Why Cruise Franchises Will Survive COVID-19
At the beginning of the pandemic, cruise franchises suffered a perfect public relations storm. They were blamed as the cause of the virus’s entry into the United States and labeled “super spreaders”, with BBC News reporting that of the 3,711 passengers onboard the now famous Diamond Princess, at least 621 were infected. Soon after, the entire travel and leisure industry ground to a halt. With things still looking grim, today we’re examining why we believe cruise franchises will make it through the pandemic.
While it hasn’t made as much news, cruise franchises have made remarkable adaptations to the pandemic. National Geographic found that ships have now reduced capacity to less than half of what was previously allowed, isolated boarding times, implemented COVID testing the day of boarding to enter the ship, and enforce mask wearing . Plexiglass shields now protect food stations, and timed dining reservations are required to prevent crowding. This reservation system carries over for all amenities like swimming pools, climbing walls, and the like, which are thoroughly sanitized by enhanced cleaning crews.
The most recent experiment undertaken by a Royal Caribbean ship in Singapore shows a good indication of what the new normal might be. Dubbed “The Cruise to Nowhere,” this cruise was a test of many of the new protection protocols put in place that had no destination, in accordance with the government of Singapore’s “safe cruising” pilot program. The cruise accepted passengers from a single dock in Singapore and sailed in a loop for four days.
And while you likely heard that the cruise ended early when a passenger tested positive for the virus, even this was actually good news. Passengers who had come in close contact with the infected guest were traced, tested, isolated, and all came back with negative tests. After a second test of the infected passenger came back negative, it was determined the first test was a false positive.
What this means is that, a cruise franchise was able to operate without a single employee or passenger contracting the virus even before widespread vaccines take effect. And contrary to popular belief, cruise demand remains. When Royal Caribbean offered in November for volunteer passengers for a simulated voyage to test out safety protocols set forth by the CDC, more than 100,000 people signed up.
Brad Tolkin, CEO of World Travel Holdings, parent company of the Dream Vacations cruise franchise, hosted the 2020 Vision Conference virtually in November where senior cruise line officials shared their insights and new pandemic protocols. Vicki Freed, Senior Vice President of Royal Caribbean, announced their “Healthy Sail Panel” a group of experts across medicine, healthcare, biosecurity and hospitality, to help shape their new protocols. Currently, they’ve submitted 74 suggestions to the CDC for cruise safety guidelines. Muster 2.0, an application passengers can download, is a new way to educate passengers of evacuation protocols in the event of a ship failure, eliminating the previous mass gatherings on deck for debriefing.
If you’re considering starting or purchasing a cruise franchise in 2021, here’s our list of the best franchises to review: