November Barbados Cruise Preempted by COVID
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"People are shocked.""The Caribbean is the world's biggest cruise destination accounting for at least a third of all cruises taken in a normal year, and a resumption of sailings in the region is critical to the cruise industry's long-term health.""[The situation is] unfortunate [because the cruise line put a lot of work into a strategy for all worst case scenarios].""They've spent a lot of time figuring out not just how to keep [COVID-19] off the ships, but if it gets on the ship, how to shut it down."Gene Sloan, travel writer
On Saturday, 55 passengers boarded SeaDream 1, one of the world's smallest cruise ships. There were 66 crew to make certain that the passengers would realize an unforgettable experience, leaving Barbados November 7 and returning a week later on a "watershed moment for the cruise industry", after outbreaks on cruise ships when the novel coronavirus began spreading around the world from its surfacing in Wuhan, China, in March of 2020.
As they boarded, each passenger underwent a COVID-19 test, their body temperature was checked, then a pulse oximetry test was done. They sanitized their hands, had their luggage sprayed with disinfectant, and presented several medical forms reflecting the fact that all passengers were required by the SeaDream cruise line and the government of Barbados to test negative for COVID-19 through a PCR test three days before boarding.
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The cruise company itself had initiated new cleaning and sanitizing measures on the ship, using ultrasonic foggers designed for hospital use, to disinfect rooms. A germ-killing UV light system was also installed on board. By no means was this the first sea trip SeaDream had undertaken in re-opening its cruises; some had taken place in Europe, and for none of them did a problem emerge with respect to COVID.
All went well on the cruise for the first few days of sailing, after the exhaustive screening. People lounged by the pool, they enjoyed drinks at the bar, they took kayaks out for paddles or they went swimming. Meals were mostly served in the outdoor restaurant, and people were mindful of remaining in their discrete groups. Built to serve 112 passengers with only 53 on board for a 47 percent capacity, passengers had no trouble maintaining social distancing under direction of a vigilant staff.
No one was asked to wear masks onboard at first. Passengers posted photographs of themselves on the cruise on their social media accounts, and they caused quite a stir. The reasoning by the cruise staff for no masking required was the rigorous testing making it highly unlikely that the virus would raise its ugly presence. But then a few days later a change in policy was announced, mandating masks be used at all times, to the dismay of some passengers.
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| Aft pool – Photo courtesy of SeaDream Yacht Club |
And then, the dread discovery. The ship's captain, Torbjorn Lund informed passengers through a ship-wide intercom Wednesday afternoon that a passenger had tested positive for COVID-19, asking all passengers to isolate in their cabins for the following 24 hours while medical teams were brought aboard to test all passengers door-to-door for signs of virus spread.
The cruise came to an abrupt end, returning to its home port in Barbados on Wednesday night where another four people tested positive, while passengers remained quarantined on the ship. The four additional COVID cases were of people travelling with the original passenger who tested positive. The seven-day cruise had turned into a rather 'exciting' if disappointing five-day cruise, after all.
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Labels: Barbados Cruise, COVID-19
posted by Pieface @ Monday, November 16, 2020
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