Celebrity Edge departed Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at 6 p.m. Saturday, marking the first cruise to leave a US port since the coronavirus pandemic brought the industry to a 15-month standstill. The cruise was limited to 40 percent capacity and included 99 percent fully vaccinated passengers, well over the 95 percent requirement imposed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A giant greeting was projected on a wall of one of the port buildings: “Someday is here. Welcome back.” Some passengers arrived with matching T-shirts that read phrases such as “straight outta vaccination” and “vaccinated and ready to cruise.”
“Words can’t describe how excited we are to be a part of this historic sailing today,” said Orlando resident Elizabeth Rosner.
To comply with both the CDC’s requirement and a new Florida law banning businesses from requiring customers to show proof of vaccination, Celebrity Cruises is asking guests if they would like to share their vaccination status. Those who do not show or say they are vaccinated face additional restrictions.
Saturday’s sailing kicked off the cruise lines’ return to business with Carnival vessels already scheduled to depart from other ports next month.
“This is an emotional day for me. When I stepped on board the ship, I was proud. It’s a beautiful ship,” said Royal Caribbean Cruises’ CEO Richard Fain, after expressing condolences to the victims of the Surfside building collapse, less than 25 km south of the port.
Celebrity Cruises had unveiled the $1-billion boat in December 2018 – betting on luxury cruising, offering a giant spa and multi-floor suites. The seven-night cruise is sailing for three days in the Western Caribbean before making stops in Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Nassau.
Industry officials are hoping all goes smoothly to move past a chapter last year of deadly outbreaks on cruise ships that prompted some to be rejected at ports and passengers to be forced into quarantine. Some passengers died of COVID-19 at sea while others fell so ill they had to be carried out of the vessels on stretchers.
The CDC extended no-sail orders repeatedly last year as the pandemic raged and came up with strict requirements for the industry that have already been contested in court by the state of Florida.
During that hiatus, Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean (which includes Celebrity Cruises), the three largest cruise companies, have had to raise more than US$40 billion in financing to stay afloat. Collectively they lost $20 billion last year and another $4.5 billion in the first quarter of 2021, according to US Securities and Exchange Commission filings.