07/27/2020
While some cruise lines operating today have already committed to having a 100 percent fresh air mix aboard their vessels going forward, many are still finalizing their health and safety protocols.
Of the few lines that have rolled out detailed preliminary health and safety protocols, air circulation remains a central component of many safe return-to-cruise policies.
In June, Norwegian Cruise Line
announced new health and safety
protocols that included the installation of new medical-grade H13 HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters across its fleet. These filters are estimated to remove 99.95 percent of all airborne pathogens that are 0.1 microns or larger. The COVID-19 pathogen is 25 percent larger than this standard, coming in at 0.125 microns. For comparison, a single human hair is 75 microns -- 75,000 percent larger.
Earlier this month, Norwegian Cruise Line
partnered with Royal Caribbean
to develop a "Healthy Sail" taskforce detailed with creating health and safety protocols for their respective fleets, and for the industry as a whole.
Related: Upper vs. Lower Deck: A Cabin Comparison
While the Health Sail panel won't present its findings until the end of August, it is already clear that onboard air systems will play a role in the return to safe cruising.
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"Clearly testing will be part of this, so we have testing experts," said Mike Leavitt, Healthy Sail panel member, former Secretary of the U.S. Department Health and Human Services and former three-term governor of Utah, in an interview with Cruise Critic. "Sanitation protocols will