QCOSTARICA – The Zuiderdam cruise ship owned and operated by Holland America Line, and the Seven Seas Explorer, arrived simultaneously this Monday, January 10, 2022, in Puntarenas.
The Zuiderdam arrived with 537 crew members and 893 passengers, after visiting the port of Quetzal in Guatemala; While the Seven Seas Explorer arrived on the Costa Rican coast with 537 crew members and 457 passengers, after visiting the Panama Canal.
Comparsas (group of singers, musicians and dancers), masquerades and the marimba were part of the disembarkation and reception of passengers on Costa Rican soil.
“As the tour operators informed us, the cruise ship passengers would be taking the free City Tour offered by the INCOP through the city of Puntarenas, also, confirmed are tours in the Esparza, Monteverde and Tárcoles area,” said Juan Ramón Rivera, executive president of the Instituro Costarricense de Puertos del Pacifico (INCOP)
Passengers who participate in off ship tourist activities must comply with the sanitary protocol issued by Costa Rica for the attention of cruise ships.
According to data from the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) – Costa Rican Tourism Board, each cruise ship passenger who arrives in the country spends an average of US$137 between the different products and services, such as food, tours, handicrafts, among others.
So far this season, some 16,000 people have been received in the Pacific, from a season that awaits the arrival of about 108 cruise ships.
The country’s ports maintain strong monitoring to receive cruises due to Ómicron
Port authorities agree that they have to keep an eye on what is happening outside of Costa Rica with Omicron’s behavior, as well as the dynamics that the Covid-19 cases in the country will maintain in the coming days, to visualize eventual changes and strengthen sanitary measures that have allowed the successful return of tourists on cruise ships.
Cruise Ship Reception Protocol
Measures applied for the arrival of tourists to the ports in the framework of the health emergency caused by Covid-19 include:
- Health and hygiene measures in ports and use of masks
- Ports staff who participate in receiving tourists must have a complete vaccination scheme
- Demarcated facilities with a physical distance of 1.8 meters
- Declaration of the vessel whether or not there are cases of Covid-19
- Cruise lines must take the temperature of passengers and crew, as well as ensure proper use of masks
- Passengers and crew must fill out the Health Pass 48 hours before arriving at the port and have a complete vaccination schedule
- Cruise Line Affidavit of Insurance and Health Care Expenses
- Ship must present an emergency Protocol for Covid-19
- People with Covid-19 symptoms should be reported immediately
- In the event that a passenger or crew member requires hospitalization, they must coordinate with the Ministry of Health to disembark.
