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Equinox latest Celebrity Cruises ship to sail from US

Celebrity Equinox is the latest Celebrity Cruises ship to gain approval to restart sailing from the US.

The vessel has been given the green light by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to operate from Fort Lauderdale from July 25.

It will follow Celebrity Edge, which is set to return on an itinerary to the Caribbean on June 26.

The latest announcement means that nine of the 14 ships in the Celebrity Cruises’ fleet have plans to return to sailing by mid-September.

Celebrity Equinox will sail with at least 95% of crew and passengers being vaccinated and at reduced capacity.

Passengers will be required to wear an appropriate face covering in the terminal.

Arrivals and departures will be staggered by appointment, with passengers having the ability to select their preferred times based on travel plans.

Once on board, and unless otherwise stipulated by local governments in the destinations being visited, masks will not be required of vaccinated passengers in accordance with CDC guidance.

The recently revamped Celebrity Equinox will run a seven-night cruise visiting the Mexican ports of Cozumel and Costa Maya, along with Nassau, Bahamas.

Chief executive Lisa Lutoff-Perlo said: “It is so exciting to announce yet another ship on the heels of Celebrity Millennium leading the industry’s Caribbean comeback to rave reviews just this past Saturday.

“From the outpouring of comments and emotion from our guests and crew on that sailing, it’s clear that people are ready to cruise back to normal.

“We’ve all been waiting for the day we could get away again to the places we’ve been dreaming of and that ‘someday’ is here.”

Meanwhile, Barbados said it welcomed vaccinated cruise passengers.
Tourism and international transport minister Lisa Cummins said: “As we reopen our borders and look to restart tourism on island, the health and safety of Barbadians and visitors remains paramount to what we do and how we do things.
“These cruise arrangements have come after months of careful planning at the level of our local health officials; America’s Cruise Task Force, where we considered both the CDC sail orders and the EU Healthy Sail Guidelines; and even the social partnership of Barbados which created a sub-committee dedicated to cruise.
“We are therefore confident that the implementation of these new protocols will give fully vaccinated travellers cruising to Barbados the opportunity to safely enjoy the destination once more.”

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