“What’s really remarkable for this first sailing from a US home port is really how much it looks like life before the pandemic on a cruise ship,” said Chris Gray Faust, ’s managing editor, on board the Edge. Overall though, the cruising experience is essentially unchanged. Temperature checks will be required at those ports of call, and staff leading the curated tours have been certified by state and local authorities. In Mexico and the Bahamas, where vaccination rates are still low, visitors will need to keep masks on both indoors and outdoors. Nothing like it," said Tina Carter of Washington, D.C. "I'm really excited just to be back cruising. They will not be able to participate in third-party excursions as in the past. Before sailing, passengers were informed by email that they would only be permitted to go on curated excursions managed by the Celebrity at ports of call. The experience off the ship will be vastly different for passengers. Hand sanitizer stations are placed outside every elevator and restaurant. The beloved cruise buffet is now staffed by servers, meaning guests are no longer allowed to lob heaps of scrambled eggs onto their own plates. Passengers can check into their muster stations any time before 5 p.m., allowing them to avoid the usual crowd of people who would have previously gathered shoulder to shoulder in life vests. The traditional first-day muster drill, during which passengers practice for an emergency, is now conducted through a series of video safety briefings on the cruise app. "We feel very safe being here today," said Diana Middleton of Washington D.C., with her husband, Mark. Loyal cruisers such as Carter know this is not going to be a typical pre-Covid experience.Ī sign labeled “Healthy at Sea,” which passengers saw when they boarded, read: “Notice: Proof of vaccination will be recorded and may be reviewed for signs of fraud.” I would have stayed home,” said Tina Carter. “I would not be sailing if there were not a requirement for a very, very high number of vaccinated passengers. Passengers on the current Celebrity Edge cruise are demonstrating a level of trust in the protocols. The feeling today is hoping that they have it figured out.” A lot of people had canceled, so the cruise was not as full as it normally would have been. “People were very apprehensive on that cruise. At the time, other cruise ships were reporting rising Covid-19 infections, leaving passengers stranded on board, unable to disembark. Some passengers on this voyage, such as Susan Staffa, were on the Edge’s final sailing in March 2020. With 100% of the crew and all passengers of eligible age vaccinated, the Edge is currently sailing through the Gulf of Mexico, making its way to its first port of call, Costa Maya, Mexico. The ship, which normally can just over 2,900 passengers, is barely at 40% capacity. At present, children 11 and younger are not eligible for Covid-19 vaccines in the US. To gain approval to set sail, Celebrity needed to ensure at least 95% of the people onboard the Edge would be vaccinated. How the first cruise of the Covid era got ready to safely set sail
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