Cruise & Ferry Review - Spring/Summer 2021

5 5 and hygiene concept which served as a backbone for our restart.” Developed in conjunction with medical experts, the concept includes mandatory health questionnaires and PCR tests before the cruise, daily temperature checks for guests and crew, mandatory digital check-in and staggered check-in times. To comply with social distancing regulations on land, the passenger capacity is limited to a maximum of 60 per cent, while only balcony cabins and suites are occupied. Onboard, TUI Cruises has introduced additional, and very strict, cleaning and disinfection measures to prevent the spread of viral diseases. Staff in the hospitals onboard each ship have also been trained to deal with Covid-19- related emergencies efficiently. These measures are based on medical standards developed by renowned institutions, such as Germany’s Robert Koch Institute and the World Health Organisation, and they comply with the guidelines of the respective authorities for resuming cruise operations. Once TUI Cruises had all these protocols in place, there was no shortage of passengers willing to get back onboard. “Since the end of July 2020, we have hosted more than 60,000 guests,” confirms Meier. “We started by offering short cruises to and from the ports of Hamburg and Kiel, with sea days only and no shore leave. We then started weekly cruises with the same concept.” In September 2020, TUI Cruises' began sailing to Greece. The itineraries included shore excursions following a controlled ‘cruise in a bubble’ concept: cruises were offered as a complete package, including transport to the ship in chartered aircraft used exclusively by Mein Schiff guests. “In order to avoid uncontrolled contact with other travellers, neither individual transport nor individual shore leaves are possible at the moment,” says Meier. “Shore leaves are only possible for guests who are in organised groups led by us in cooperation with local agencies.” With many successful sailings now behind it, TUI Cruises has proven that cruising is able to weather the Covid-19 storm – and, crucially, that passengers are willing to pay for the experience, even if it may be a little different. “The future is positive as we have proven that cruises are possible despite the pandemic, and we know that people want to travel and come onboard,” Meier says. “We are confident that we will be able to sail with all our ships again in the course of 2021, with suitable hygiene concepts. We have done our homework in the past few months and are well prepared to endure a longer phase of lower capacity.” CFR All the Mein Schiff vessels offer plenty of open-air spaces, which make it easy for guests to enjoy themselves while keeping at a safe social distance from other passengers