Tag Archives: princess Cruise

Coral Princess docks in Fort Lauderdale

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Coral and Island Princess Balconies

Another cruise ship with coronavirus victims onboard, including two fatalities, docked in Florida on Saturday.

Princess Cruises spokeswoman Negin Kamali said in an email that the Coral Princess was docking in Miami. The ship with 1,020 passengers and 878 crew members had been in limbo for days awaiting permission to dock.

As of Thursday, Kamali said seven passengers and five crew members had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Anyone in need of hospitalization would disembark first, the cruise line said, although it wasn’t immediately clear when that would happen. Those fit to fly were to begin leaving on Sunday, while others with symptoms of respiratory illness would remain on board until cleared by ship doctors.

A day earlier, the cruise ships Zaandam and Rotterdam were permitted to dock at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, with 14 critically ill people taken immediately to hospitals. The remaining passengers were slowly being allowed to board flights for home.

Schuttevaer – 100ste aankomst van ms Rotterdam

The Coral Princess had been on a South American cruise that was due to end March 19 in Buenos Aires. Since then, the ship has encountered obstacles to docking because of various port closures and cancellation of airline flights, the cruise line said.

Passengers have self-isolated in their staterooms and meals have been delivered by room service. Crew members also have remained in their quarters when they are not working.

The Coast Guard said in a news release Saturday it has been involved with processing about 120 vessels carrying some 250,000 passengers over the past three weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Coast Guard statement said as of Saturday there are 114 cruise ships carrying 93,000 crew members either in or near U.S. ports and waters. That includes 73 cruise ships with 52,000 crew members moored or anchored in U.S. ports and anchorages.

The cruise line industry announced a voluntary suspension of most ship operations from U.S. ports on March 13. The next day, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a “no sail” order to all cruise ships that had not suspended operations.

“We commend the decision by the cruise industry to cease operations. However, pausing a global tourist industry does not happen instantaneously or easily,” said Vice Admiral Dan Abel, Coast Guard deputy commandant for operations. “The federal, state, local and industry cooperation to achieve this feat truly represents the whole-of-nation approach directed by the president and is essential to fighting the spread of this virus and working to minimize the loss of life.”

Princess Cruises is a brand of Miami-based Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise company.

Australia launches criminal investigation into Ruby Princess

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The Ruby Princess cruise ship sails off the coast of Sydney, Australia, 04 April 2020
The Ruby Princess remains off the coast of Sydney with 200 crew members showing symptoms of the virus

A criminal investigation has been launched in Australia into how cruise ship passengers were allowed to disembark in Sydney despite some exhibiting flu-like symptoms.

More than 600 people on board the Ruby Princess later tested positive for coronavirus and 10 have since died.

The ship remains off the coast with nearly 200 sick crew members on board.

Police in New South Wales said they would look into whether national biosecurity laws had been broken.

Australia has so far reported 5,548 coronavirus cases and 30 deaths.

Those sickened on cruise ships account for nearly a tenth of all cases in Australia.

The country has imposed strict social distancing measures and clubs, cafes, parks and gyms have been closed in a bid to contain the outbreak

At a news conference, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said there were “many unanswered questions” about the incident.

He said that, by law, vessels were only allowed to dock and disembark passengers if the captain could assure the local authorities that their ship was free from contagious disease.

Mr Fuller said there were “discrepancies” involving the information provided by the ship’s owners, Carnival Australia, and the requirements of the law.

“The only way I can get to the bottom of whether our national biosecurity laws and our state laws were broken is through a criminal investigation,” he told reporters.

Mr Fuller said that the day before passengers disembarked in Sydney a worker made an emergency call about two people who needed medical assistance. He said police were assured by the operating company that the coronavirus was not an issue on the ship.

“From that perspective, there are many unanswered questions,” he added.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Mick Fuller. 27 March 2020

The New South Wales government has faced mounting criticism for allowing people off the ship but has insisted that the decision was based on expert advice.

Mr Fuller added that Carnival Australia had said it would fully co-operate with the inquiry. The company has not yet commented publicly on the criminal investigation.

The Ruby Princess with about 2,700 people on board arrived in Sydney last month after an 11-day cruise.

According to NSW Health, about a dozen passengers had reported feeling unwell and had swabs taken for Covid-19. One was taken by ambulance to the hospital.

But other passengers on board weren’t told of this. Instead, they streamed off the boat at Circular Quay – some of them coughing and spluttering, according to witnesses. The busy area leads directly into the city centre, with transit links to the airport and outer suburbs.

An empty Ruby Princess cruise ship heading past Sydney Opera House and out of Sydney Harbour on 19 March.

Elisa McCafferty, an Australian woman who flew home to London with her husband immediately after disembarking, told the BBC: “Nothing was said at any time about anyone being sick onboard. It was a distinct lack of information coming through from Princess [Princess Cruises which is owned by Carnival] the entire time.”

A day after the ship docked, officials revealed cases of Covid-19 had been confirmed in three people who had been on board, prompting a scramble to track down everyone who had been on the ship.

Ms McCafferty said she only learned of the danger when she checked her phone at Heathrow Airport.

“I was just absolutely petrified. We had just been on two full flights – what if we had infected someone?”

Coronavirus: Twelve cases confirmed on Princess Cruises ship

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Coral Princess Port of Los Angeles - San Pedro Calendar

Twelve cases of coronavirus have been confirmed on the ship Coral Princess.

It is the third Princess Cruises ship to have contracted the deadly virus following a mass outbreak onboard Diamond Princess quarantined in Japan and Grand Princess off the California coast.

The line confirmed on Thursday that Covid-19 tests confirmed 12 positive cases – seven passengers and five crew.

Coral Princess is on its way to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale with an estimated arrival date of April 4.

“Princess Cruises continues to remain in contact with local officials regarding disembarkation details,” a spokesperson said.

The port previously refused access to stranded coronavirus-hit Holland America Line ship Zaandam before intervention by US President Donald Trump which saw the vessel arrive on Thursday.

Coral Princess is carrying 1,020 passengers, who are self-isolating in their cabins, and 878 crew.

“Due to limited flight availability, Coral Princess will remain alongside in Fort Lauderdale for two days to allow all guests to proceed directly from the ship to the airport,” the line said.

“Princess is also working with US Customs and Border Protection to ensure smooth arrival into port. We are also in regular contact with multiple embassies and consulates.”

The ship originally left San Antonio in Chile on a South America voyage on March 5 which was scheduled to end in Buenos Aires on March 19.

But Princess Cruises announced a 60-day pause of operations on March 12 due to the global spread of coronavirus, with a directive to end each cruise as soon as possible.

The ship was then denied the ability to let passengers leave at ports in South America and last made a service call into Bridgetown, Barbados, on Tuesday to take on extra provisions.

Coral Princess was forced to “abruptly depart” Buenos Aires late on March 19, before all passengers were disembarked after Argentine president Alberto Fernandez issued a decree which would have required the ship to remain in port for an “indeterminate” number of days.

“Therefore, the decision was made to leave port immediately,” Princess Cruises said.

The vessel then sailed to Montevideo in Uruguay for supplies and fuel on March 20.

Attempts to disembark passengers in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil was denied three days later.

But at the end of March Coral Princess reported a “higher-than-normal” number of people presenting influenza-like symptoms, resulting in passengers being confined to their cabins and face masks being distributed.