Royal Caribbean will sail from US as early as next month: Fain

'We can now state, with a high level of confidence, that ships from the Royal Caribbean Group will be operating out of US ports as early as next month,' Fain said in a video message, with a US flag flying in the yard behind him.

And he emphasized: 'The on-board experience will be great, with only minimal restrictions compared to pre-pandemic cruising. The shoreside experience will be also be great, also with only minimal restrictions.'

First request to sail submitted to CDC

Last week, Royal Caribbean formally submitted its first request for sailing authorization and is hopeful the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will approve that soon.

(The Royal Caribbean International brand is understood to have reached port agreements with Port Everglades and Port Canaveral, and CEO Michael Bayley confirmed that the line submitted its first of several Phase 2A plans to the CDC on Friday. He didn't disclose the port, and neither would the company.)

Dialogue and vaccines

In his video update, Fain said dialogue with CDC has 'improved 1000%' over the last weeks, enabling both parties to understand each other's concerns and for Royal Caribbean to share with the agency 'so much helpful data we've acquired from the sailings abroad.'

The widespread administration of vaccines has 'proven to be the game-changer we'd hoped,' he continued, 'and our positive, constructive dialogue with the CDC has born fruit.'

Different vaccination strategies for Celebrity/Silversea from RCI

Fain said that under any scenario, Royal Caribbean intends to have all crew vaccinated and expects that 'essentially 100% of our crew will have received their vaccines before cruises start in the US.'

For passengers, there are two scenarios: It's anticipated Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises will meet the CDC's 95% vaccination threshold for passengers to qualify for examption from operating simulated voyages with volunteers.

In the case of the Royal Caribbean brand, which carries many children, ships 'may not reach that 95% threshold, but even here, the vast majority will be vaccinated,' according to Fain. Vaccines are currently available to ages 12 and up in the US. 

Optimistic masks won't be required

As for the actual cruise experience, some restrictions will apply but those are temporary and 'similar to what everyone is used to.'

Fain's optimistic that masks won't be required anywhere for fully vaccinated travelers. There will be social distancing in some places, however the ships will start at lower occupancy, 'so there actually should be just a greater sense of space,' as he put it.

Buffets will be offered, but not self-serve.

The biggest changes will be behind the scenes, for example, improved air filtration systems and enhanced cleaning.

Shore excursions

Shore excursions will be offered by tour operators that meet Royal Caribbean requirements and, in most cases, travelers can arrange their own tours, regulated by local rules.

On a day when President Biden signed the Alaska Tourism Recovery Act into law, enabling foreign-flag cruise ships to operate there this summer, the Royal Caribbean chief also credited travel advisors for contacting their lawmakers, using social media to advocate for cruising and speaking up for treating cruises like other areas.

Fain closed by urging travel advisors to 'learn about all we're doing to maintain the safety of a cruise but also the excitement of a cruise.'