Cruises are allowed to re-enter Ecuadorian ports, but passengers must adhere to the protocol to disembark

Passengers disembarking must be vaccinated.

Four Ecuadorian ports have the green light to once again allow cruise ships with passengers to enter their facilities after a long wait due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The entry of this type of vessels and the disembarkation of passengers will be subject to guidelines and protocols approved by the Emergency Operations Committee (COE).

Before arrival, cruise ships must send a list of the last five ports in which they have been and present the passenger and crew manifest with the complete vaccination schedule, specifically indicating who intends to disembark.

Every visitor entering the country who is over 16 years of age must present a COVID-19 vaccination card valid for at least 14 days after completing the scheme; or, in turn, the negative result of a real-time qualitative RT-PCR test carried out up to 72 hours prior to shipment to Ecuador.

In addition, cruise passengers must fill out the Traveler's Health Declaration and the captain of the ship must report whether there are suspected or confirmed cases of COVID 19 on the ship, both among visitors and crew members.

If the visitor or crew member presents symptoms associated with COVID-19, that person will not be able to disembark, according to the protocol.

The ports that can receive cruise ships are Guayaquil, Manta, Puerto Bolívar and Esmeraldas.

The Minister of Tourism, Niels Olsen, said that with the approval of the guidelines and protocols, there is now confirmation of the arrival of two cruise ships this year to Puerto Bolívar and Manta.

Given concerns generated on social networks about the arrival of cruise ships and the fact that some cities, such as Venice, are not allowing cruise ship access, Olsen said that that city received more than 3 million tourists in a population of 260,000 people.

"In Ecuador we have not even reached 10,000 passengers in four ports. Our cargo and movement capacity is much greater," said the minister.

Before the pandemic, Guayaquil was located on the cruise route, with ships arriving with 700 and 900 passengers. Of course, not all passengers disembarked to see the city.

Gloria Gallardo, president of the Municipal Tourism Company, said that for the remainder of this year the city hopes to receive cruise ships once guidelines have been approved.

Cruise ships that arrive in Guayaquil generally arrive in the morning and passengers who decide to get off take tours of tourist sites in the city or nearby haciendas. They return to the boats in the afternoon to continue the journey.

Gallardo stated that they are trying to promote the destination of Guayaquil in this cruise market.

Operators of this industry said that the arrival of cruise ships generates a movement, because packages for tours are sold and artisans have the possibility of selling their items.

Last year, for example, between February and April, the cruise ships Amadea, Le Boreal, Artania, Roald Amundsen, Seven Seas Navigator and Aurora were planning to enter Guayaquil. The activity stopped after the pandemic.

The cruise season runs from January to April and from October to December.