- Thousands of crew members are still waiting to go home more than three months after the cruise industry stopped operations.
- And at least 11 ships are currently experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Nearly 300 Trinidadians disembarked Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas cruise ship Tuesday after three and a half months stuck at sea.
- But they won’t be going home just yet.
- A COVID-19 outbreak on the ship left the government scrambling to figure out how to handle the influx of returning citizens.
- After two weeks of onboard quarantine and a delay of several days, the government decided Tuesday it would sequester crew members for additional days on land.
- It was another example of the balancing act countries in the Caribbean and elsewhere face as they work with cruise companies to get their citizens home.
A recently published article in the Miami Herald deals with the difficulties faced by passengers and crew members in Royal Caribbean Cruise ship due to coronavirus.
40,000 crew members repatriated
Royal Caribbean Cruises spokesperson Jonathon Fishman said the company has repatriated more than 40,000 crew members to more than 100 countries with around 3,000 more to go.
“We appreciate the guidance we’ve received from CDC and dozens of other agencies during this complex process, and we will continue to rely on our long-standing partnership with these agencies as we look to return to sailing,” he said.
Difficulties faced by the government
Like other nations with limited health facilities, Trinidad’s government has struggled with how to accommodate returning cruise ship workers.
In late May the government told Royal Caribbean that its health system couldn’t handle 300 crew members at once and the company would need to quarantine and test them on the ship.
On June 12, the Enchantment of the Seas ship arrived in Trinidadian waters to repatriate the workers.
Following government requirements, Royal Caribbean isolated everyone into individual cabins and ordered them to stay inside the cabins for a two-week quarantine.
The company tested all 307 Trinidadians for COVID-19 on June 14 using PCR tests; six people tested positive and were transferred to a land hospital. On June 23 the company tested everyone again, and three more people tested positive.
More infections on board
The government originally told crew members that if they tested negative twice, they could go home on June 26. But after the second round of testing showed more infections on board, the Ministry of Health announced that the crew members would stay on board until Tuesday, when they would be transferred to medical facilities for further quarantine.
“This is to facilitate the continued monitoring of these nationals,” the Ministry of Health said in a release. “
The nationals will be held in quarantine, for a short period, where another round of PCR tests will be conducted during this week. Upon receipt and review of these results, a determination will be made as to when they can be safely reunited with their families.
The delay has frustrated crew members who are eager to get home because Royal Caribbean has not paid them in two months.
Pay not enough for basics
The company is providing crew members $13.33 per day, but that has not been enough to cover the cost of shampoo, toothpaste and snacks while they are on board.
“I am spending more than $13 per day,” said one Trinidadian crew member who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation. “I have a 6-month-old baby who needs baby food. If I was home, I could make money. Everything is on me right now.”
This is not the first time Trinidad and Tobago has dealt with cruise ship COVID-19 cases.
In March, 68 citizens returning from an ill-fated cruise aboard Carnival Corporation’s Costa Favolosa ship were taken into a quarantine facility inside the country.
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Source: Miami Herald
