Cruises to nowhere became something for people to enjoy in lieu of a trip overseas, which are still largely restricted for most of us.
Although they restarted with stringent measures to curb Covid-19 spread, 9 Dec saw a cruise passenger testing positive for the virus.
Due to this, Royal Caribbean, who operates the Quantum of the Seas cruise to nowhere, said they’ll cancel 10 Dec’s sailing as a precaution, Channel NewsAsia reports.
They’ll resume cruises on 14 Dec.
The Quantum of the Seas was initially planned to sail on Thursday (10 Dec).
But a wee virus cast the ship on shore, and out of “an overabundance of caution”, Royal Caribbean decided to cancel the trip, according to an email.
CNA reports that they’ll provide full refunds to all customers, and a 25% future cruise credit that they can use in the future.
Royal Caribbean will also refund other amenities that customers may have purchased beforehand. They’ve started on processing refunds and this will take around 45 days, they said.
They also apologise to customers for the inconvenience and disappointment.
An 83-year-old Singaporean male had symptoms of diarrhoea on board the Quantum of the Seas, and sought medical assistance.
He was tested for Covid-19 as part of protocols in dealing with the virus, and it returned positive.
The cruise thus made the decision to turn the ship back to Singapore.
All passengers and crew tested negative prior to boarding the cruise.
There’s a chance that the positive test is a false positive, but MOH will confirm if this is the case in their night update.
The 83-year-old wasn’t included in today’s MOH Covid-19 update.
While customers will undeniably be disappointed, we’re sure that many will prefer Royal Caribbean places their safety as a priority.
What’s more, they can take a cruise in hopefully safer times.
The world is definitely in a ‘new normal’ at the moment, so while we’ll miss leisure travel, measures are required for public health.
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Featured image adapted from Royal Caribbean.
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