We are encouraged to see our ongoing work with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continue to progress on all fronts. Royal Caribbean International has received approval for simulation cruises on the following ships to date:
Freedom of the Seas has now received a Conditional Sailing Certificate from the CDC to set sail with guests starting Friday, July 2. As the cruise industry’s first ship to receive approval and conduct a simulation cruise, Freedom successfully completed its simulation that departed on June 20 from PortMiami.
Royal Caribbean is pursuing one of two pathways, laid out by the CDC, to get back to cruising. It requires that U.S-based ships conduct simulation cruises to test health and safety protocols if the cruise line expects to return to sailing with less than 95% fully vaccinated guests or crew. As a family brand, Royal Caribbean typically sees that children under the age of 12 make up 10% of our guests on board, and today, they are ineligible for the vaccine. We are committed to continuing to deliver memorable family vacations, and it is why we are conducting simulation sailings.
As we set sail once again in the U.S., our crew will be fully vaccinated, and our health protocols will include vaccination policies for all our guests. Details on Royal Caribbean’s vaccine policies can be found on our website at bit.ly/pr_vaccinepolicy.