THE Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has given Royal Caribbean International (RCI) a tick of approval to begin both a revenue and test sailing.
RCI announced earlier this week Freedom of the Seas had become the first ship to successfully complete a simulated voyage and receive a conditional sailing certificate.
Freedom operated its simulated cruise last month, and will sail its first revenue cruise tomorrow from PortMiami to the Bahamas.
RCI also announced Oasis of the Seas has been approved for a simulated voyage from New Jersey on 22 Aug.
The CDC has now approved 11 ships to operate simulated voyages and another eight for revenue voyages.
Unfortunately, Disney Cruise Line announced the postponement of its first planned simulated cruise, a two-night voyage aboard Disney Dream.
Originally scheduled to depart yesterday from Port Canaveral with 300 employees as the volunteers, several crew members tested positive for coronavirus during the routine testing required by the CDC.
The cruise would have been the first with passengers from Port Canaveral.