MIAMI, Fla. (WTXL) — Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas ship returned to PortMiami Tuesday morning after setting sail on a simulated voyage and becoming the first ship to sail with passengers from the U.S. since the pandemic began.
“There’s a huge comeback. There is lots of ships being planned to be restarted with lots of paying guests. We are very excited to get started again,” said Patrik Dahlgren, senior vice president of the Royal Caribbean Group.
The simulated sailing left Miami on Sunday with some 600 employee volunteers onboard.
Their goal is to test some of the new health and safety measures outlined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before the cruise line welcomes paying passengers next month.
“I understand how hard we have worked for this comeback and all the protocols that are in place, so I feel pretty safe,” volunteer Klaus Meisel said.
The test cruise came after Gov. Ron DeSantis claimed victory in court when a judge issued a preliminary injunction to temporarily stop the CDC from enforcing its conditional sailing order, which was issued last year.
