One of the passengers currently sailing on the Celebrity Millennium, where two guests were found to have tested positive for COVID-19, said it best in an interview.
No change.
No change in temperament, no change in policies, no change in itinerary, no change in mood … no change.
It's business as usual among the passengers and, more importantly, for Celebrity's parent Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.
As it should be.
Royal Caribbean is not changing its strategy on vaccination after two guests onboard the Celebrity Millennium tested positive despite a vaccine requirement onboard. The guests were asymptomatic, and those within close contact tested negative.
The guests were put into isolation and were flown home by Celebrity via a private plane, according to a report on CNBC.
Royal Caribbean's reaction was perfect.
There wasn't any.
Beautiful.
Look, let's face it, this was bound to happen and will certainly happen again. As much prevention that has taken place in the industry to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, the simple fact remains that you're not going to catch everybody.
Celebrity Millennium was one of the first ships to set sail after the COVID-19 pandemic and has a fully vaccinated crew. All guests over the age of 16 are also required to show proof of vaccination and provide a negative COVID-19 test.
We all know no system is perfect but cruise lines are under extra scrutiny and a certain amount of pressure from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which was reluctant to give cruising the go-ahead to return.
Anything even remotely resembling a reaction - or, worse, an overreaction - to the news by RCCL would have played right into the hands of the CDC and the detractors who were against the resumption of cruises.
That's not to say Royal Caribbean and Celebrity were nonchalant about it or, worse, completely dismissive. Far from it.
The company did what it thought was best. It choked off the problem at the top, removed it from the equation, and went about its business.
In fact, one might go as far as to say that every other cruise line owes a bit of gratitude to RCCL. This could have gone the other way. This could have gone horribly wrong. This could have been made into something far bigger than it was.
Fortunately, Royal Caribbean's applied protocols handled the situation. There's no need for any sensationalized overreaction from those who have been vocal against cruising's return. Just as they have handled the low case numbers on their cruises elsewhere around the world, they took care of business here in the Caribbean.
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