When “cruises to nowhere” were launched from Singapore in Nov, after months of suspension due to Covid-19, many Singaporeans were eager to jump aboard.
They must have come as a welcome getaway after being stuck in the country due to travel restrictions brought on by the pandemic.
However, for passengers on a Royal Caribbean International cruise, their holiday was marred when an 83-year-old male passenger tested positive for the virus and the ship had to return a day earlier.
A passenger who was on the ship has told MS News her experience on board after the ship turned back, praising Royal Caribbean and the authorities for handling the incident well despite it being a false alarm.
The passenger, an 18-year-old Singaporean who wanted to be known only as Moon, was on the planned 4-day cruise on the Quantum of the Seas with her mother and sister.
It departed on 7 Dec, and would have returned on 10 Dec if not for a surprising turn of events.
In the early hours of Wednesday (9 Dec) morning, a sudden announcement was made by the captain at about 2.45am.
He said the ship was making its way back to Singapore — but as she was half asleep at the time, she doesn’t remember whether he mentioned why.
Moon’s mother, who wasn’t in her cabin at the time, was hurriedly ushered back by staff.
By about 8.30am, the ship had already returned to Singapore, and it was around then that the captain made another announcement.
She understood that a passenger had tested positive for Covid-19, and him, his travelling party and close contacts had already been identified and isolated.
However, all passengers had to remain in their cabins.
Thereupon, breakfast was served to passengers in their cabins from 8.30-9.30am.
Moon described breakfast as “good”, as each passenger received western breakfast fare of scrambled eggs, a hash brown and sausages.
They also got pieces of bread and assorted fruits.
For lunch, which was delivered from 12.30-1.30pm, Moon’s family got rice, 2 chicken wings, broccoli, a small serving of potato salad and cake.
However, she said they finished their food “very quickly” and were still hungry after that, so her mother asked for coffee satchets.
Confined to their rooms, they could only wait for staff to deliver them after awhile. They didn’t know whether they could order room service or not.
Dinner was set to be delivered from 6.30-7.30pm, and Moon’s family may have been the last batch to get it, as it arrived at 7.30pm.
Though she saw on Instagram that another passenger on the ship got bee hoon, it might have run out, as they got fish instead.
Besides that, they were also served potato soup, a small serving of coleslaw and a piece of meringue.
However, Moon said they were never short of water, as staff sent over 3 large bottles, and continued to do so throughout the day.
Apart from the meals, Moon’s family was also given 2 letters.
One was from the Ministry of Health (MOH), telling them that they could continue their normal activities after disembarkation, but would have to undergo a Covid-19 swab test in 14 days.
The 2nd letter, which was from Royal Caribbean, elaborated on the captain’s announcement with some additional information.
However, despite the letters and the occasional announcements by the captain, Moon felt that the communication could have been improved.
Not only could the captain’s announcements be easily missed if you were asleep or not paying attention, she said they failed to utilise the Royal Caribbean app.
The app would’ve been a good way to relay info, she felt.
As such, she was of the opionion that not much information was given to passengers.
This was particularly the case when it came to the disembarkation timing, as no info was given till about 5-6pm, Moon said.
She said her family was “consistently confused on what was going to happen”, and when they called the guest services counter, they didn’t get much info either.
They decided to pack anyway, to be ready when the call came.
When disembarkation of passengers started at 7.30pm, Moon and her family were told they’d be the first to leave, and they might have been glad to be released from confinement.
However, they then had to wait till 9.30pm, with no captain’s announcement.
When the time for them to disembark finally came, Moon described the process as “quite smooth”.
Although crowds formed at the lift areas initially due to the large number of people, she noted that the staff managed to adapt to prevent further crowding.
They did this by rerouting some of the queues.
However, she lamented that the passengers themselves were the “biggest problem” as,
Many failed to adhere to social distancing until reminded.
This was despite the crew’s “kind and friendly” constant reminders to keep a distance from one another.
Despite the small hiccups, however, Moon felt that Royal Caribbean did “a good job” on the whole.
What stood out for her was their response, as she said the incident showed they were ready to react quickly, adding,
They gave a proper response, which I think is admirable for a first-time situation, despite the areas for improvement.
Moon also praised the contact-tracing efforts on the ship.
Those who’ve been on Royal Caribbean cruises before may know that a SeaPass card is given to every passenger.
Moon said that they had to tap their SeaPass cards everytime they entered a location, similar to how we use SafeEntry on land in Singapore.
Passengers also had to carry the TraceTogether token or use the app at all times.
Additionally, they were also given watch-like bracelet known as a Tracelet. It had to worn at all times.
Though the 83-year-old man’s initial test was eventually found to have been a false positive, the incident may have ironically boosted confidence in our cruises to nowhere.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said in a press release on Thursday (10 Dec) that the cruise pilot would continue.
The agency hailed the “swift and robust response” to the suspected Covid-19 case on the Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas.
Other precautionary measures such as mandatory pre-boarding and post-arrival testing and strict safe distancing measures were already in place, STB said.
They provide greater assurance to the public that cruises are safe, they added.
STB chief executive Keith Tan said the Royal Caribbean incident “has given us valuable learnings for future sailings”.
He also to commended Royal Caribbean International for the “timely execution of their emergency protocols”, adding,
Their professionalism gives us confidence that our pilot cruises will continue to be safe and sustainable.
Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said the false alarm showed the “robustness” of the system.
In fact, the incident has helped the cruise industry test their protocols and see how they can be improved, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) quoted him as saying.
To those wondering what it would have felt like to be on the Quantum of the Seas when the suspected Covid-19 case emerged, Moon’s experience certainly was an eye-opener.
Though it was thankfully a false alarm, the potentially dire situation has revealed just how ready we are in the event of a worst-case scenario.
Future cruise passengers should now be assured that they’ll well-protected if it, touch wood, happens to them.
We’re glad that Moon and her family, as well as the rest of the passengers and crew on the cruise, are safe.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at hello@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Facebook and courtesy of MS News reader.
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