Genting Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International will be the first to offer such cruises. Singapore Tourism Board kickstarts the safe and gradual resumption of cruising, with stringent hygiene and safety measures in place
Singapore Airlines’ “flights to nowhere” may not have come to fruition, but the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has approved the safe and gradual resumption of cruising from November, starting with “round-trips with no ports of call”—essentially, cruises to nowhere. These pilot cruises will also be sailing at a reduced capacity of up to 50 per cent, and are only open to Singapore residents.
While there may be concerns regarding the safety of such voyages amidst the pandemic, a research conducted by the Healthy Sail Panel—a joint safety task force between Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line—had found that it may be easier to avoid contracting Covid-19 on a cruise ship as opposed to other forms of travel, due to their ability to ensure control within the entire environment while implementing enhanced health and safety protocols.
As such, STB has developed mandatory CruiseSafe certification for cruise lines, which sets out “stringent hygiene and safety measures through the passenger journey—from prior to boarding, to after disembarkation”.
