Eight crew members working on the Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas have tested positive for the Chinese coronavirus, prompting the ship to postpone its inaugural sail out of Fort Lauderdale to late July.
“Two steps forward and one step back! out of an abundance of caution, we are postponing Odyssey’s inaugural sailing from July 3 to July 31, 2021. A simulation cruise, originally scheduled for late June, will also be rescheduled,” Michael Bayley, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean, said in a statement, suggesting the crew members were not yet finished with their vaccine series.
“During routine testing, eight crew members received a positive test result for COVID-19. All 1,400 crew onboard Odyssey of the Seas were vaccinated on June 4th and will be considered fully vaccinated on June 18,” he added.
“The positive cases were identified after the vaccination was given and before they were fully effective,” he continued, noting that six of the crew members are asymptomatic, and two have mild symptoms:
To protect the remaining crew and prevent any further cases, we will have all crew quarantined for 14 days and continue with our routine testing. Guests and travel partners will be notified and given several options to consider. While disappointing, this is the right decision for the health and well-being of our crew and guests.
Last week, Celebrity Cruises announced two passengers aboard the “fully vaccinated” Celebrity Millenium tested positive for the Chinese coronavirus.
The June 10 statement read:
Today, two guests sharing a stateroom onboard Celebrity Millennium tested positive for COVID-19 while conducting the required end-of-cruise testing. The individuals are asymptomatic and currently in isolation and being monitored by our medical team. We are conducting contact tracing, expediting testing for all close contacts and closely monitoring the situation.Celebrity Millennium is sailing with fully vaccinated crew and guests and following comprehensive protocols that align with our destination partners and exceed CDC guidelines to protect the health and safety of our guests. All guests on Celebrity Millennium were required to show proof of vaccination as well as a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours before sailing from St. Maarten this past Saturday. This situation demonstrates that our rigorous health and safety protocols work to protect our crew, guests and the communities we visit.
“For cruises departing from all U.S. ports (except Florida ports), Royal Caribbean requires all guests 16 years of age or older to be fully vaccinated, and from Aug. 1, all guests 12 years of age or older must be fully vaccinated,” Royal Caribbean said in a statement, adding that Florida travelers who are not vaccinated will be “required to undergo testing and follow other protocols at their own expense.”
“These cruise lines will abide by Florida law. I know a couple of them have tried to say — trust me, they will abide by Florida law. They have the ability to do it,” he told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview this month.
They will absolutely cruise from Florida,” DeSantis vowed. “You can bet your bottom dollar on that.”
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