Virgin Voyages is rolling out a plan to help quell passenger fears over the coronavirus ahead of its anticipated October debut.
The Richard Branson-backed, adults-only cruise line announced Thursday its Voyage Well program, including testing, tracing, screening and a shipwide air purification system the company said is extremely effective in fighting the respiratory illness.
"We appreciate some people will be apprehensive about travelling, so we are committed to being led by science and creating ways to give people confidence to explore the world while feeling safer, more relaxed and free to enjoy themselves," Virgin Voyages chief executive Terry McAlpin said in a statement.
The company's first ship, the 2,770-passenger, $500m Scarlet Lady (built 2020), is set to sail on a "soft open" in October after being pushed back twice, first from April into August.
Those plans, the company said, were subject to the lifting of travel restrictions brought on by the Covid-19 outbreak earlier this year. Since mid-March, no cruise ships have been sailing, steadily pushing back voyages as the pandemic continues.
The air purification system, developed by AtomsAir Solutions, is the centrepiece of the program, disinfecting the air "from bow to stern" with testing showing the system is more than 99.9% effective in neutralising Covid-19, the company said.
Beyond that, Virgin Voyages said it will have testing for passengers and crew, will send out notifications should anyone become ill up to two weeks after the cruise, pre-boarding health checks and thermal cameras to monitor temperatures.
The company will manage occupancy aboard the Scarlet Lady to make sure social distancing is possible across the entire ship and use on board technology, like virtual queues, to limit contact.
The company is also cutting final payment dates in half from 120 days before the cruise to 60 and allowing passengers to cancel within 48 hours for a full credit through 16 December.
The company said the procedures were developed with vendors, health professionals and government officials.
The cruise industry has been hit particularly hard by Covid-19. In addition to laying up their fleets, cruise lines have been the subject of a deluge of lawsuits over their handling of the outbreak by passengers, crew and shareholders.
Virgin Voyages was first supposed to sail 1 April, but was pushed back to 7 August with "showcase" sailings in July.
The outbreak also forced the company to cancel promotional events in Miami and New York.
The Scarlet Lady is the first of four ships Virgin Voyages hopes to run, with the second, the Valiant Lady, set for delivery next year and the other two in 2022 and 2023.
