Thousands Sign Up To Travel For Free On Mock Sea Cruises
As cruise ships stand idle during the pandemic, they have been asked to hold mock cruises to test onboard COVID-19 protocols, and thousands volunteered.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, cruise lines have been forced to leave their ships in the dock, while trying to work out a safe onboard experience. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now requiring cruise lines to organize mock cruises in order to test out onboard COVID-19 protocols. Thousands of people are already willing to sign up as volunteer passengers on these mock voyages.
New protocols for safe cruising
The travel industry as a whole is suffering during the pandemic, with airlines and cruise lines scratching their heads to come up with a plan. Some were trying for flights and cruises to nowhere. Viking Cruises has even launched its own onboard COVID-19 test laboratory to get around the problem.
However, now the CDC has dropped its “no sail order,” and has come up with a plan to create a safe onboard experience. It has a set of new safety regulations for cruise lines keen to get going again.
However, in order to do so, the CDC recommends the cruise lines follow a “phased approach” with a “framework of actionable items.” The first phase requires that cruise lines demonstrate adherence to testing, isolation, quarantine and social distancing practices.
After that, actionable items will include mock voyages. On these, volunteers will act in the role of passengers in order to test the cruise ship operators’ ability to “mitigate the COVID-19 risk.” The thinking behind this is that potential problems can then be identified and fixed before true sailing resumes.
Thousands of people volunteer
It seems the idea is popular and thousands of people are willing to sign up for the mock cruises program. It was reported earlier this week that Royal Caribbean will be seeking volunteers to play a part in the trial cruises. According to a spokesperson for the company, it has received more than 5,000 emails from hopeful volunteers.
On top of this, Royal Caribbean has received plenty of tweets, messages and comments throughout social media. On their “Volunteers of the Seas” Facebook page alone they attracted 10,000 interested parties.
Walt #Disney World To Drastically Reduce Park Hours From September 8, 2020 https://t.co/fLKRJ0zHO4 #disneyworld
— Annemarie @ TMT (@touristmtravel) August 10, 2020
However, the cruise line isn’t going anywhere just yet. In a statement, Royal Caribbean said they have been “overjoyed with their interest.” They added, “We have a lot of details to work out to make sure everyone’s experience on board is as safe and as enjoyable as we can make it. So, while we currently have no dates to announce yet, we are excited about the interest we have received so far — we can’t wait to finally welcome our guests back on board.”
All ‘work’ and no pay?
So far, it is unclear whether volunteer passengers would be paid for their services. However, it is likely they want to do it for fun, not remuneration. As it is, they would have access to all cruise amenities and activities onboard, including dining, entertainment and private excursions. While doing so, the mock passengers would be trialing safety and health protocols onboard the cruise ship. This would include laboratory testing each time they embark and disembark from the cruise ship.
As noted by CNN, Royal Caribbean is also a part of Singapore’s “cruises to nowhere” initiative with Quantum of the Seas due to set sail in December.
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