The cruise industry’s attempted relaunch has had a rocky start, with four lines reporting confirmed or suspected Covid-19 cases among crew or passengers.
AIDA Cruises, TUI Cruises, Hurtigruten and Paul Gauguin Cruises claim they have implemented strict protocols to minimise the risk of an outbreak on board.
However, Norway’s Hurtigruten revealed on Saturday that 36 crew on its 21,800-gt expedition cruiseship Roald Amundsen (built 2019) had tested positive for the coronavirus.
The ship had completed two week-long cruises in Norwegian waters prior to the outbreak being discovered. All affected crew were said to be asymptomatic at the time they tested positive.
The company said that initially four crew had been isolated with symptoms unrelated to Covid-19. They were routinely tested before being admitted to hospital in Tromso on Friday morning.
Health authorities subsequently tested all crew, with 32 more testing positive. Out of the 36 who had tested positive, 32 were Filipino nationals, while the others were Norwegian, French and German. The remaining 122 crew members tested negative.
The Roald Amundsen's cruise was cancelled and it remained docked in Tromso this week.
According to Rune Thomas Ege, Hurtigruten's vice president for global communications, the company was in contact with all passengers who were on board the previous two cruises.
“Two hundred and nine guests from the first voyage and 178 guests from the July 24 departure will self-quarantine in line with Norwegian health authority regulations. Hurtigruten also assists guests with transport, accommodation, food and other needs,” he said.
“We work closely with the Norwegian national and local health authorities for follow-up, information, further testing, and infection tracking.”
Positive German arrivals
Last week, Germany’s TUI Cruises said that five crew who were set to join its 111,600-gt cruiseship Mein Schiff 1 (built 2018) tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival in Germany. All had submitted negative tests before departing their home countries.
None had boarded the ship, and they are currently staying in a land-based facility rented by the operator, which is a joint-venture between German travel company TUI and Royal Caribbean Group.
TUI Cruises said it was forced to cancel the Mein Schiff 1’s first cruise, as it was prevented from filling key positions on board due to global travel restrictions.
About the same time, ten crew who were to join ships belonging to AIDA Cruises — part of Miami giant Carnival Corp — tested positive upon arrival in Germany. German news reports indicate that they had arrived on charter flights from Manila, with nine described as being completely symptom-free, the tenth as being “easily ill”.
All had tested negative prior to boarding the flights, but were found to have the virus when tested again in Germany.
These cases came as authorities in Singapore reported that some joining crews arriving from the Philippines had submitted doctored test results and failed to observe the required two-week isolation period before leaving.
Arnold Donald-led Carnival has also delayed plans to sail two AIDA Cruises ships as the German brand awaits approval from flag state Italy.
AIDA was scheduled to hold short voyages on AIDAperla and AIDAmar that would depart between this Wednesday and 12 August.
We very much regret this delay," AIDA said in a statement.
"We assume that we will receive the last formal approval by the flag state Italy in a timely manner."
Crystal Cruises, a US-based owner of eight ships, has joined Cypriot outfit Celestyal Cruises in postponing its fleet restart to 2021, citing the uncertainty and complexity around Covid-19.
"Unfortunately, the constantly changing variables related to Covid-19, coupled with differing restrictions for international travel, continue to determine when and where this can happen," it said.
Trouble in paradise
A passenger with Covid-19 led to the quarantining of the 19,200-gt cruiseship Paul Gauguin (built 1996) in French Polynesia over the weekend.
The ship, which is operated by French cruise operator Ponant’s Paul Gauguin Cruises, was forced to return to Papeete on Sunday after the passenger tested positive on board.
Passengers were ordered to stay in their cabins, and local health authorities began testing the 148 passengers and 192 crew on Monday morning.
The Paul Gauguin had resumed operating in mid-July, when French Polynesia became the first destination in the South Pacific to accept travellers without imposing any quarantine.
Protocols questioned
Cruise lines that recently resumed cruise operations did so under a slew of new health and safety protocols they deemed would minimise the risk of a Covid-19 outbreak.
Hurtigruten’s Ege stressed that all crew are closely monitored and screened daily. Non-Norwegian crew are quarantined before boarding the ship, and non-European crew need to undergo two negative Covid-19 tests before even leaving their home country.
AIDA and TUI have similar protocols for joining crews, and have stressed that the positive tests prior to embarkation proved that the processes are working.
Numerous industry observers have said that ships will not be safe unless all passengers are also tested for Covid-19 immediately prior to boarding — not an easy task for ships embarking thousands of passengers within a few hours.
Even this appears not to be a fail-safe measure. Paul Gauguin Cruises requires passengers who had been in French Polynesia for less than two weeks to present proof of a negative Covid-19 test at embarkation, yet even then one managed to slip through the safety net.
