Royal Caribbean International said that more than 250,000 people had volunteered to be on its trial cruises, the first of which was approved this week.
The Freedom of the Seas was approved to conduct a simulated voyage from June 20 to 22 from PortMiami, the first cruise line to receive CDC approval to conduct a test sailing, which are a mandatory part of the CDC's Conditional Sailing Order, unless the cruise operator can attest that 95% of crew and passengers onboard have been vaccinated.
Royal can operate the Freedom of the Seas with volunteer passengers, which the line has said in the past may include both travel advisors and past passengers.
This week, Royal posted on its Volunteers of the Seas Facebook page that it is still figuring out the logistics of the sailings.
"To date, over 250,000 have volunteered to participate in our return to sailing efforts," the post said. "Your encouragement and unwavering confidence in us over the last 15 months have contributed to the collective effort of bringing cruising back. There are logistics to figure out, and we will share details once they have been worked through. We look forward to having Volunteers of the Seas be part of the Royal comeback this summer."