Even as case numbers rise, ships keep sailing and guests keep embarking, adamant that the onboard environment is safe because of stringent health and safety requirements, including pre-departure testing and vaccine mandates
A photo provided by Jesse Suphan shows guests dining onboard Carnival Cruise Line’s Panorama. Some passengers are starting to question the effectiveness of health and safety protocols on ships, and say they aren’t being informed of the full extent of coronavirus cases. Image: Jesse Suphan via The New York Times
On the fourth day of a seven-day Mexican Riviera cruise, Jesse Suphan and other passengers onboard the Carnival Cruise Line’s Panorama were denied entry at the port of Puerto Vallarta, because of the number of onboard coronavirus cases. That was the first Suphan heard about the virus spreading on the ship.
“The captain announced that five people had tested positive for COVID and were quarantining,” Suphan, a 39-year-old revenue cycle manager, recalled in a telephone interview. “But, then, talking to the crew, they told me there were between 100 and 150 crew members who also tested positive, but the captain didn’t mention that.”
Two days later, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told Americans to avoid travel on cruise ships, regardless of their vaccination status. The advisory, the agency’s highest coronavirus warning, came in response to a surge in cases in recent weeks, caused by the spread of the contagious omicron variant.
But even as case numbers rise, and criticism mounts about the safety of cruising and over cruise line protocols in reporting cases to passengers, ships keep sailing and guests keep embarking, adamant that the onboard environment is safe because of stringent health and safety requirements, including pre-departure testing and vaccine mandates.
Consider the New Year’s Eve festivities held on ships around the world. One day after the CDC announcement, as dozens of crew members and other passengers were confined to small cabins, infected and quarantined, thousands of revelers packed into ship bars, casinos and deck venues, partying like it was 2019.
©2019 New York Times News Service