- The ship was scheduled to begin a cruise to nowhere journey, restricted to half capacity.
- One cruise ship’s crew member was suspected to have coronavirus infection after routine testing.
- Passengers were allowed to leave the ship, as they did not have direct contact with the crew member.
Royal Caribbean Spectrum of the Seas cruise ship was banned from departing the Hong Kong terminal tonight, as a ship’s crew member was suspected to have coronavirus infection after routine testing.
According to the cruise line officials, the ship was scheduled to begin a “cruise to nowhere” journey in nearby waters, restricted to half capacity and only for fully vaccinated residents who tested negative for the virus 48 hours prior to the trip.
In a statement on Facebook , Royal Caribbean said:
“In a routine COVID-19 test on crew members today, we identified one crew member who tested indeterminate. Following secondary sample testing, the test resulted preliminary positive for COVID-19.”
Around 1,000 passengers out of a total of 1,200 had already boarded the ship when Hong Kong city authorities ordered the cancelation of the four-night trip.
All ship’s passengers had to undergo compulsory testing but were allowed to leave the ship as they did not have direct contact with the crew member.