48 People on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Symphony of the Seas, tested positive for COVID-19 after the vessel returned to Miami from a week-long voyage. Royal Caribbean International says it was carrying more than six thousand people, to be precise 6091 passengers and crew members. 95 percent of the people were vaccinated, and according to the company, all of the cases were mild or had no symptoms. Royal Caribbean says that the outbreak will not change any upcoming trips, but people seem to be getting very nervous about this.

The first guest tested positive during the voyage and the following cases were detected thanks to the contact tracing. It is still not clear if the new Omicron variant, that is spreading worldwide very fast and is highly infectious, was responsible for this outbreak on board the Symphony of the Seas. The cruise ships had to prove their safe way to restart after the extensive pandemic shutdown, so they were touted as one of the “safest” with the vaccinations in the 2021 summer, when all the cruise industry restarted with the new COVID protocols.

A known fact is that Royal Caribbean protocols are a must have full vaccination for all the passengers 12 and above plus a negative test before boarding. The company even recommends a booster dose prior to sailing, but not mandatory in this moment. Other additional health and safety measures that the company implemented since, is the enhanced cleaning and wearing masks in indoor public areas. 

Crew members are also required to be fully vaccinated and test "at least once a week." Unvaccinated children onboard Symphony of the Seas were required to show a negative PCR, and also test negative at the terminal pre-departure.

Symphony of the Seas departed from Miami, Florida on December 11, stopping at Caribbean ports St. Maarten and St. Thomas, as well as Royal Caribbean's private island, called CocoCay. According to Royal Caribbean, six positive cases have disembarked the vessel earlier in the cruise and the rest have disembarked on 18th of December, with the finishing of the cruise.