Cozumel welcomed the first cruise ship for over a year, yesterday, as the Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Seas docked at the island with over 1,000 vacationers onboard.
The historic moment came 1 year, 2 months, 29 days and 13 hours after the last ship departed the island at the beginning of the pandemic (not that we've been counting!)
One of the first ships to sail the Caribbean again, the Adventure of the Seas departed out of Nassau, on Saturday, for a 7 night cruise that includes stops in the Bahamas and Cozumel.
The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also lowered the risk level for cruises, yesterday, and other cruise lines are planning to restart Caribbean cruises soon.
Celebrity already started sailing out of St Maarten on June 5; Carnival are expected to resume sailings out of Galveston on July 3; Norwegian plan to restart from Miami in August; and Disney look set to sail from Port Canaveral in August too. Many ships have also been running simulated cruises to test new health protocols.
Royal Caribbean said the Adventure of the Seas, this week, has fully vaccinated crew and fully vaccinated guests 16 years of age or older, making up 94% of all guests onboard.
The CDC recommends that only fully vaccinated passengers travel on cruise ships, but cruise lines are not expected to make it mandatory on all sailings. The requirements are changing all the time, so if you plan to sail it's best to check with your cruise line before booking.
Guests are also being allowed to book independent shore excursions and at This is Cozumel we've already been receiving a lot of inquiries and reservations for our Cozumel tours and activities from passengers who are booked on cruises arriving later this summer.
Aside from more stopovers by the Adventure of the Seas, it may be a few weeks before other ships dock in Cozumel again, but locals are committed to making sure visitors can safely enjoy the island, and will continue to welcome them with open arms and huge smiles (even if they are behind masks for the time being).
