More Cruises With COVID Outbreaks: Passengers Test Positive For Virus On Princess, Norwegian Ships

Two more cruise lines have arrived back at port with COVID outbreaks onboard their ships– the Grand Princess, Ruby Princess, and Norwegian Bliss.

Princess Cruise’s Grand Princess was sailing a 15-day cruise to Hawaii when an undisclosed number of passengers tested positive for COVID-19, KABC, an ABC affiliate out of Los Angeles, reported.

The cruise ship was operating with more than 95% of passengers and crew fully vaccinated onboard the ship, according to the news outlet.

Those who tested positive for the virus were quarantined and are receiving medical care, Princess Cruise said, as reported by KABC.

While it was unclear at the time of writing exactly how many cases of COVID-19 were onboard the Grand Princess, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had deemed the vessel an “orange status,” meaning that at least 0.3% of passengers or crew had tested positive for the virus, according to its cruise ship status dashboard.

The Grand Princess has disembarked in Los Angeles and set sail for Vancouver, KABC said.

Princess Cruise’s Ruby Princess cruise ship is also under “orange status” from the CDC after having confirmed cases of COVID onboard.

Ruby Princess passenger Ann Bowman, who contracted COVID onboard the ship late last month and was isolated on a separate deck, told KTXL, a Fox affiliate out of Sacramento, California, that the number of people in quarantine on the cruise vessel may have been “200 or more people on that deck.”

Ann’s husband, Ted Bowman, who also tested positive for the virus, told KTXL, “They said, ‘You have tested positive for COVID. We need you to pack up your things. We’re moving you to an isolated room.'”

Princess Cruise told KTXL in a statement, “During the cruise some positive COVID-19 cases amongst our guests and crew members were identified. All cases were asymptomatic or only mildly symptomatic. Guests and crew who tested positive were isolated while monitored and cared for by our shipboard medical team."

The statement from Princess Cruise continued, “In collaboration with CDC and San Francisco Department of Public Health, those guests who tested positive and have not completed the isolation period will either return home via private transportation or were provided with accommodations ashore to hotels coordinated in advance for isolation purposes.”

In another COVID outbreak, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Bliss ship has confirmed COVID cases onboard its ship – also receiving an “orange status” from the CDC.

According to CTV, the ship was set to arrive in Vancouver on Thursday, where the CDC will investigate the outbreak. At least 95% of passengers and crew onboard the Norwegian Bliss are fully vaccinated, CTV said.

The CDC dropped all travel warnings for cruise ships in late March as cases of COVID-19 were declining in the U.S. However, the agency still says that cruise travel poses some virus risks and recommends wearing a face mask and testing to reduce the spread of the virus.