Royal Caribbean Sees Another 6 Passengers Test Positive For COVID-19

Four fully vaccinated passengers and two unvaccinated minors on a Royal Caribbean (RCL) cruise that departed Nassau, Bahamas on Sunday aboard the Adventures of the Seas ship have tested positive for COVID-19

Three of the vaccinated passengers are asymptomatic, and the other has mild symptoms, while the minors were both asymptomatic, according to Royal Caribbean, as reported by CNN. The four vaccinated passengers were not traveling together, but the minors were in the same party.

All six passengers are American citizens, USA Today reported.

The cruise line said in a statement obtained by CNN, “The guests were immediately quarantined, and their immediate travel party and all close contacts were traced and all tested negative.”

The six passengers and their immediate travel parties will disembark the ship in Freeport, Bahamas, on Friday, where they will travel home “via private transportation,” Royal Caribbean said. The transportation will come at no cost to the passengers, USA Today reported.

The passengers’ COVID infections were discovered during routine testing as part of the required return-home procedures of the cruise line.

According to USA Today, not all passengers onboard the ship have been notified of the positive COVID cases as the ship is docked in Freeport, where many passengers have disembarked for shore excursions. An announcement will come from the captain once passengers return for departure.

The Adventures of the Sea ship is set to disembark Nassau on Saturday after sailing to Royal Caribbean's private island, Perfect Day at CocoCay, Cozumel, Mexico, and Grand Bahama Island on the seven-day cruise, the news outlet said.

The cruise will continue to operate as normal with no quarantine requirement. It has 1,182 passengers on board and 900 crew members.

Royal Caribbean required all passengers ages 16 and older to be fully vaccinated and test negative for COVID prior to boarding the ship. All of its crew are fully vaccinated against the virus as well.

Children under the age of 12 are not eligible for the COVID vaccine at this time but are required to take three COVID tests, according to Royal Caribbean requirements.

Face masks were not required on the ship for vaccinated passengers, the company’s website said. However, those who are unvaccinated must wear masks indoors, expect while eating and drinking.

This is not the first incident where Royal Caribbean has had passengers onboard its ships who have tested positive for COVID-19 since resuming sailing amid the pandemic.

Two passengers under the age of 16 who were unvaccinated tested positive in late June on a cruise to The Bahamas. In another incident in June, two passengers on a cruise to St. Maarten were infected with COVID despite being fully vaccinated.

Shares of Royal Caribbean were trading at $76.87 as of 2:07 p.m. EDT on Friday, down $3.15, or 3.94%.