The cruise ship Norwegian Pearl has become the latest vessel to be hit by a COVID-19 outbreak amid the current global surge in cases by the highly contagious Omicron variant. Norwegian Pearl is heading back to Miami after the captain’s announcement that the current cruise is canceled due to “several COVID-19 positive cases” detected among the crew. The ship is expected to arrive in Miami on January 6, to disembark all passengers onboard.

"Today we identified several COVID-19 positive cases within our crew onboard Norwegian Pearl, which is sailing with 100% vaccinated guests and crew, most being asymptomatic and being monitored by our medical team. All affected crew and close contacts are currently in isolation,” the cruise line said in a letter sent to guests onboard.

“As a result, Norwegian Pearl's January 3rd, 2022 sailing has been canceled and we will be returning to Miami to disembark all guests on January 6th, 2022. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, as we understand now more than ever the desire to travel and reconnect with the places and people we've missed most.”

The Norwegian Pearl, departed from Miami on January 3, on an 11-Night cruise to Colombia, Panama, Mexico, Costa Rica and Belize. Norwegian Cruise Line did not say how many crew members were infected and how many close contacts are in isolation. According to our source there are around 300 crew members placed in a 10-day quarantine.