All Aboard! 1st post-pandemic cruise ship readies to sail

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (AP) — The first cruise ship to leave a United States port since the coronavirus pandemic brought the industry to a 15-month standstill is preparing to set sail with nearly all vaccinated passengers on board.

Celebrity Edge will depart Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 6:00 p.m. Saturday with the number of passengers limited to about 40% capacity, and with virtually all passengers vaccinated against COVID-19.

Celebrity Cruises, one of Royal Caribbean Cruise's brands, says 99% of the passengers are vaccinated, well over the 95% requirement imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A giant greeting was projected on a wall of one of the port buildings: “Someday is here. Welcome back.”

Passengers arrived with matching T-shirts that read phrases such as “straight outta vaccination” and “vaccinated and ready to cruise.”

“Words can't describe how excited we are to be a part of this historic sailing today,” said Elizabeth Rosner, 28, who moved from Michigan to Orlando, Florida, in December 2019 with her fiancé just to be close to the cruise industry's hub.

To comply with both the CDC's requirement and a new Florida law banning businesses from requiring customers to show proof of vaccination, Celebrity Cruises is asking guests if they would like to share their vaccination status.

Those who do not show or say they are vaccinated face additional restrictions.

Saturday's sailing kicks off the cruise lines' return to business with Carnival vessels already scheduled to depart from other ports next month.

“This is an emotional day for me. When I stepped on board the ship, I was proud. It's a beautiful ship,” said Royal Caribbean Cruises' CEO Richard Fain, after expressing condolences to the victims of the Surfside building collapse, less than 15 miles south of the port.

Industry officials are hoping all goes smooth to move past a chapter last year of deadly outbreaks on cruise ships that prompted ships to be rejected at ports and passengers to be forced into quarantine.

Some passengers died of COVID-19 at sea while others fell so ill they had to be carried out of the vessels on stretchers.

The CDC extended no-sail orders repeatedly last year as the pandemic raged, and came up with strict requirements for the industry that have already been contested in court by the state of Florida.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says the industry generates billions for the state's economy.

On Saturday, officials at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale said only that port lost more than $30 million in revenue in fiscal year 2020 from the cruise shutdown.

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