Can a Gay Cruise Keep 4,700 People Safe Amid Covid?
As the Omicron variant of the coronavirus continues to surge onboard cruise ships, forcing several cruise lines to cancel and postpone voyages, Atlantis Events, a gay and lesbian tour operator, is preparing to launch one of its biggest events on Sunday: a 4,700-person Caribbean cruise marking the company’s 30th anniversary.
Even as the pandemic is raging around the world and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a stark warning telling Americans to avoid travel on cruise ships, regardless of their vaccination status, Atlantis insists that its vaccination mandate, testing requirements and health protocols are enough to provide a safe environment for guests throughout the voyage.
Many passengers are convinced. “It’s time to start living our lives again and vaccines and tests allow us to do that. This isn’t Covid 2020,” said Andre Mayer, a graphic designer from Germany who paid more than $4,000 for the weeklong cruise on board Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. “This is going to be the wildest party for our community in two years.
I’m talking dirty dancing, sex, drugs, raves, orgies and sweet, sweet freedom.” For the hundreds of cruise passengers who contracted the coronavirus on board other ships in recent weeks, many falling ill and spending days in quarantine, their experience couldn’t have been further from the carefree vacation that Mr.
