Setting Sail: How Events and Meetings at Sea Are Making a Comeback

America’s cruise industry, still smarting from a devastating blow from the COVID-19 pandemic, is planning a comeback. With guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cruise lines are slowly rolling out comprehensive remediation plans and safety protocols to instill iron-clad confidence with a public whose appetite for cruising appeared insatiable not that long ago. 

Cruising has long been a favorite among association, corporate and incentive meeting and event planners, given high participation rates, attractive locales and cost-effectiveness. With the pandemic raging in 2020, however, groups stayed dry, often landlocked in Zoom meetings. Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the world's largest cruise industry trade association, reported that COVID-19-related suspension of cruising in the U.S. last year yielded a loss of more than $32 billion in economic activity and more than 254,000 American jobs.

“In returning to safe cruising, the lines have the most at stake to do this right,” says Joyce Landry, co-founder and CEO of Landry & Kling Inc., a travel company specializing in incentive cruises and corporate events at sea. “They are taking time to prove their concept and develop appropriate protocols. They simply cannot afford to get this wrong.”

Late last fall, the CDC issued a framework for the phased resumption of cruise ship passenger operations for all vessels that call on any U.S. port. This framework for conditional sailing order requires lines to prove methods and protocols effective in mitigating the risks of COVID-19 transmission for CDC approval to sail.

“Once they’re comfortable with processes and protocols, which include onboard testing equipment,” says Landry, “the lines will sail with test cruises first, likely at half capacity with nonpaying volunteers (some lines have lists in excess of 100,000), in order to prove their concept and get CDC certification.”

While the situation with COVID-19 remains in flux, Landry anticipates the first “ships in the water” as early was mid-second quarter of this year with a focus on close by—think Caribbean—and shorter three- to seven-day cruises, with a fuller, more robust cruise season in 2022.

Industry leader Royal Caribbean has established a blue-ribbon healthy sail panel with experts in public health, biosecurity, epidemiology, hospitality and maritime operations to advise and support the line as it returns to safe sailing, according to Lori Cassidy, associate vice president of global corporate, incentive and charter sales for Royal Caribbean. The panel identified five key areas RC is laser-focused on to reduce the risk of infection and spread of COVID-19: testing, screening, and exposure reduction; sanitation and ventilation; response, contingency planning and execution; destination and excursion planning; and mitigating risks for crew members.

“We’re noting the vaccine rollout and what impact that will have on our protocols,” says Cassidy. “Our group clients want to know what cruising is going to look like. We know there will be reduced capacity, social distancing, increased sanitation protocols. It is a very fluid situation and one we are monitoring on a daily basis.”

Cassidy added that demand for cruises into the future remains high from group clients, indicating new bookings for 2022 and 2023, with some groups requesting as many as 500 staterooms. “It’s important for planners to be flexible and understanding as we may need to make changes to their programming and space requirements as we adjust protocols,” says Cassidy. “Our goal is to find solutions for them and make sure their events are successful.”

A version of this story appeared in Connect's spring 2021 issue.