Travelin’ With Barb

by Barb Cline,

Your Personal Travel Professional

Royal Caribbean & Celebrity Return to Cruising

ROYAL CARIBBEAN — Beginning in June 2021, departures will resume, as they introduce Adventure of the Seas® to her new homeport of Nassau, Bahamas. Offering weeklong getaways, vacationers can enjoy a day in Cozumel, Mexico, as well as an island-hopping sampler of popular Bahamian ports—including Grand Bahama Island, and two consecutive days at its very own private destination, Perfect Day at CocoCay. These exciting new itineraries will set sail June through August 2021, inviting fully vaccinated guests 18 years of age and older, as well as children under the age of 18 with proof of negative COVID-19 test results. As Royal Caribbean returns to sea, health and safety remains its top priority. They’ve partnered with expert medical and scientific minds to guide them in developing protocols to protect passengers and the ones they love. And they’re working with local health authorities in their homeport countries to ensure their guests meet current inbound travel requirements.

CELEBRITY — Celebrity Cruises announced its return cruising as the Celebrity Millennium will homeport in St. Maarten starting on June 5. Beginning March 25, guests can book the new seven-night itineraries departing through August. The ship will sail two different weeklong itineraries. One will call on Aruba, Curaçao, and Barbados and a second itinerary will call on Tortola, St. Lucia, and Barbados.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. What costs are covered if a guest tests positive for SARS–CoV-2 during the cruise?

In the event that a guest tests positive during his/her cruise vacation, a full refund will be administered for the impacted guest, as well as those individuals within his/her immediate travel party. Additionally, guests that test positive for COVID-19 during the cruise or are deemed a close contact of someone who has, Royal Caribbean will cover onboard medical treatment, cost of any required land-based quarantine, and travel home for the affected guest and his/ her travel party.

2. What happens to the paid cruise fare if a guest tests positive for SARS–CoV-2 before the cruise and am unable to join?

A full refund will be processed for the individual who tested positive, as well as his her immediate travel party if a positive test result occurs within three weeks of the sail date.

3. How is air circulated and filtered on board? Is the air safe on board a cruise ship?

On Royal Caribbean ships, 100 percent fresh ocean air is continuously supplied from outside. In-take of air occurs on one side of the ship for cooling and ventilation; then the air is removed via exhaust on the opposite side of the ship. This continual in-take of fresh air replaced the air in any space, with a total air change up to 2 times an hour in staterooms, and about 15 changes an hour in large public spaces. Fan-coil units in your stateroom and public spaces provide an extra layer of protection, continuously scrubbing the air of pathogens, using a high -rate MERV 13 filter that captures aerosols 0.3 to 1 micron in size with 90 percent efficacy, fine enough to filter cold and flu germs and coronavirus. An independent study by the University of Nebraska Medical Center and onboard Oasis of the Seas confirmed that cross-contamination air between adjacent spaces is virtually impossible thanks to this powerful system .29.