This Is a Daily Compilation of Media Articles Concerning the Covid-19 Impact to the Global Cruise Industry
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1 THIS IS A DAILY COMPILATION OF MEDIA ARTICLES CONCERNING THE COVID-19 IMPACT TO THE GLOBAL CRUISE INDUSTRY. Please note this isn’t a complete listing of media articles but a snapshot only. 31 March, 2020: CORONAVIRUS: DON’T ‘DUMP’ SICK CRUISE SHIP PASSENGERS IN FLORIDA, SAYS GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS Florida’s governor said on Monday that he does not want a cruise ship with passengers suspected to be suffering from coronavirus to dock in his southern US state. The Holland America Line vessel, the Zaandam, passed through the Panama Canal overnight as the company searched for a port that will allow passengers to disembark. “We view this as a big, big problem and we do not want to see people dumped in southern Florida right now,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told Fox News. “We cannot afford to have people who are not even Floridians dumped into South Florida,” he said. “I’m in contact with the White House on this.” Read more… https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3077660/coronavirus-dont-dump- sick-cruise-ship-passengers 31 March, 2020: 'UNACCEPTABLE': FLORIDA OFFICIALS DEBATE LETTING HOLLAND AMERICA SHIPS DOCK WITH ILL PASSENGERS Holland America's MS Zaandam and MS Rotterdam cruise ships – one with ill people on board – have crossed the Panama Canal and are headed to Florida. But several government officials, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, are concerned about the ships' plans to head to Fort Lauderdale. The cruise line said late Sunday night the Panama Canal Authority granted permission for the ships to transit the canal. Panama's Ministry of Health gave its permission Saturday. Trantalis suggested the ships could dock at a Navy base elsewhere on the Eastern Seaboard, explaining that Fort Lauderdale's Port Everglades "sits in the very middle of a vast urban area." He said the city would accept the ship only under, "at a minimum, the same protocols as were followed several weeks ago when a cruise ship of sick people docked at the Port of Oakland in California." The Grand Princess cruise ship docked in Oakland on March 9 after the ship reported 21 coronavirus cases. Of the passengers on the Grand Princess who tested for coronavirus, 103 tested positive and 699 tested negative, and other results are pending. Two passengers died. "There needs to be stringent separation procedures," Trantalis continued in the post about Holland America. "Foreign nationals must be triaged and as soon as possible put on planes destined for their own country. Sick Americans must be taken to hospitals that are not already facing the possibility of being overwhelmed by local COVID-19 carriers. And, healthy, non-symptomatic American passengers must be taken to close by military bases or similar destinations for quarantine." Read more… https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2020/03/30/coronavirus-holland-america-ships- headed-florida-amid-questions/5086235002/ https://www.oakbaynews.com/news/cruise-ships-one-with-covid-19-on-board-carry-canadians- covertly-through-panama-canal/ Document prepared by A.L. Skinner Consulting Inc https://gusskinnerconsulting.com subject to changes / amendments pg. 1 2 31 March, 2020: NEW DEATHS REPORTED AS CRUISE SHIPS REMAIN AT SEA A cruise ship scheduled to arrive in Florida this week has reported at least 189 people are suffering flu- like symptoms on board. Holland America’s Zaandam began transiting the Panama Canal late Sunday night after being docked off the coast of Panama for several days. The boat and its occupants have been in limbo for weeks awaiting permission to disembark after several South American ports denied the ship’s entry. Four people have died aboard the ship, the cruise line announced Friday. At least two people tested positive for coronavirus on the ship on Thursday, according to Holland America. Zaandam and another Holland America ship, the Rotterdam, are traversing the canal “under extraordinary conditions and for humanitarian reasons,” a statement from the Panama Canal said Sunday. Passengers not experiencing symptoms were transferred from the Zaandam to the Rotterdam Saturday, Holland America said in a statement. A total of 189 people — 73 guests and 116 crew members — on board the Zaandam are suffering from flu-like symptoms as of late Sunday night, according to a statement from Holland America. Some on board the ship say the situation is dire and passengers have been confined to their state rooms for weeks. Read more…. https://ksltv.com/434235/cruise-ships/? 