The return of cruise tourism for Costa Rica, an increasingly popular cruise destination. This, of course, will inject much need dollars into the devastated tourism industry and raise employment rates in port and coastal areas.
In what has become a tug-of-war between US state officials and the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), US cruise lines are split over deciding whether to require their guests to be vaccinated before coming on board or not.
For a vessel to enter Costa Rican waters, however, all crew must be vaccinated and a minimum of 95% of passengers (who are of age) must also provide proof of vaccine, authorized by the National Commission of Vaccination and Epidemiology, with the last dose administered a minimum of two weeks prior to travelling on board.
Cruise passengers also must be covered by travel insurance to be allowed to come onto Costa Rica’s shores
Tourism Minister Gustavo J. Segura made the happy announcement about the kickstart to the Cosa Rican economy saying, “The resumption of this tourist activity will benefit the ports of Limón, Puntarenas, Caldera, Quepos and Golfito.”
He further explained, “Each passenger spends an average of $137 USD per day, which has an important impact on the reactivation of local economies in coastal communities.”
Nine cruise lines have already decided to include Costa Rica in their itineraries for the 2021-22 season including Windstar, Lindblad, Sea Cloud, Seabourn, Celebrity, Carnival, Norwegian, Princess and Regent Seven Seas.
Several of these lines will have ships porting in Puerto Limón on the east coast while the others will call into Pacific ports doting the west coast.
During the 2019-20 season cruising season some 239,566 cruise passengers arrived in the Central American country with 113 cruise ships stopping at Pacific ports and 84 in Caribbean ports. The 2021-22 season is poised to bring in similar numbers, but it will still be a while before the country makes up its losses due to the cancelled 2020-2021 season.
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