Celebrity Cruises made history over the weekend with its re-launch of the Celebrity Edge, the first cruise ship to leave a United States homeport with ticketed passengers since March of 2020 when COVID-19 threw the American cruise industry into a tailspin.
Setting sail to the Caribbean from Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on June 26, the milestone event was complete with a pre-cruise press conference and reception.
“To survive for 15 months with zero revenue is not something they teach you in business school,” Richard Fain, Chairman and CEO of the Royal Caribbean Group – which includes Celebrity Cruises – said.
“But we’re a strong company,” he noted, adding he’s happy to have the “flywheel cranked up again in this industry.”
Video: ‘Freedom Of The Seas’ Returned To PortMiami After Completing Test Cruise (CBS Miami)
99 People Still Unaccounted For In Condo Collapse
CBS Miami
Surfside Condo Collapse Search And Rescue Work Continues
CBS Miami
Former Miami-Dade Fire Chief Dave Downey On Rescue Efforts
CBS Miami
CBS4's Eliott Rodriguez One On One With Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
CBS Miami
Nearly 100 People Still Unaccounted For After Surfside Condo Collapse
CBS Miami
Families Wait For Word On Loved One At Family Reunification Center
CBS Miami
President Biden Approves Florida Emergency Declaration After Surfside Condo Collapse
CBS Miami
Mom Pulls Daughter Out Of Condo Collapse Rubble Despite Broken Pelvis After 4-Story Fall
CBS Miami
Family, Friends Hoping For Loved Ones Found Safe Following Condo Collapse In Surfside
CBS Miami
Local Leaders Stress Everything Is Being Down To Rescue Surfside Condo Collapse Survivors
CBS Miami
Crews To Work Throughout The Night To Find Survivors Of Surfside Condo Collapse
CBS Miami
Surfside Condo Collapse: Mother Saves Daughter After Both Fell 4 Floors
CBS Miami
Surfside Building That Collapsed Had History Of Concern
CBS Miami
1-On-1 With Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava On Surfside Condo Collapse
CBS Miami
Loved Ones Holding Out Hope At Condo Collapse Reunification Site
CBS Miami
Several People With Israeli Citizenship Missing In Surfside Condo Collapse
CBS Miami
99 People Still Unaccounted For In Condo Collapse
Austin Carter reports families are anxiously awaiting word on their loved ones.
CBS Miami
Surfside Condo Collapse Search And Rescue Work Continues
Brooke Shafer reports heavy machinery was brought in to remove some of the debris.
CBS Miami
Former Miami-Dade Fire Chief Dave Downey On Rescue Efforts
Downey said it will be a meticulous process.
CBS Miami
Under the CDC’s Framework for Conditional Sailing Order (CSO), cruise ships can sail if 95% of the crew and paying passengers are fully vaccinated. Before boarding the Celebrity Edge, passengers were required to fill out a health questionnaire form and provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
However, cruising in Florida has become a political debate as the state’s Gov. Ron DeSantis has fought against the notion of “vaccine passports” and chafed under the CDC’s COVID-19 restrictions. Most recently, a federal judge in Florida ruled that the CDC’s conditional sailing orders for Florida-based ships would become “non-binding” guidelines on July 18.
According to Brian Abel, Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations for Celebrity Cruises, the June 26 Celebrity Edge cruise is sailing with “95% of our guests fully vaccinated, almost a 100% vaccinated crew, and only a 37% load factor, around 1,200 passengers on a ship that normally carries just over 3,000 passengers.”
Load Error
For Abel, the idea is to keep the landmark June 26 cruise as “close to the experience of a pre-COVID-19 cruise as possible. We want to give our guests a vacation.”
Captain Kate McCue, the first and only female American cruise ship captain, – along with crew members welcomed guests like cheerleaders saluting victorious football players – is optimistic about the return of cruising and let listeners in on a Celebrity Edge ritual that occurred over the last 15 months.
“After everything shut down, we’d blow the ship’s horn every night at 7: 30 to let everyone know we were safe and happy,” she recalled. “Today, we’re blowing the ship’s horn again: hope floats, and it can and will rise.”
Source: Read Full Article