As of yesterday, there have been a minimum of around 120 guests who tested positive for COVID-19 aboard the Norwegian Dawn, according to a trusted, long-term reader of Cruise Law News on the ship who wishes to remain anonymous.
The NCL cruise ship left New York (Cape Liberty Bayonne NJ) on April 28th for travel to ports in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada), Reykjavik (Iceland), Belfast (Northern Ireland), Dublin (Ireland), IJmuiden (Netherlands), Bruges (Belgium), and Le Havre (France) with the end of the cruise in Southampton (England}.
The NCL ship was denied access to Brugge, Belgium, following which the ship spent the day at sea enroute to LeHavre.
LeHavre was then cancelled today as well. The ship continued west in the English Channel before turning around to head to Southampton.
The guest on board the ship stated that “We are staying at sea until we disembark in Southampton tomorrow, even those that tested positive will be allowed to disembark. The ship did a test today. Many more people have tested positive although the numbers have not been disclosed.”
Meanwhile, the Miami Herald reported on an outbreak on the Carnival Horizon according to a passenger who stated that around 100 guests tested positive for COVID-19. The Herald’s article is titled “Cruise bookings smash records. Passengers accepting COVID-19 likely will be aboard.”
The Carnival Spirit had over 100 guests infected with COVID-19 last week, as we reported – COVID-19 Outbreak Aboard Carnival Spirit – Carnival Cruise Line Refuses to Disclose Number of Infected Guests and Crew. Cruise guests on the Carnival cruise ship estimated the outbreak to involve “more than 100 people” and as many as 200.
Meanwhile, Carnival expressed pleasure that there have consistently over 100 infected guests on the last many sailings on its ships.
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The covid numbers are all speculation because the cruise lines will not divulge the true number of cases. I have been on several cruises since the start-up. They have all had cases and will continue to have cases for probably many years. I will not let Covid keep me from cruising. I was on the Spirit with a high number of cases. Tested positive myself after getting back home. Fortunately, my symptoms were mild. Consider how many passengers were on the ship and how many tested positive. Also, carefully read the articles. It is usually only one or two people really complaining. Cruising has always been a little bit of a gamble when it comes to disease outbreaks, weather, mechanical issues and other emergencies. You have to go with a very open mind that you may miss ports, have rough weather, and/or have delays. If you can’t do that, then a land-based vacation would be a better option. Of course, things go wrong with land-based vacations as well. Looking forward to my next cruise!