By EARYEL BOWLEG

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE it being a “really challenging” time for the travel industry, a Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd executive said the cancellation rate for cruises to The Bahamas has been low.

Russell Benford, the company’s vice president of government relations, spoke to reporters after US President Donald Trump announced the United States would ban travel from Europe for 30 days, excluding the United Kingdom. Mr Benford said while RCI has a “really large business” in Europe, the travel restriction would not impact the amount of travellers coming to The Bahamas on its cruises.

“As it relates to the Caribbean cruise product, the vast majority of our guests that cruise with Royal Caribbean to The Bahamas are Americans and so that’s really the base – the people that are visiting The Bahamas on a cruise ship and then visiting the Caribbean.

“So, I mean you know Americans are still travelling. They’re still booking cruises. Our cancellation rate has been fairly low here in the Bahamas. So business is still going. People are still taking a vacation but it’s fluid situation.”

Still the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the cruise industry, he conceded. Princess Cruises has announced it will voluntarily suspend global operations of its 18 cruise ships for 60 days due to COVID-19. Cruise ships from other lines, including Royal Caribbean, have been denied entry from various ports due to coronavirus fears.

The US State Department has advised Americans, particularly travellers with underlying health conditions, not to travel by cruise ship. “CDC notes increased risk of infection of COVID-19 in a cruise ship environment,” the State Department’s website advises.

“We’re seeing a slowdown,” Mr Benford said. “I mean globally for us we’re gonna see a slowdown. It’s already happening in other parts of the world…we’re just kind of monitoring it day-by-day and see what happens but we’re prepared.”

The cruise line says it has implemented stringent boarding measures amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Workers are now taking the temperature of every person on board their vessels and RCI has increased the amount doctors and nurses on their ships.

He added that US Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the White House’s coronavirus task force, asked for a meeting with all cruise heads last Saturday. Cruise line executives met with Mr Pence in South Florida and were asked to give a plan of action in order to increase the safety protocols on ships.

Mr Benford said Royal Caribbean submitted its plan on Wednesday and is expected to get a response from Mr Pence today after it is reviewed.

“We put protocols in place such as every single person who boards the ship now we take their temperature whether they are a passenger or a crew member,” he said.

“We’ve increased the number of doctors on our ships, the number of nurses on our ships. We’re working very diligently with the United States government to get COVID-19 test kits, you know, on our ships so we can test people.

“We have stringent, you know, policies in place for people who are sick and just aren’t feeling well…. what the cruise industry has said (is) that if we ever have a situation on board a ship where we need to remove someone who tests positive for COVID, we would do that at our expense. We will bring those folks back to the United States at our expense and make sure they are hospitalised in the United States. . .”

Mr Benford also praised the Bahamian measures to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak. He said communication between the cruise line and government officials has been great.