Norwegian Cruise Line Will Return with Temperature Checks, No Buffets

Norwegian Cruise Line will begin sailing again with a brand new set of health and safety measures onboard its ships. 

In a letter to its travel advisor partners on Monday, NCL said that it was launching Sail Safe, a set of “stringent health protocols and supporting innovation to meet and exceed industry and health standards,” in order to ensure the safety of both its future guests and crew members. 

The program includes six new safety measures that Norwegian has added onboard its ships and to its embarking, and disembarking, procedures. It includes new air filtration systems called H13 HEPA that NCL says will remove 99.95% of airborne pathogens onboard; increased sanitation including fogging in staterooms and public areas and increased frequencies of cleaning onboard; COVID-19 tests available onboard and enhanced training for NCL’s medical crew; and online check-in and staggered embarkation to promote social distancing.

One of the bigger changes will be the new health screening procedures both before embarkation and onboard that includes touchless temperature checks for guests prior to embarkation, prior to all meals and activities in public venues, and prior to returning to the ship from a port of call. NCL is also planning to have crew members go through temperature checks multiple times a day. 

NCL also said, as part of Sail Safe, that it will no longer offer buffet service and instead will offer full service meals served by crew members. 

In the letter, Norwegian said that “this is just the start of a wave of new technologies and enhancements we are rolling out, so you can explore the world with the ultimate Peace of Mind.”