A Royal Caribbean cruise ship arrived in Miami this morning completing the cruise line’s first test cruise from a U.S. port.
Freedom of the Seas left the Cruise Capital of the World, PortMiami, on Sunday for a two night test cruise. The cruise ship stopped at the cruise line’s private island in the Bahamas, CocoCay, on Monday before returning to Miami.
The two day test cruise was required so the ship can begin offering cruises from Miami in early July. The ship will sail with both vaccinated and unvaccinated guests.
The simulated cruises test the efficacy of the cruise ship operator’s ability to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 onboard the cruise ship, including through embarkation, disembarkation, and post-disembarkation testing.
Royal Caribbean will now report all post-disembarkation test results in aggregate to CDC in the after-action report. The report will contain the cruise line’s assessments and conclusions regarding the efficacy of its health and safety protocols at mitigating the risk of COVID-19 onboard the cruise ship.
The report is part of the Royal Caribbean’s application for a Conditional Sailing Certificate that will allow Freedom of the Seas to sail for the first time in 15 months.
Freedom of the Seas is scheduled begin offering three and four night cruises to the Bahamas from Miami on July 2, pending approval for the Conditional Sailing Certificate.
