Richard Fain, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises, said the company was preparing to re-enter service and gathering knowledge on COVID-19 in his latest video update. The company is working with experts in the field, he said, trying to understand the science and develop new ways of doing things to protect the health of guests and crew.

The overall goal is to not make the ships good enough, but the best they can be, Fain said.

Fain said it would take “a while” to reopen and that a reopening process would be gradual. 

“There is no perfect solution,” said Fain, noting a difficult balance weighing economic and health concerns. 

“We need to change the way we operate in a fundamental way,” Fain continued. “What was reasonable a month ago is no longer adequate.”