The seven-day cruises won’t involve departure or stops at any U.S. ports, allowing them to get around CDC approval.
On Friday, the cruise line announced that its ship, Adventure of the Seas, will resume sailing from the Bahamas in June.
Adult passengers will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and passengers under the age of 18 will only be allowed onboard if they have a negative coronavirus test result, according to the announcement.
Crew members will also be vaccinated, the cruise line said.
The seven-night cruises aboard Adventure of the Seas will set sail from Nassau, Bahamas, and will visit Royal Caribbean’s CocoCay island, Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas and Cozumel, Mexico, according to the announcement.
The cruises will begin on June 12th and will run through August. Tickets for the cruises will be available starting on March 24th.
Since March 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has blocked cruise ships that carry more than 250 people from sailing in U.S. waters. It is still unclear when that “no sail” order will be lifted. The agency published a four-step framework in November for a phased resumption of cruise ship passenger operations.
“We are in phase one of that moving towards phase two,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a briefing on Thursday. “This is an inter-agency decision, it is not a decision solely up to the CDC.”
The CDC is still not recommending travel, even for those who are vaccinated.
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