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When we think of cruises, our thoughts usually turn to tropical waters and remote islands. However, you can still find many amazing trips without even needing a passport. For these closed-loop cruises, all you need is a boarding pass, a government photo ID, and a US birth certificate. With the pandemic forcing us to be more considerate about international travel, a domestic cruise could be the answer for scratching that itch to go somewhere exotic.

Let’s take a look at some of the best cruise destinations available at your doorstep.

Hawaii

Length: seven nights to 18 nights

Distance: roughly 3,100 nautical miles

Time to go: Between March-September

When it comes to domestic cruises, it’s hard to beat a trip to Hawaii. Hawaii is surrounded by the warm waters of the Pacific ocean and gives tourists the chance to explore the volcanoes, beaches, and waterfalls that span the islands. There are many departure ports across the West Coast — making it easy for you to reach this popular destination.

Most cruises stop off at Honolulu first—where the infamous Waikiki Beach and the Pearl Harbor monument is located. The other main attraction is Lahaina, providing the opportunity to take a helicopter ride and have a bird’s eye view of the dormant volcanoes. 

Alaska

Length: six nights to 30 nights

Distance: roughly 900 nautical miles

Time to go: Between May-September

Alaska undoubtedly has some of the most awe-inspiring scenery in the USA. You can be forgiven for equating a trip to the “last frontier” as going back in time— the historic mining towns and fish markets that have kept the same customs for decades. However, Alaska mixes the old with the new, with plenty of fine-dining and cultural experiences available in cities such as Juneau.

There is more wilderness in Alaska than anywhere else in the USA. All of that wild terrain and rugged beauty is home to fantastic land and sea animals. You can expect to see bears, moose, wolves, eagles, and humpback whales, to name a few. The most popular departure points are Vancouver and Seattle for those wanting to head out from the North-West.

New England

Length: six nights to ten nights

Distance: roughly 600 nautical miles

Time to go: Between May-October

Although it’s perhaps not a destination that would spring to mind for many people when considering a cruise, the Northeastern state represents a great way to combine seeing city landmarks of New York and Boston with natural wonders. One of the best times of year to visit is during early autumn, when the wilting foliage produces an incredible spectrum of colors. The Northeastern coastline is obviously home to spectacular seafood as well—Maine lobster, steamed clams, and oysters are all to die for.

The Boston Freedom Trail is an excellent resource for learning about the American Revolution. Furthermore, you can explore Peggy’s Cove and its lighthouse in Nova Scotia, as well as the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site, a 19th-century military fort with spectacular views of Dartmouth Bay and the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge. Bar Harbor in Maine also has plenty of hiking trails in the surrounding Acadia National Park. The added benefit of a cruise in this part of the US, is the availability of departure locations from the many port cities in the area.

Uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic is not going away anytime soon, so travelers need options closer to home. These cruises mentioned above give you several possibilities that may only require a short drive or flight to get to the departure point. 

To learn more about cruising safely during the pandemic, check out our recent blog on this exact topic!

As the last Covid-19 wave caused by the Omicron variant comes to an end, cruise lines keep taking safety measures to avoid cases from spreading on board. The industry has been seriously hit by the pandemic and companies have been following the steps required to continue operating.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Conditional Sailing Order—a framework of mandatory safety procedures for foreign-flagged ships in U.S. waters—expired on January 15 and is now optional. Nevertheless, so far all U.S. based cruise ships have opted in, according to the CDC dashboard. The organization classifies ships according to their level of vaccinated crew and passengers, as well as the number of reported cases, and sets different rules for each group. 

In this scenario, it seems like the CDC guidelines plus the Healthy Sail Panel best practices are the criteria that cruises will continue to use in order to avoid a new wave of Covid-19 cases. Most of the rules have to do with social distancing, vaccination, and hygiene, such as: 

• Implement physical distancing of crew members who are not up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations when working or moving through the ship (maintaining at least 6 feet [2 meters] from others).
• Instruct crew members to properly wear a well-fitting mask when outside of individual cabins.
• Modify meal service to facilitate physical distancing (e.g., reconfigure dining room seating, stagger mealtimes, encourage in-cabin dining).
• Discourage handshaking – encourage the use of non-contact methods of greeting.
• Promote respiratory and hand hygiene and cough etiquette.
• Place hand sanitizer (containing at least 60% alcohol) in multiple locations and in sufficient quantities to encourage hand hygiene.
• Ensure handwashing facilities are well-stocked with soap and paper towels.
• Crew should remain up to date with their vaccines, which includes additional doses for individuals who are immunocompromised or booster doses at the appropriate time.

If Covid-19 cases are detected in a cruise ship, passengers infected get isolated and the rules become more strict:

• Minimize the number of crew sharing a cabin or bathroom to the extent practicable.
• Instruct crew members to remain in cabins as much as possible during non-working hours.
• Cancel all face-to-face employee meetings, group events (such as employee trainings), or social gatherings.
• Close all crew bars, gyms, and other group settings.
• Close crew indoor smoking areas.
• Provide all crew members with well-fitting, high-quality masks or respirators, such as KN95s.
• Expedite contact tracing (including the use of wearable technology, recall surveys, and the onboarding of additional public health staff).

As cases increase, the CDC requires more measures that include massive testing and can even force the cruise ship to return to port immediately or delay the next voyage. For this reason, keeping cases under control is vital for companies. 

