Bahamas will be Photo: Worachat Sodsri/123rf

By Frank Martin

The ships of the most important international companies pushed by the pandemic into a destructive economic inertia for more than a year will break the siege with the vaccines already available.

They will resume their summer trips to the Caribbean, Asia and the United Kingdom.

Another good news is that their ships will depart with all clients duly vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Five cruise lines have already announced summer travel programs, including the largest in the United States.

The itinerary project has not been left to chance. Companies are looking to take advantage of vaccine programs that are already expanding.

Hopefully vaccines provide flexibility to the restrictions that are one of the main concerns of travelers when paying the high rates of vacations at sea.

Experts estimate that as of next May, many Caribbean nations will have already taken the necessary steps to rebuild their tourism industries.

“Waiting for more would put many at risk of bankruptcy, including large companies and entire countries,” an expert on the subject told TTC.

But the return must be as safe as possible and the process quality must be provided by vaccines and probably by milder measures than now.

Royal Caribbean Group plans to restart operations in June from the Bahamas and St. Maarten with its Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises brands.

They will do it this way to circumvent the still severe restrictions in the United States.

A month later Genting’s Crystal Cruises will set sail with their luxury ships from the Bahamas.

The online promotion indicates that Crystal Cruises began accepting reservations for its travel cruises trips in July.

The hotline sources said 4,000 bookings were received in the first 24 hours.

Royal Caribbean International will begin sailing with its 138,100 gross ton cruise ship, the Adventure of the Seas, which will depart from Nassau in the Bahamas on June 12.

The main regulation of this long-awaited reboot is that adult guests come aboard vaccinated. They will be attended by a crew in similar conditions.

Across the Atlantic, P&O Cruises reported that anyone wishing to cross the British Isles this summer will need to get vaccinated first.

Each client must prove that he has had two punctures due to coronavirus to make the trips that begin from June.

The new measures go against the possibility of a crisis with no return.

International analyzes indicate that renewed fears of outbreaks and poor results in fighting the epidemic in Europe are yet serious.

International airlines warned that the number of passengers in the summer of 2020 was the lowest since 1975. They all want the history of a year ago in that sense not to repeat itself.

“P&O Cruises, which is part of the Carnival group will sail on two ships this summer. The Britannia will sail from Southampton along the south coast of England for three to four days, and the Iona will sail to Scotland from Southampton for voyages of seven days, announced a European publication dedicated to cruises.

“Carnival clarified that passengers who wish to board must have received both vaccines dosis at least one week before departure,” has been a peremptory warning.

Anyone who does not respect the rules, whether they are passengers or crew members, will be isolated and quarantined.

However, the cautious tourism industry does not like these incidents.

That’s why Paul Ludlow, president of P&O Cruises, told reporters that Carnival is awaiting a form approved by the British government to show that people were vaccinated for the summer.

Ludlow clarified that “we anticipate that, by June 27, which is our first trip, there will be a scheme accredited by the government to prove his vaccination, but at least, then, of course, a letter from his family doctor would suffice”.