Royal Caribbean has received the feedback from its Healthy Sail Panel, revealing the findings today (21 September 2020).

The panel submitted their findings to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today, which will be used to shape new measures relating to travel on cruise ships.

The Healthy Sail Panel was formed in June by Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, aiming to identify a new stringent standard of health and safety measures at sea.

The cruise corporations, both based in the US, enlisted health experts Governor Mike Leavitt (former Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services) and Dr Scott Gottlieb (former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) to serve as co-chairs of the group of experts called the ‘Healthy Sail Panel’.

Other members of the panel include globally recognised experts in medical practice and research, public health, infectious diseases, biosecurity, hospitality and maritime operations.

In the new measures, released today (21 September), recommendations include the testing of guests and crew members.

The Healthy Sail Panel’s 65-plus page report includes 74 detailed best practises to protect public health and safety of guests.

These include the use of face coverings and enhanced sanitation procedures on ships and in terminals.

Other key strategies include:

• Taking aggressive measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 from entering a ship through robust education, screening and testing of both crew and guests prior to embarkation
• Reducing transmission via air management strategies and enhanced sanitation practices
• Implementing detailed plans to address positive infection on board, including contingencies for onboard treatment, isolation and rapid evacuation and repatriation
• Closely controlling shore excursions
• Enhanced protection for crew members

Dr Scott Gottlieb said: “The Healthy Sail Panel spent the last four months studying how to better protect the health and safety of guests and crew aboard cruise ships.

“Taken as a comprehensive approach, we believe the Panel’s robust public health recommendations will help inform strategies for a safe resumption of sailing.”

Governor Mike Leavitt said: “This Panel undertook an ambitious, cross-disciplinary, public health examination to develop standards and guidelines that create the highest level of safety in the complex environment of a cruise ship.

“We studied the industry’s experiences combating the pandemic – and we then incorporated the many lessons learned and advances made by medicine and science over the past six months.

“The Panel’s recommendations are grounded in the best scientific and medical information available and are intended to meaningfully mitigate public health risks to those who sail.”

The full report can be found here.