# Test Cruises' Can Start With Volunteer Passengers to Prove They're Covid Safe **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 6, 2021, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-cruises-can-start-with-volunteer-passengers-to-prove-theyre-covid-safe/941533 "2021-05-06T16:59:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-cruises-can-start-with-volunteer-passengers-to-prove-theyre-covid-safe/941533/1 "2021-05-06T16:59:56Z")
> **[CDC Says 'Test Cruises' Can Start With Volunteer Passengers to Prove They're...](https://gizmodo.com/cdc-says-test-cruises-can-start-with-volunteer-passenge-1846834483)** > > The U.S.-based cruise ship industry will need to prove it can operate safely with test cruises and volunteer passengers before normal operations can begin, the Centers for Disease Control said in a statement on Wednesday. All cruise volunteers will... What are volunteer passengers? I’m pretty sure that all passengers, even pre-covid, were volunteer, with the exception of children, which technically may have been forced to be there by their parents. Are they implying that these test cruises should have “non-paying” passengers? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-cruises-can-start-with-volunteer-passengers-to-prove-theyre-covid-safe/941533/2 "2021-05-06T17:05:37Z")
I think the voluntary part of the program is for passengers to agree to be tested for Covid-19 3-5 days _after_ the cruise is over. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-cruises-can-start-with-volunteer-passengers-to-prove-theyre-covid-safe/941533/3 "2021-05-06T17:07:04Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > What are volunteer passengers? We have friends, a retired couple, who pre-pandemic were doing 3 or 4 cruises a year. They’d return home from a cruise, do laundry, take care of the mail, relax a bit, then prepare for the next cruise. They’ve been approached about booking a cruise, not free but _extremely_ reduced fare because they are “good customers”. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/test-cruises-can-start-with-volunteer-passengers-to-prove-theyre-covid-safe/941533/4 "2021-05-06T22:55:30Z")
I once made the comment that big computer companies have figured out that it’s cheaper for them not to do quality assurance. Instead, they can release their software in ‘almost done’ form, and use all of us customers as ‘beta testers’. In the same sense, all cruise passengers are ‘test subjects’. I mean, long before Covid, we used to call the cruise ships we were on “Floating Petri Dishes”. And a percentage will catch Covid, a different percentage will get a norovirus, and some will catch a simple cold. People who love cruises _LOVE_ cruises, so I’d bet even a higher chance of contracting a virus wouldn’t deter them… “Well, sure, my lungs are compromised for life, but Tiki Night with the all-you-can-eat luau buffet was worth it!”