How Can Ship Technology Prevent A Covid-19 Outbreak? 

Ship technology is the best ally for cruise companies during the pandemic. From facilitating communications to enabling contact tracing, these services can help keep cases at bay. Let’s take a look at some of them:

Onboard communications and world calling: passengers and crew can text and call as they were inland, keeping in touch with medical services and health authorities, and respecting social distance. 

Contactless technology: passengers can check-in, open the door, turn on the light, adjust the temperature in the room, speak with the front desk, wait in line, and much more just by using an app on their phone.

Contactless Vital-Sign Health Screening: vital signs from passengers and crew are screened by an app installed on their phones. Data from network-enabled, medically approved electronic health-monitoring devices are securely relayed using end-to-end encryption, and the medical team is alerted if abnormal results are detected. This feature comes especially handy to control vital signs from people in quarantine. 

Private and anonymized contact tracing: when a contagious guest or crew member is identified, an app can trace the people that have had close contact for them to be tested and quarantined, if necessary. 

Air filtration: the air is the main vehicle for Covid-19 to spread. For this reason, high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters are the best tool to keep the air clean and safe for passengers and crew.

Despite the CDC advising travelers to avoid cruising for considering it a “very high risk of Covid-19” activity, cruise lines have reasons to be hopeful: in a late-January Cruise Critic survey of 1,563 travelers who had taken a cruise in the past 90 days — during the peak of the omicron wave — 96% of respondents said they felt safe onboard and 88% said they would sail again under the same circumstances. 

If companies leverage these technological features to avoid more Covid-19 outbreaks, they will be for sure on their way to recovery. Get more information here.

There is no doubt that the hospitality industry was one of the most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Luckily, in 2022 hopes are on the rise – U.S. hotel demand will near full recovery this year, according to the upgraded forecast released by STR and Tourism Economics.

However, the world is not the same and neither are travelers. Hotels, cruise ships, and restaurants will have to adapt to the new tourist’s necessities if they want to take advantage of what will seemingly be a year of recovery. 

Let’s take a look at the top 10 trends in the hospitality industry for 2022:

1- Contactless experiences

Digital and contactless services’ popularity has spiked since the beginning of the pandemic, and by 2022, we can say this is a trend that is here to stay. Mobile check-in, contactless payments, virtual queuing, virtual front desk, voice control, and biometrics will be a must.

2- Heath diagnostic technology

Technology will also be a powerful partner to prevent the spread of coronavirus. This is the case of health technology apps that allow checking passengers’ and staff’s vital signs, and the response to health questionnaires. Using the smartphone front-facing camera, these apps capture vital signs that can then be seamlessly shared with medical staff during a video call. When a contagious guest or staff member is identified, this technology can also perform contact tracing to identify other people who may have had significant contact with that person so they can also be tested and quarantined, if necessary.

3- Remote work and leisure travel 

The Covid-19 pandemic forced companies to embrace remote work from one day to another. Two years later, it seems like this will be more than a passing trend: high-profile companies such as Twitter and Facebook have announced that they will remain remote even after the pandemic or adopt a hybrid and more flexible approach.

 

This change in the way of working plus the increasing blending of business and leisure travel creates a perfect opportunity for hotels and cruise ships, which should adapt to this new panorama by adding plug sockets, providing high-speed WIFI, and having comfortable workspaces. In the case of cruise ships, it will be fundamental to provide access to ship VoIP calling, maritime instant messaging, as well as ship PBX.

4- Personalization

According to Business Wire, 80% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands that show they understand them. For this reason, it is important to personalize services like never before, from communications and marketing to rooms and entertainment. 

5- Solo travel

In the age of mindfulness and meditation, people are venturing to travel more on their own. For this reason, hotels have started to build more “homey” environments and offer better accommodations for solo travelers. Some cruise ships, for example, are offering discounts and sales, as traveling solo is usually more expensive than sharing the room with somebody else. 

6- Sustainability

According to Booking.com’s 2021 Sustainable Travel Report, 83% of global travelers think sustainable travel is vital, with 61% saying the pandemic has made them want to travel more sustainably in the future. In consequence, hotels are taking actions like eliminating single-use toiletry bottles, adding recycling bins to guestrooms, and using compostable to-go containers and utensils. The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), on the other hand, has committed to pursuing net carbon neutral cruising by 2050.

7- Virtual reality and gamification

Attractive visual content is the key to success these days, so hotels should take advantage of virtual and augmented reality to build virtual tours of their accommodations, and even features that can be used by guests to create their own content. Also, gamification helps make promotions, loyalty programs, and staff training more engaging. 

8- Goodbye to self-service buffets

In order to accommodate safety and distance, hotels, restaurants, and some cruise ships are replacing self-service buffets with takeaway and service to the table. They are also including healthier options, as well as menus that can accommodate guests and passengers with different kinds of diets. 

9- Educational experiences 

People want to learn and be entertained. Painting and cooking classes, trivia nights, wine-tasting, conferences, and one-on-one sessions with storytellers are popular new offerings at many venues. 

10- Minimalism and meaning

Travelers have changed their mindset regarding the way they spend their money and time. Instead of choosing luxurious accommodations, they prefer to spend wisely, purposefully, and make a positive impact on the world.

 

Finally, the hospitality industry has the opportunity to get back on track after two difficult years. If businesses act on what travelers need, their success will be almost guaranteed.