First person: Cruising in a Covid era

Swedish ship captain Robert Bodin is speaking to cruise passengers over the public address system. However, it’s neither to invite us to the time-honoured captain’s toast, nor to give us evacuation details in case of emergency. Rather, he is dispensing instructions on what to do if we cough or sneeze, encouraging regular hand washing, and detailing steps on how to go about washing our hands.

Welcome to cruising in the Covid era, where hygiene reigns supreme, where self-serve buffets have gone the way of the dodo, and where the biggest safety or threat at hand is neither fire nor collision, but an invisible enemy that has 2020 in its firm grip.

We are on board Genting Cruise Lines’ (GCL) three-day Super Seacation sailing on its 18-deck megaship World Dream, which is the brand’s second outing from Singapore, following its inaugural cruise to nowhere on November 6. World Dream is the first cruise ship to restart operations in Singapore in the wake of the pandemic.

The pilot sailings are operated in compliance with Singapore Tourism Board’s mandatory CruiseSafe certification programme, jointly developed with quality assurance and risk management company DNV GL, which sets out stringent hygiene and safety measures throughout the passenger journey.

Sailing is at a reduced capacity of up to 50 per cent, and only open to Singapore residents.

Our journey started off on Sunday at 11.15 – our appointed Covid-19 test time indicated in the cruise confirmation slip, as part of crowd control measures. After dropping off our luggage in front of the Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore, we headed to the car park-turned-test facility to take our antigen rapid test.

To ensure safe distancing among today’s crowd, mostly made up of families with kids, along with some couples and friend groups, the facility has been divided into different zones, based on test timings. After checking in via SafeEntry, getting a temperature check, and filling in a health questionnaire – which can be completed either in physical or electronic form – we wait for our turn to join the queue.

After the test, we proceeded to the holding area, divided into colour zones, to await our results. The whole process lasted 90 minutes.

At the immigration checkpoint at the cruise centre, we underwent iris and facial biometrics replacing fingerprint scans for border identification checks, as part of Singapore’s move towards a touchless visitor experience. We were then given a pink-hued MICE pod for contact tracing – similar to the Singapore government-issued TraceTogether token, but for cruises – which we had to carry along with us at all times onboard the ship.

The moment we set foot into World Dream, we were whisked into a private lift by a crew member into our Palace Suite (S$1,199/US$887 per pax for a three-day/two-night sailing), where we were greeted by our personal butler, who assisted us with Wi-Fi connections and dinner reservations. We could also access exclusive upper-level facilities via the private lift.

When it came to the safety drill, as compared to pre-Covid, where cruisers had to gather at their assigned muster stations, the safety briefing was carried out wherever we were due to safe distancing rules. We were midway through dinner at the Seafood Grill by Mark Best when a safety announcement was made 45 minutes before departure, while a staff did a live demo on how to put on a life jacket.

These demos are conducted at 36 venues across the ship, while guests who are in their staterooms are able to watch the safety video on their televisions. In a way, this allowed us to still receive the safety instructions, sans the hassle of traditional assemblies.

Holidaymakers who appreciate space and exclusivity will relish the heightened sense of privacy that the new normal of cruising offers. In keeping with Covid-safe rules, cloth signages mark off seats at dining venues to maintain social distancing. Guests sit at alternate tables, with no more than five people per table. Visits to the swimming pools are by pre-booked hourly timeslots, with a 26-person cap in the main pool, and 16 in the private pool, while two people are allowed in each of the Jacuzzis at any one time.

On the final night, we even had the entire private pool deck to ourselves as we soaked in one of the four outdoor hot tubs.

Crew onboard the ship were vigilant and proactive about reminding guests to adhere to safety protocols, such as maintaining a 1m distance from others. While lunching at the Palace Restaurant, when my companion reached out to scoop a serving of char kway teow off my plate, we were stopped by a staff member, who handed us an extra plate for sharing purposes. Once, we were also told to pull our mask up when it slid down our nose, and another time, to keep our face mask on when ambling around the all-day diner The Lido, where à la carte meals replace self-serve buffets.

