Things are looking good for the cruise industry. Norwegian Cruise Lines now has 13 of its vessels confirmed to sail again by early 2022. And because of its plans, Norwegian is going to need 19,000 of its crew back. However, the company will need 17,500 crew members by February next year.
This summer alone, Norwegian will have 6,500 crew members distributed across its four ships sailing in the Mediterranean and Alaska.
In March, Norwegian sent a survey to its employees to find out their “ability and intent to return to work when operations resume”. The company also asked its employees whether they’ve been vaccinated or interested in getting the vaccine.
Norwegian’s CEO and President Frank del Rio said that it takes 90 days to get a vessel ready to sail. One of the main challenges to get a ship to sail is the staffing process. He said that “it takes a while and making it more complicated is the travel restrictions”. This time around, cruises will most likely have to make sure that their employees are vaccinated.
CDC Relaxing Cruise Rules
For over a year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention imposed a ban on cruises. But after millions getting vaccinated against COVID19, the health agency finally relaxed its rules on the industry. This time around, it’s possible for cruises to operate once again by summer.
To do so, cruises will still have to meet certain conditions. Ideally, cruises will have to run a simulated voyage before they can accept paying passengers. However, there’s a workaround to the simulated voyage requirement by CDC. Cruises can skip simulated voyages if they can have at least 95% of the crew and 95% of its passengers fully vaccinated.
Royal Caribbean is the first cruise to have their trial voyage. The purpose of the simulated voyage is to test the safety protocols on board against COVID19. 250,000 people even volunteered to be part of the first simulated voyage.
