Virgin Voyages has unveiled health and safety measures for passengers embarking on the ‘Scarlet Lady’ when she sails on her delayed maiden voyage in October.
The ship, the first of two, will be adults only with a minimum age of 18, and will include new protocols on board.
These will feature – pre-boarding health screenings, coupled with thermal camera technology to monitor crew temperatures in terminals; the fogging of every piece of luggage and delivery that is loaded onto the ship; the fogging of all cabins; new cleaning protocol and cleanliness standards incorporating the latest hygiene initiatives; the frequent disinfection of high touch areas.
In addition, HVAC systems are designed to bring 100% fresh air into all the cabins; an air filtration system that has been shown“to kill 99.9% of viruses will be used; and the keeping additional ventilators, oxygen tanks and PPE on board.
Virgin also said that guests will also be encouraged to follow best practices concerning social distancing, which the company will instigate by significantly reducing the overall ship capacity for the start-up sailing period.
Passengers will be encouraged to leverage the digital on board experience to limit contact with staff by paying, chatting, ordering food or securing space in ‘virtual queues’ for any on board experiences.
“For masks, we follow the same guidance as is recommended on land – so if people are advised to wear masks there, we will do so at sea, as well,” Virgin Voyages said.
These new protocols will also extend to shore excursions. In addition, Virgin Voyages is setting up a ‘post-voyage notification process’ for customers to report any symptoms experienced after the trip.
“We’ll be updating these as the science and technology evolves, and we’ll continue to keep you posted as we evolve right along with it,” Virgin Voyages added.
‘Scarlet Lady’ is due to sail from Miami to the Dominican Republic and Bimini on 16th October this year.
