After a contagion of 8 crew members of the Odyssey of the Seas cruise ship, the company decides to postpone for a month, the first trip of the vacation boat with more than a year paralyzed by the pandemic
Photo: Eduardo Sánchez / EFE
Sunday, September 22
Royal Caribbean delays departure of one of its cruise ships until all vaccinated passengers have created antibodies
The Royal Caribbean International cruise ship Odyssey of the Seas, which set sail on the next 3 July from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has just announced that it will postpone that departure until 31 July, is say almost a month, after eight of its crew tested positive for COVID – 19. A decision that was taken, according to one of the company’s executives, as a sign of “excess caution ”For the health and well-being of the crew and guests .
Michael Bayley, CEO of Royal Caribbean International, assured that although the 1, 400 crew members of Odyssey of the Seas are vaccinated , still do not pass the 15 days for their bodies to create antibodies against the virus.
Of the eight infected crew members, six are asymptomatic and two show symptoms but slightly. Anyway the entire tribulation Is quarantined by 14 days and routine tests will be done.
The early departure of this cruise had created high expectations as it signified the reactivation of cruise line operations after more than a year without leaving port from the United States.
Other holiday boats that scheduled to depart soon is the Celebrity Edge, scheduled for the 26 June, that is to say in less than 10 days; and there was also a simulation departure for the next few days that it is not yet known if it will leave.
On the other hand, the cruise ships that would begin to set sail from the city of Miami have come into conflict with the governor of the State, when he prevented them from requirement of proof of vaccination to travelers to board. For this, the governor, Ron DeSantis, signed a law that prevents companies from asking their clients for vaccination tests, out of respect for the rights of “individual freedom”.
This measure will take effect on July 1, at which time the cruise ships begin their large operations after a year after the complete stoppage due to the pandemic. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) authorized the cruise ships to restart their activities for a month.
Several vessels have threatened to change their starting point, in order to do it from a port where they can require all travelers the vaccine to board the vacation boat.
For Jim Walker, a maritime lawyer with A blog called Cruise Law News, considers that there is a bit of unconsciousness in the beginning of the cruises, while highlighting that “the impression that the public has is that the cruise lines are not taking the appropriate measures to send the message that Ships are safe. ”
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