During a Chaotic Wave of “do not cruise” from the CDC, your Role as a Travel Professional is More Important than Ever
Written By: Jesse Morris, Owner – We Book Travel LLC
Today the covid CDC guidelines announced that it is recommending cruises be avoided regardless of a person’s vaccination status. That is a really scary statement for them to make. When you look at the history of their recommendations, it’s easy to see why people would be scared. Not only have they said that quarantine periods can be cut in half, they state that Omicron is a far less harsh version of the Coronavirus. If all of this is true and we can still go to theme parks, restaurants, gather in groups, go to concerts and more, why then is cruising so dangerous? The same activity that is limiting itself in most cases to vaccinated people who have been tested within days (or in some cases mere hours) prior to boarding is more dangerous than moving through a crowded airport and boarding a completely full flight with no testing requirements at all? More dangerous than public transportation where people are crammed together? Cruise ships, where most are self-imposing limits to capacity to ensure social distancing can be easily observed, are more dangerous than restaurants where every table is full? I don’t get it. To be fair, I am not a virologist or immunologist. I am not a scientist and I haven’t worked in the field of disease control. Maybe there is a legitimate reason to fear cruise ships more than any other leisure activity in the world. We deserve more clarity and answers though. Our clients deserve more.
This is why our phones are so very important. We have a responsibility to our clients to provide a well-rounded set of facts to our clients so that they can make an intelligent decision about travel. Our clients are scared and they need to hear the facts. They need to understand what they can and should expect should they travel right now. Currently, they are hearing only a piece of the puzzle. How can they be expected to make an informed decision without the entire picture? We should never try to coerce our clients into traveling if they do not feel comfortable. It is our job to ensure they have the details needed to be able to decide if they are comfortable or not. Our clients hear the buzzing of the news media, the fear-mongering, the buzz that creates advertising dollars and generates clickbait headlines on social media. It is our duty to counterbalance the fear with facts. It is disappointing that the CDC chooses to not share a full and balanced view of the situation related to cruising.
According to the Covid CDC’s guidelines, the threshold for an investigation is low. If 6500 passengers are on board a ship (guests and crew), it would take at least 7 cases during the previous 7 days to meet CDC’s investigation threshold. Ask yourself, in a gathering of 6500 people at a theme park or any other event, how many do you think are Covid positive and are asymptomatic? Look at photos of ships sailing right now. People are distanced, masked appropriately and taking every precaution possible. Now look at any other place people gather. Same thing? I think not. It would appear that cruises are being unfairly singled out as inherently more dangerous than other social and leisure activities, but why?
Regardless of why, our clients need to hear from us so that we can provide the answers to their burning questions. They need to know what the shipboard experience is like and how it differs from what they experience at home and what they have experienced on board in the past. We cannot sit idly by and expect them to call us to gather information. We must be proactive in contacting our clients to ask and answer questions so that they can feel that we are more than just an order taker. We are their advocate and we are their advisor. We must be prepared for the questions, put them down in writing, craft an answer that is neutral and informative so that we can provide it during the conversation. “Mr. Smith, I am reaching out to all of my clients because I have found that so many of you have questions about travel right now. Is it safe? What is the experience like? Do I need insurance? Many people have concerns and I want to be sure you have all the information you need to make the best decision possible. Did you have questions I could answer?” This isn’t a sales call. This is a call designed to combat fear and misinformation.
Covid is not going away. It keeps changing and we have to change with it. As an industry we have been asked to adapt and overcome often. This is just another example.