Let Me Be Your Guinea Pig

Thousands of cruising enthusiasts are volunteering to be the first ones back on the boat. By Fran Golden

- Fran Golden

When Royal Caribbean International announced it was looking for volunteers to help test its post-pandemic health and safety protocols, Melody Wiggins was among the first to sign up.

“No matter where [they] want me to be, I’m there,” says Wiggins, 58, a life coach from Southern California who calls the 4,180-passenger Anthem of the Seas her “home away from home.” After she fell in love with cruising in 2018, she’s been on 16 voyages—several of them on the Anthem. Her obsession is a straightforward romance with ocean views, sunrises at sea, and the smell of salt breezes. “I miss all of that,” she says.

Since February 2020, when an outbreak on the Diamond Princess led to at least 700 positive Covid-19 cases and 12 deaths among passengers and crew, the cruise industry has been unable to prove that it can keep its customers safe. (All the major lines—Royal, Carnival Corp., Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., and their many subsidiaries—have been sitting idle in the U.S. since March.)

Bent Martini, chairman, and chief operating officer of Hurtigruten Ltd., a European cruise line, stepped down in August after an outbreak on one of its ships in Norway. Four months later, a ship in SeaDream Yacht Club’s fleet left Barbados on a trip meant to validate its increased safety protocols, including regular testing, but had to turn back after seven out of 53 passengers tested positive.

Nevertheless, Royal Caribbean’s call for volunteers in November received 100,000 signatures in the first week. An additional 150,000 have jumped on board since then, all of them willing and eager to stare down the coronavirus for the chance to get back out on the water.