After the order by the NSW Police all cruise ships to leave Australian waters and return to their home ports, P&O Australia has decided its cruise ships will set sail to the Philippines and Indonesia to bring their crew members back home. The company primary focus right now is the common safety of all the crew and to get as many of the crew home as soon as possible.
Dear Friends, with deep sorrow we would like to inform you that a fellow crew member who tested positive for the novel coronavirus has passed away.
Our hearts are saddened of the passing of the Costa Favolosa security officer Andrew Fernandes, age 48, from Mumbai, India.
Several crew members onboard the cruise ship Pullmantur Horizon have told Crew Center they are stressed and afraid about their colleagues suffering from the COVID-19 virus. The crew reported that the virus is spreading rapidly and according to the latest message we received on April 4, some 150 people out of 250 onboard have tested positive.
Carnival Australia President Sture Myrmell has come out in strong defence of the cruise industry after Australian authorities announced restrictions on foreign-flag cruise ships, basically saying they are not welcomed.
Viking Cruises, one of the world’s fastest-growing luxury cruise lines announced a quite generous financial compensation for its crew amid the global coronavirus crisis. in order to ensure the Viking employees continue to receive salary for the following months, the company has presented the crew of their ocean cruise ships with the following plan which will be in effect starting April 1.
Royal Caribbean has decided to use its own ships in Australia to repatriate Indonesian, Filipino, Chinese and Indian crew members to their countries. Three Royal Caribbean cruise ships based in Australia will embark to Asia very soon in order to return most of the crew back home.
Two Royal Caribbean crew members from the cruise ship Liberty of the Seas have tested positive for COVID-19. This was confirmed by Rodger Rees executive director at Port of Galveston, who said the port authorities were notified that two Liberty of the Seas crew members were screened and tested positive for COVID-19.
The Leading British cruise line P&O Cruises announced that the crew will receive a goodwill payment, in addition their contractual notice in order to ensure the employees continue to receive some pay for the following months. P&O Cruises crew will receive 30 days’ notice for ending of the contract and will get paid for those 30 days. If the crew contract is due to end after June 30, they will get paid 40% of their salary for the months of May and June.
Three crew members and one passenger aboard the Celebrity Eclipse cruise ship docked in Port of San Diego have tested positive for COVID-19, local health officials confirmed Tuesday. Dr. Eric McDonald, the county's medical director of epidemiology said three crew members who had been isolated onboard the ship with respiratory symptoms were tested positive for novel coronavirus.
The 80 Filipino crew members of the cruise ship Diamond Princess who earlier tested positive for COVID-19 after disembarking the vessel in Yokohama, Japan have all recovered, said the Philippine embassy in Tokyo.
