BEHIND THE SCENE
Summer is here! And word on the street is cruise lines will soon start sailing on the open ocean again. Ahh! Imagine a real vacation aboard a real ship. Sea-laden breezes whipping your hair. Free flowing fun, entertainment and relaxation. Truly, a cruise is just the ticket to recover from the stresses of the past year. Never again will we take our ability to get away for granted.
Hi, I’m Suzanne Athey, owner of Team Athey & Remarkable Property Management. My team works hard, but we like to enjoy ourselves, too. So we were beside ourselves when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention informed cruise lines in the U.S. that they may be able to resume sailings in July 2021, depending on the lines' compliance with guidelines set forth in the Framework for Conditional Sailing Order.
And we practically started packing our suitcases when a few days ago Royal Caribbean International announced six of its ships will sail from major US ports in Florida and Texas beginning in July. In fact, their first cruise will launch on July 2 in Miami, more than a year after the CDCs no-sail order brought cruises to a halt.
Royal Caribbean is one of the first to meet the various Conditional Sailing Order requirements, but others are certain to follow. Recently, TravelWeekly.com listed cruise lines planned restart dates. You can check the online article out here. shorturl.at/oLQ34
As excited as we were about traveling again, we also wondered will people have to be vaccinated to sail on a cruise?
The short answer from Royal Caribbean is all crew members will be vaccinated against COVID-19. And passengers are “strongly recommended” to be fully vaccinated. Passengers who are not vaccinated will need to undergo testing and follow other protocols.
Then in August when Royal Caribbean ships begin cruising in the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Alaska and Europe, there will be a few more vaccination protocols.
Passengers 16 and older sailing from Settle or The Bahamas must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 at time of sailing. Starting August 1, the age requirement for vaccination changes from 16 to 12 years of age. Guests under the age requirement don’t need to be vaccinated and will receive a SARS-Cov-2 test before boarding.
Note: Travelers departing from an international port must meet that nation’s travel requirements. And other cruise lines are currently in the process of establishing their vaccination requirements. Remember to check the details of your ship’s travel requirements prior to booking and sailing.
(That’s not really a short answer, but it is as short as we could make it.)
So let’s get back to the fun. Summer is here! And we can’t wait to escape on a cruise. How about you? Are you ready to get back to a near-normal vacation getaway?
If you’d like to know more about Team Athey & Remarkable Property Management, call me Suzanne Athey at 469-916-1222 or email suzanne@teamathey.com. I’d love to visit with you and answer all your leasing and real estate questions.
