Next month will mark a year since the global cruise industry shuddered to a halt as coronavirus spread. Despite some hope that holidays at sea would return in a meaningful way, ships remain largely free from passengers, with only river cruising in Europe mounting a significant comeback in 2020.
But could the roll-out of vaccines be a gamechanger for cruising? One line popular with UK holidaymakers has already stated passengers must have had the jabs before boarding its ships.
Might this be the standard requirement in the future? Telegraph Cruise explores the issue.
Will I need a vaccine to cruise?
If you’re hoping to sail with Saga Cruises, then yes. In January the over-50s specialists announced that any customer booked to travel with Saga Holidays must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 at least 14 days before departure. This was a first from a UK cruise line.
The decision was taken as a “further step in providing that reassurance and peace of mind”. A spokesman for Saga said: “The health and safety of our customers has always been our number one priority.”
Before changing the policy the company said it consulted its customers and found that 95 per cent supported the requirement. The operator said that as the rollout of the vaccine is “progressing well”, it plans to begin hotel stays, escorted tours and river cruises in May – with two ocean-going ships back into action by early June.
Saga’s vaccination policy will be “in addition to the detailed arrangements we have already put in place for when cruises and other holidays restart,” the spokesman said. For cruises, these measures include pre-departure Covid-19 testing in the terminal, the doubling of the medical team on board, and social distancing.
This week, American Queen Steamboat Company and Victory Cruise Lines became the first US-based cruise lines to announce that passengers would require proof of vaccination to board, coming into effect for sailings from July 1.
John Waggoner, the chief executive of the American Queen Steamboat Company said that this requirement “is the most prudent next step to ensure that we are providing the safest cruising experience possible”, and that “protecting the communities we visit on each itinerary is also a priority”.
The introduction of mandatory vaccines for travel could “prove restrictive and also quite discriminatory”, Paul Charles, the chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, told The Telegraph. “We don’t yet know the full medical outcomes of the vaccine and whether they do protect as much as has been suggested in trials,” he added.
There may also be legal implications around travel firms forcing staff to be vaccinated. Barrister Francis Hoar, writing for Telegraph Travel, said: “Employers cannot implement policies requiring vaccination which do not weigh any (evidence based) conclusions about risk against the fundamental rights of their employees.”
What have other cruise lines said?
As a general rule over the last 12 months, cruise operators have been reluctant to specify exactly what their health and safety protocols will be when they resume sailing (with the exception of those who have already returned), usually citing the unstable and changing landscape.
With that in mind, many lines are still exploring their options. Peter Deer, the managing director of Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, said that the firm was “taking this time to ensure any procedures we implement ready for our return to sailing are based on the most up to date science available to us” and that “the vaccine must be considered as part of a multi-layered approach.”
Uniworld’s Chris Townson said that while they don’t yet have a policy on proof of vaccination, it is a “key consideration” – though the line needs to make “a fully informed decision based on where things are when the conditions are right to be sailing again” – while Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings said they are “exploring all options regarding vaccinations”.
Marella Cruises “currently have no plans to make vaccinations mandatory”, with P&O Cruises also yet to make a decision.
Paul Melinis, the managing director of travel and cruise operator APT, said that they are not introducing a requirement to be vaccinated at this time as many of their customers “will already be widely covered by mid-February” – but he added that they will “be keeping this under review”.
A cruise industry insider told The Telegraph that they expect at least one other line to implement a policy requiring vaccination, possibly as early as later this month. For now, it appears to be a waiting game.
Have CLIA called for mandatory vaccination?
The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), a trade body that represents 95 per cent of global cruise ship capacity, is taking a cautious approach to what measures it is calling for.
On the issue of vaccination before cruising, a CLIA spokesman said: “Measures implemented by cruise lines are continuously evaluated and will evolve as the pandemic and circumstances change over time, including updated health guidance, levels of community spread, development and availability of effective rapid testing, treatments, as well as vaccines.
“Along with the rest of the world, we share in the excitement surrounding the development of a vaccine for Covid-19 and are optimistic that it will help facilitate the global recovery from the pandemic. At the same time, we understand that the rollout of the vaccine will take some time. As we continue to engage with and receive insights from leading experts in health and science, our members agree that no single measure is alone effective and that a multi-layered approach is the right one to continue to mitigate risk.”
What about testing?
Before the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine, testing was seen as key to resurrecting the travel industry – and it still has an important role in getting passengers back on ships.
Avalon Waterways, as well as sister company Cosmos Tours, gives customers the options to prove full vacation against coronavirus or to show a negative test taken within 72 hours prior to travel.
Chief executive Giles Hawke believes that “the combination of testing and vaccines will be key to consumer confidence in returning to travel generally.”
The vaccine is “another string to the bow” to ensure the safe return of cruising, said Edwina Lonsdale, managing director of Munday Cruising, but added that “cruise lines have been working hard for many months to develop a set of protocols to keep passengers safe, including testing (both before and during the cruise), bubbling, social distancing, fresh air on board, regular fogging and cleaning, reduced capacities, increased medical facilities and more.”
