Norwegian Cruise Line ready to “throw the kitchen sink” at introducing new health and safety protocols so passengers feel safe

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings said they are prepared to “throw the kitchen sink” at introducing new health and safety protocols because “the cruise industry cannot afford one more case of Covid-19 on board”.

Speaking on a recent webcast, president and chief executive Frank Del Rio said it was critical for guests to feel comfortable about sailing post-pandemic, but said he was confident, that if done correctly, cruise ships could become “the safest places in the world”.

He said, Quote: “Keeping our target customers and past guests engaged and confident that they’re going to be healthy and safe and have a great time onboard, is going to be a constant effort for a long, long time.

NCL cruise liners were until recently frequent visitors to the port in Malaga bringing thousands of guests every year to the region. Local businesses in the area saw an average of 500,000 holidaymakers and tourists a year from the port in general, the crisis has badly dented their incomes but is now thought the curve is upwards as Malaga moves to phase 2 on Monday and travel companies plot the season out.

Frank Del Rio:

“That’s where the priority is. We’re not looking at getting our ticket punched, so to speak, as an optical illusion, or doing the minimum required to get the authorities to lift the ban from cruising. I want to do whatever I have to do to be able to look my grandchildren and my 88-year-old mother in the eye and say ‘come on board; it’s safer than ever to come on a Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings vessel because we’ve done all these things’.”

Del Rio said he had spoken with one of the world’s top experts in public health to lead “a blue-ribbon panel of experts across multi-disciplines – from physicians who are experts in infectious diseases to those who are experts in disinfecting venues to technology experts”.

He added: “We’re going to deploy the full gamut. We’re going to throw the kitchen sink at this. This virus evolves and we’re learning a lot of things every day so we want to make sure that we have every single base covered; it’s going to be a layered approach…. if we don’t find you here, we’re going to get you here. But we are going to get you.”

He added: “We’re going to prevent outbreaks on board and we believe if done correctly, that a ship because it is a controlled environment, will be the safest place in the world – much safer than if you are in the general population in your own community.”