31 March, 2020: MORE COVID-19 CASES ON STRANDED CRUISE SHIP WITH 4 DEAD. CRUISE LINE PLEADS FOR HELP A total of eight people have now tested positive for COVID-19 and 193 have fallen ill aboard the Zaandam, a Holland America Line cruise ship sailing in the Caribbean Sea with no definite place to dock. On Friday, Holland America announced that four passengers on board had died, and on Monday night, the cruise line's president warned there could be more deaths to come. "I fear other lives are at risk," Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line, wrote in a lengthy statement on the company's website. He also made a plea for a port to accept the "stranded" cruise ship and its sick passengers. The Zaandam had planned to dock in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., but politicians there have voiced concerns about allowing in a coronavirus-hit ship. "We are dealing with a 'not my problem' syndrome," said Ashford, who reprimanded previous countries that closed their ports to the wandering cruise ship. "It's tempting to speculate about the illnesses that may have been avoided or lives saved if we'd gotten the assistance, we sought weeks ago," he said. Read more… https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/covid-19-zaandam-cruise-ship-ill-stranded-1.5515811 30 March, 2020: CRUISE CREW BOARD CHARTER FLIGHTS FROM MIAMI TO MANILA AMID CORONAVIRUS CRISIS Healthy crew members who have been stuck on the coronavirus-stricken Costa Favolosa and Costa Magica cruise ships since mid-March finally touched land in Miami Monday on their way home. Dozens of workers were shuttled via lifeboat to PortMiami, then boarded buses bound for Miami International Airport around 9:00 a.m. One Wamos Air charter flight and two Ethiopian Air flights — both headed to Manila, Philippines — were scheduled to depart in the early afternoon but were delayed into the evening. Another two charter flights on Wamos Air for Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line crew were also slated for Monday, a spokesperson for the airport confirmed. Carnival Corporation, which owns Costa Cruises, arranged the charter flights after 13 crew from the ships were evacuated to Miami hospitals on Thursday. Read more… https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article241620671.html Document prepared by A.L. Skinner Consulting Inc https://gusskinnerconsulting.com subject to changes / amendments pg. 2 3 30 March, 2020: CORONAVIRUS-INFECTED CREW MEMBERS HURRIED OFF RUBY PRINCESS Three crew from Ruby Princess have been taken to Sydney NSW's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital with serious Coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms. The medevac operation was conducted by NSW ambulance service and water police in order to evacuate the ill crew from the cruise ship (currently anchored off the coast). The non-Australian crew have been hospitalized, one of them in critical condition. NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller told reporters that anyone who had to come off came off at his approval. Three people who needed medical attention were all under health care at the moment. The federal government issued notices that any cruise ships in Australian waters needed to return to their departure port. Read more… https://www.cruisemapper.com/news/6901-coronavirus-infected-crew-members-hurried-off- ruby-princess 30 March, 2020: CRUISE COMPANY STILL SEARCHING FOR PORT FOR VIRUS SHIP Passengers on a virus-stricken cruise liner stranded off Panama in Central America were told Sunday the company was still searching for a port which will allow them to disembark, even as they pleaded for help. The admission by Holland America Line President Orlando Ashford came after the mayor of Fort Lauderdale -- the ship's intended destination -- said the Florida city could not take the risk of accepting the passengers. Ashford told passengers in a video message the company was still trying to "figure out" where to disembark passengers from the stricken Zaandam liner -- four of whom have died. The situation was "difficult and unprecedented," he said. The Zaandam had been stuck in the Pacific Ocean since March 14 after dozens of the 1,800 people on board reported flu-like symptoms and several South American ports refused to let it dock. Read more…. https://www.france24.com/en/20200329-cruise-company-still-searching-for-port-for-virus-ship 30 March, 2020: STUCK AT SEA, CRUISE SHIP’S SICK CREW MUST KEEP VESSEL GOING Crew members of a Holland America Line cruise ship that’s carrying two people infected with the deadly coronavirus and still in search of a port say they aren’t being tested for the pathogen or adequately quarantined if they get sick. A shortage of staff on the Zaandam has meant workers with fever and other coronavirus symptoms are not being isolated for the 14 days many experts recommend, according to family members and social media messages from crew seen by Bloomberg News. The developments come as the cruise line now faces opposition to its plans to dock in Florida with 2,500 guests and crew on two boats, after being turned away by Chile and other countries. The relatives and employees asked not to be identified because they said Holland America has prohibited crew from speaking to the media.