More than 1000 crew members are in quarantine on the cruise ship Ruby Princess after 133 passengers (107 in New South Wales and 26 interstate) have tested positive for Covid-19 upon disembarking the ship in Sydney’s Circular Quay on Thursday 19 March.
A crew member on the cruise ship Celebrity Infinity tested positive for COVID-19. The crew member disembarked the ship on March 21, and was sent to hospital in Florida for testing. As soon as his symptoms were reported he was isolated and then disembarked the ship.
Celebrity Infinity crew received the following letter on 23 March:
Starting this week and throughout the next few weeks, Royal Caribbean International will be sending many of the crew members home. In a letter sent by the President & CEO of Royal Caribbean International Michael Bayley, the crew was informed that the company will provide a flight home and the promise of a return ticket when it is time to come back and join the ships. The crew members will be entitled to 30 days of pay starting from March 25.
A passenger sailing on the Costa Victoria tested positive for coronavirus after disembarking the cruise ship in Crete. Local officials and media reported that the 63-year-old woman from Argentina disembarked in Crete and was immediately hospitalized in intensive care in Heraklion.
Costa Luminosa crew member was admitted to San Paolo hospital in Savona today after his condition deteriorated. The man had fever and breathing difficulties and was in need of urgent medical attention. This is the eighth person hospitalized in Ligurian hospitals from the cruise ship, moored since March 20, in the port of Savona.
Celebrity Infinity crew member was recently disembarked from the cruise ship and sent to hospital for testing. As a precaution measure from the Miami Head Office starting today, all public areas will be closed for the crew and all crew activities have been suspended until further notice.
A crew member was evacuated from the cruise ship MSC Splendida today at around 14:00 central European time, while the vessel was near the island of Sardinia. According to our source, the crew member is a female Thai national working as a buffet attendant on board. The medical emergency was requested after the crew member was suffering from fever and sore throat for 3 days and her medical condition was getting worse.
In light of the global outbreak of Covid-19 and cancelations of fleet-wide voyages, a tough decision has been made by TUI Cruises to send as many crew members as possible back home. The German cruise operator is trying to provide as much information as possible to their crewmembers, but at the same time, they are still bound by regulations, restrictions, flight options, meaning that valid statements at this time are very difficult to make.
Around 200 crew members are stuck on the cruise ship MSC Opera docked in the port of Genoa, Italy. The number of quarantined crew members has risen from 7 people since March 18, to 13 isolated crew in just two days. As the situation is getting progressively worse in Italy, the crew are stuck on the ship until they get clearance from the Italian Health Authorities and test negative for the virus.
At a meeting held yesterday onboard Freedom of the Seas shipboard employees were informed that the company will try to send non-essential personnel home in the following days.
