RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — After 16 months, Bahamas Paradise Cruise line has officially resumed operations. The family owned and operated cruise line didn't waste any time getting back out on the high seas after receiving the green light from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday.
The Grand Classica Cruise Ship is expected to return Monday morning to the Port of Palm Beach from its first voyage since the pandemic.
Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the cruise line has implemented several new guidelines and protocols to help keep passengers and crew members safe while on board.
Facemasks are required indoors and there's also strict social distancing policy.
Due to travel guidelines in the Bahamas, travelers must either show proof of vaccinations or results from a negative covid
test.
For the next few weeks, the ship only plans to carry a maximum of 400 passengers, compared to their average of about 1500 before the pandemic.
Cruise ship owner, Oneil Khosa said the first voyage has been a success and and his team are already looking forward to the second one.
"It's been a long time as you can imagine, and we are very, very excited to be back on. But we are also cautiously optimistic, because we can see there is there's a lot of people who want to cruise with us. But at the same time, we must make sure that we keep it safe and clean," said Khosa.
After the ship returns Monday morning, it will embark for its second voyage later on at 5 p.m.