At least 100,000 people have signed up for volunteer cruises, according to a Facebook post in November from the Royal Caribbean CEO. The number of volunteers has more than likely grown since then.John and Laurie MacMillan from Fort Myers and CJ Chase from Titusville are among those hoping to be chosen. "As soon as there was an opportunity, he was filling out the form," Laurie MacMillan said."Excited to maybe be able to volunteer to get on one of the first cruises going back out," Chase said.A pandemic is not enough to stop them."I'll do anything to be out there on that boat,” Chase added. Those picked will be among the first to help the cruise lines test their COVID-19 safety protocols for a final green light from the CDC."Even if it’s helping them figure out how to get us back to doing it, I'm all for it,” Chase said.Cruise industry expert Abraham Pizam said he is not surprised. Pizam also does not believe that a vaccine will change the timeline of a return in the near term."In the longer term, they might have had a policy of saying you would have to have proof that you've been vaccinated," Pizam said.Pizam points to rapid testing that will also help. While major cruise lines have canceled voyages into early next year, some are holding hope for 2021.The Cruise Lines International Association, which major cruise lines are a part of, said: “From early July through mid-December 2020, there were more than 200 sailings with multiple layers of enhanced measures in place. The success of these initial sailings demonstrates new protocols are working as designed — to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 among passengers, crew and the destinations cruise ships visit.”