Temperature screening and scanning of ID card for entry into onboard facilities come as second nature to us. The ubiquity of hand sanitiser dispensers throughout the ship was a welcome convenience, as were handwashing stations at F&B spots. All around the ship were social distancing and one-way system floor decals designed to prevent cross-contamination. Some 40 cruise ambassadors also help to ensure safe distancing onboard.

Generally, we found that the new safety protocols including capacity limits did not put a damper on the cruising experience on this particular sailing, which hosted 1,400 guests onboard the 3,376-pax cruise ship, including 200 media personnel and travel agents.

The only time the capacity limits posed a slight inconvenience was when we were making reservations through our affable butler for the hugely-popular Teppanyaki restaurant – it was fully booked on many timeslots over the three days. The upside? My companion and I had the table all to ourselves, and could enjoy a private tête-à-tête dinner, away from prying ears.

There was also a short wait at the rock climbing station, as only two people were allowed to scale the wall at any one time.

All the rules on land translate to onboard. Although current Covid rules dictate that we couldn’t enjoy a cabaret act at the Chinese restaurant Silk Road, croon to Jacky Cheung’s ditties at the KTV lounge, or admire an aerial acrobatics performance at the three-storey Bar 360, there were enough activities onboard to keep us occupied over three days.

We went rock climbing, teed off at the mini golf-course, had an invigorating foot rub at the spa, shot skeletons at the VR game zone Esc Experience Lab, and rode a waterslide where water kept shooting up our nose.

Social distancing also means up-close interaction between the actors and the audience during live performances at the Zodiac Theatre are off the cards. Back-of-house tours also belong in the past. To wit, during the Verry Christmas signature show, a male performer in drag began flirting with a male audience member, teasing about planting a kiss on him, before turning on his heels and going, “Cannot lah! Coronavirus!”

With a 250-person cap limit, more showtimes have to be run at the 999-capacity Zodiac Theatre. For the Verry Christmas show, guests were allocated to show timeslots based on deck levels. The premises is also disinfected using fogging machines after every show. Sanitation is done twice a day at all staterooms and suites, every four hours at public areas, and on a two-hourly basis at high touchpoints such as lift buttons and door knobs.

At the 24/7 medical centre, walk-ins are banned, with all consultations to be pre-accessed via phone. Two doctors are onboard each sailing, with one doubling up as infection control officer. Seven staterooms have been converted into isolation cabins to house suspected and positive cases, with 34 quarantine rooms reserved for close contacts.

In the laboratory sits a US$109,000-priced Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing machine, which can spit out results within an hour, and not only detect Covid-19, but also 22 other respiratory diseases and bacteria like influenza.

If there is a suspected case, a nurse wearing full PPE will go to the patient’s room and bring him or her to the ward for further assessment. While waiting for the results, the patient will be put in the isolation cabin, which once activated, will be in negative pressure to prevent air leakage out of the room. Meanwhile, contact tracing will be carried out in case of a need to bring close contact cases into quarantine rooms. If the guest tests positive for Covid-19, all activities will seize and all guests asked to return to their cabins, while the ship will return to Singapore shores in less than six hours.

All 187 crew members onboard are also subjected to stringent measures, including completing a 14-day quarantine on the cruise ship prior to Dream World’s arrival in Singapore end-October. They also have to undergo a further series of mandatory Covid-19 testing and must test negative before signing up for active duty.

Disembarkation was a breeze. From leaving our suite to arriving at the taxi stand, the whole process took a mere 19 minutes. Disembarkation was conducted in sequential order by deck, each assigned to different timeslots.

World Dream’s two- and three-night Super Seacation cruises start from S$259 per pax, for bookings before November 30. For more information, visit www.dreamcruiseline.com.

Photos: Cheryl Ong