PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. — Royal Caribbean set sail on its first simulated Port Canaveral cruise Tuesday, nearly a year and a half after the industry shut down because of the pandemic.

What You Need To Know

The Allure of the Seas is heading out on a test voyage to see if the company is ready to restart cruise operations.

The volunteer passengers are a blend of travel agents, Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Society members and cruise line workers, people like travel agent Lorie Emmons from Indiana, who sells cruise packages.

"I can give them the best advice if I've experienced it myself," Emmons said. "We're going to explore the ship, but I definitely want to get that experience for the guests, so I can take that back to them."

The two-night cruise sets sail for Coco Cay.

It's all part of the CDC's plan to get cruising up and running again in the U.S.

Test cruises are required for any ship traveling on U.S. waters carrying more than 250 people. The goal is to test on-board health protocols to keep passengers and crew safe. CDC officials will be on board as observers.

Royal Caribbean is moving forward with the test cruise following CDC guidelines, this despite the state of Florida winning its lawsuit against the government to lift those guidelines.

The ship returns to port Thursday morning.

If the simulated cruise goes well, Allure of the Seas could be ready for its first scheduled voyage on Aug. 8.​

Emmons said some cruisers still might not be ready to return to trips.

"I think they just need to take it with how they feel about it," she said.