On the 27th of December, Royal Caribbean cruise ship Symphony of the Seas was not allowed to dock in San Juan due to the number of positive cases on board. The local government imposed new restrictions on the arrival of cruise ships, as a result of the rebound by the COVID-19. The new rule obligates all passengers and crew members wishing to disembark in Puerto Rico to have a negative molecular or antigen test, not older than two days (48 hours) before disembarking in Puerto Rico, according to the letter from 26th of December, sent by the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH). It comes out that the world’s largest cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean is the first victim of these rules implemented only one day before, with no time to react. 

According to the Department of Health, strict measures were necessary as soon as possible: “Puerto Rico, like the rest of the world, is experiencing an increase in cases due to the introduction of the omicron variant. Currently, Puerto Rico has a 21.7% positivity rate in molecular tests and an incidence of 372 cases per 100.000 inhabitants, which places us at a high level of transmission.“

In addition to this rule, it is stated that all passengers and crew members in close contacts with the positive cases on board, will also not be allowed to disembark in Puerto Rico, regardless of their vaccination status. 

The rules state the following: “All passengers and crew members who wish to disembark in Puerto Rico must be fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved by the World Health Organization and must have a negative result of a viral test (molecular or antigen) performed within 2 days (48 hours) before disembarking in Puerto Rico.”

48 positive cases are confirmed onboard Symphony of the Seas during this recent eight-day cruise, departing from Miami, Florida on 23th of December and heading to the Caribbean. It comes during a heightened time due to the Omicron variant. 

Luckily, the Oasis-class vessel made successful two calls at the cruise line’s own private island at Perfect Day at CocoCay and in Nassau, both in the Bahamas. 

It’s another blow for an industry that has seen multiple cruise ports cancelled in the last weeks. Only recently, Allure of the Seas was denied entry to St. Thomas, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten, having to reroute to a single call in Perfect Day at CocoCay.