging in a quarantine period after they’ve done all the testing.”
Then, he said, “we have to reposition our ships, update their certifications, provision them, make physical modifications to support the physical distancing and upgrade the medical care onboard. And, most significantly, we are committed to and the framework calls for a series of trial sailings where we will road test all of our new protocols using employees and other volunteers to stand in for guests. At every step of the way, we will be making tweaks and modifications to make sure that things run smoothly.”
He acknowledged again that it is a slow road back to cruising again. “After an exceedingly painful seven months we too want that slow part to be as quick as we can make it but we are significantly closer to resuming service than at any point since March.”
He noted the spike of cases in the U.S. and across the world, including in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and the U.K.
Fain said the surge is probably a second wave predicted from the very beginning as we enter the cold and flu season. “But while this peak may be horrible, there are also strong signs that this may be the virus’s last big surge. I’ve generally avoided making predictions in these videos but I’m feeling good enough about the future to make an exception here about the period that will follow this surge. I have four reasons for my optimism: masks, testing, therapies and vaccines.”
The progress being made in those four areas will eventually combine to bring the pandemic under control.
“I view it a little bit like Swiss cheese. Every slice of Swiss cheese has holes in it, but if you put together a bunch of slices, you get a block of cheese and that block of cheese has no holes, it’s impermeable. That’s how I hope these new developments will work to speed our return to normalcy.”
In conclusion, Fain said: “Our industry is strong, and our partnership with all of you is resilient. We’ll get through this, as we have in past crises, together. And now remember, go wash your hands and tighten up that mask. We have new protocols you know!”
