The latest protocols from Virgin Voyages' health and safety plan, Voyage Well, cover everything from pre-boarding to the end of each cruise to ensure the wellbeing of every crewmember and passenger.
The first thing to know is that every crewmember and passenger is required to be fully vaccinated. Temperature checks and pre-boarding health checks and screenings will be required for crew and passengers throughout the cruise.
Luggage and any deliveries onto the ship will be sanitized using fogging; sanitizing dispensers, touchless faucets and hospital-grade disinfectants from EcoLab have been adopted for use throughout the ship. Sanitization of frequently touched areas will be done more often.
In addition to these measures, Virgin Voyages' ships now have AtmosAir Solutions, which uses bi-polar Ionization technology to kill 99.9 percent of airborne viruses.
Ship capacity has also been reduced, making social distancing measures much easier. Smaller dining options are located throughout the ship to offer areas without large mealtime crowds that you'd usually see in a buffet-style eatery.
ShipEats, the on-board food delivery service, includes contactless pick-up and drop-off. Other contactless measures include The Band, for contactless payment, Service Chat and Virtual Queues for getting in lines virtually instead of physically.
Masks are worn in accordance with the CDC and the UK government, which means that if these entities require masks on land, the ships will too.
Crewmembers will be tested twice a week for COVID-19. Basic testing and health screenings are free for crew and passengers while on board, and both parties have access to the health facilities 24/7. Should anyone test positive, they will be quarantined. Those who come into contact with someone who has tested positive will be tested, too.
After each cruise is finished, if any passengers or crew came into contact with anyone onboard who has tested positive post-cruise, they'll be notified. Contact tracing is done throughout the cruise via the Sailor App using Bluetooth technology.
New bookings made before June 30, 2021, for any sailings for this year, will receive a flexible cancellation policy that allows cruisers to cancel up to 48 hours prior to the sailing date, receiving a 100 percent Future Voyage Credit.
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