Royal Caribbean CEO: 'Vibe of excitement' as 1st cruise since 2020 sets sail from Ft. Lauderdale
The first cruise ship with paying passengers will leave from the U.S. on Saturday, marking the first revenue sail in 15 months and a significant milestone in the COVID-19 recovery for the industry.
Celebrity Edge, operated by Royal Caribbean (RCL) subsidiary Celebrity Cruises, will depart Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale — floating on both the ocean waves and widespread hopes that the worst of the pandemic is behind the beleaguered travel industry.
"It's just so exciting words don't begin to cover it," Royal Caribbean CEO and chair Richard Fain told Yahoo Finance in an interview on Friday.
"It's sort of an emotional moment. But when I came on board, one of the crew members said to me, 'You know, I feel at home, finally,'" he added. "There's such a vibe of such excitement. Everybody's so happy, and we've waited so long, and this is it. It's hard to imagine. This is it."
The 7-night voyage will sail to the Western Caribbean, making stops in Costa Maya, Cozumel, Mexico, Nassau, Bahamas, and returning to Fort Lauderdale.
While the ship is only at 36% of its capacity, Fain emphasized that they are "starting slow." The vessel is typically booked out months in advance, and only had a few weeks for reservations.
"We want to give our crew time to get acclimated, although I gotta say they're so juiced up that I don't think they're going to need that time," the CEO told Yahoo Finance.
"And so the buildup will be slower — we're in no rush to build that up, but really, it's like starting a flywheel, and you start it slow, and it gains momentum and keeps going," he added.
Celebrity Edge's captain, Capt. Kate McCue — the first American female captain of a major cruise line — expects "there's going to be a lot of fanfare" across the ports, many of which are destinations that rely on the economic benefits from cruise tourism.
'We recommend people take vaccinations'
The $1 billion dollar ship was inaugurated in 2018, and will carry approximately 1,100 passengers, accounting for around 36% of the ship's capacity. About 800 crew members, all of whom have received the COVID-19 vaccine, will also be on board.
According to Fain, the entire crew across Royal Caribbean's ships are vaccinated. The CEO has also been vocal about encouraging the public to get the vaccine.
"We recommend people take vaccinations. We really encourage it. But we do accept there are some who don't, some children who can't get vaccines, etc. But 99% of the people on board this ship are vaccinated," Fain added.
The Celebrity Edge complied with the CDC's strict requirements of 95% of passengers and 98% of crew members being vaccinated. However, a law signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that becomes effective on July 1 bans businesses in the state from requiring proof of vaccination.
The cruise operator won't require guests to show proof of vaccination, but passengers who don't show proof (or are unvaccinated) will undergo COVID-19 testing. They will be responsible for the costs, and have to adhere to other protocols such as wearing masks unless eating or drinking.
"We'll try and talk them into a vaccination, but if not, they want to come on board; that is their choice," Fain told Yahoo Finance.
"We will manage the process so that we will make sure that we never go too far with unvaccinated people and, if necessary, will close down a cruise. But we think that's all workable," he added.
Julia La Roche is a correspondent for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.