The ‘New Normal’ of Cruising

Another week, and more headlines dominated by an international pandemic, and our ineffectiveness at taming it.  For most of us, this provokes fear, anger, anxiety, or depression (or perhaps all those things).

Yet there are indications of progress if you look for them, and you can choose to feel hope.

One of the things that has made me a committed life-long traveller is that by leaving home, and exploring other parts of the world, I get to learn about different cultures and their people.  Unfortunately, our media only references the rest of the world anecdotally – something I learned first-hand when I have lived abroad. 

This is a shame – particularly now.  If we were willing, there is much to be learned from other countries as they fight the common enemy known as covid-19.  The reason I am hopeful is that Europe (as well as a number of other jurisdictions that have managed the pandemic well) are returning to a new normal as it relates to travel and tourism.

Perhaps the best illustration of this point is that AMA Waterways is resuming river cruising in Europe in August.  The reason this stands out to me, is that AMA is an American Company.  It is true, there will be very few Americans on board, as those coming from the US are still required to quarantine in Europe for 14 days, but the Europeans, Canadians, Aussies and Kiwis will be sailing.

As a general rule, the regulatory agencies in Europe are more stringent than ours, so you can imagine there are some new conditions for sailing there:

• Daily temperature checks
• Public health officer on every sailing
• Maximum 100 guests aboard the ship
• Crew to wear masks at all times.  Guests asked to wear them when moving through the ship.
• Seating dining and Room service, as opposed to “drop-in” dining.
• Plexiglas dividers in lounge
• No recirculation of air in staterooms or public areas.
• Reduced group sizes, and social distancing for shore excursions.

It won’t be the same as it was before covid, but these few compromises will not diminish the experience of a river cruise. 

CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) has been mostly missing in action since this whole situation began six months ago, and it appears as though the individual cruise lines have become impatient waiting for either CLIA or the CDC to provide any guidance for the resumption of operations. 

This is GOOD news.  The cruise lines are looking at guidelines imposed in other jurisdictions (such as Europe), and working with epidemiologists and medical experts to redefine the cruising experience so it provides maximum safety and is still an enjoyable experience.  The individual cruise lines provide more details on each of their websites, but here are some of the steps being taken:

• Reduced capacity – Fewer people on the ship, and restrictions on the number of people at a time in restaurants, entertainment venues, fitness centers, and elevators.
• New embarkation procedures – Assigned times for boarding, temperatures checks, and health questionnaires prior to boarding.
• Enhanced cleaning protocols – Luggage will be disinfected prior to boarding.  More frequent disinfection of high touch areas with medical grade disinfectants.  Even more hand sanitizing stations.
• Social distancing and facial covering guidelines.  Masks will be provided and required for guests and crew in spaces where social distancing is not possible (tenders, elevators, etc.).
• Health monitoring throughout a cruise.  Temperature checks and medical screening.
• Medical Resources – New testing equipment and quarantine facilities on ships with separate air filtration systems.
• Dining – Self-serve options eliminated.

Finally, while we tend to think that the only way out of this is for a widely available, effective vaccine, it is important to remember that countries that have done the best through this emergency (Iceland and South Korea come to mind), have done it through wide-spread testing and contact tracing. 

There is some positive news on the testing front:

The Germans are opening walk-in testing centers at Frankfurt and Munich Airports.  This will enable users to submit to a test and receive the certified results within a few hours, and thereby foregoing any quarantine requirements.

So… will life return to “normal” in the coming days or weeks?  NO.

We will however, adapt to a new normal that will allow travel and tourism again.  The signs of this are already evident in those countries and jurisdictions that more aggressively managed the Corona virus at the outset. 

Reason for hope, indeed.

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I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley