Following Freedom of the Seas’ first test cruise, the ship has now received its Conditional Sailing Certificate from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The cruise line can move forward to operate sailing with guests on board.
Freedom of the Seas Set for Cruising
So far, it’s all been smooth for the Royal Caribbean cruise ship by receiving its Conditional Sailing Certificate from the CDC. It means Freedom of the Seas completed its simulated sailing, which departed out of PortMiami on June 20.
Royal Caribbean President and CEO Michael Bayley posted:
“Today, Royal Caribbean International received the Conditional Sailing Certificate for Freedom of the Seas, which provides approval for passenger voyages. This follows the successful completion of the ship’s simulated voyage earlier this month.”
Also Read: Things to Do on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas
The voyage had 600 volunteer passengers on board, with health protocols being stress-tested. The two-night voyage included a call at Royal Caribbean’s private island Perfect Day at CocoCay. CDC personnel were on board evaluating the test voyage, and now the good news is that they are happy with how it went.
Preparations will be in full swing for the first revenue sailing, which will depart Miami on July 2 to celebrate the 4th of July holiday weekend. This will be the first ship in the fleet to begin operations from the U.S.
Cruises will sail will all crew members fully vaccinated. The cruise line has been working hard vaccinating crew members over recent weeks at various U.S. homeports. The majority of guests will be fully vaccinated, but there will also be a small percentage unvaccinated. There will be more strict protocols for the guests not fully vaccinated, including limitations at venues and activities.
This news follows Adventure of the Seas, which became the first Royal Caribbean International ship to resume sailings in North America, offering Caribbean cruises from Nassau, Bahamas. The new Odyssey of the Seas was also scheduled to begin cruises on July 3, but due to positive results among the crew, that’s delayed to July 31, 2021.