Positive COVID-19 Test Result Curtails First Caribbean Cruise

The first Caribbean cruise since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March was cut short after a passenger tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday.

According to CruiseCritic.com, SeaDream Yacht Club’s SeaDream I has been forced to return to Barbados just a few days after departing from the island on November 7, with passengers being asked to isolate in their cabins.

Passengers were required to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of travel and were later given another PCR test by the cruise line’s ship doctor at the dock prior to boarding.

The ship, which was carrying 53 passengers and 66 crew, had already called at Canouan, the Tobago Cays and Union Island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where passengers were permitted to disembark for empty beaches and snorkeling in a bubble away from locals.

“The ship’s doctor is testing everybody as we sail. We are all hoping the test was a false positive but what will happen when we reach Barbados, of whether we will all have to isolate there, nobody knows,” said passenger and writer Sue Bryant, who is covering the sailing for CruiseCritic.com. “Until now, we have felt completely safe.”

Bryant said that meals were being served to guests’ cabins and that the ship was expected back in Barbados later on Wednesday.

The preliminary positive result comes on the heels of what was a successful restart for SeaDream, which reported “zero positive cases during the entire Norwegian summer season.”