Cruises are great vacation values, but there are many things passengers can do to optimize their time on-board ship. Princess Cruises is facing a series of lawsuits after their Grand Princess Cruise ship became a hotbed for coronavirus infections back in February. Carnival has announced a search for a best-in-class" company to disinfect its Diamond Princess ship where passengers were sickened off Japan.
On March 13, the cruise company said it was told that the Italian man on the ship's previous voyage had tested positive. They also aren't allowing people to board if they have been in close contact with someone with the virus. Both cited early evidence that the coronavirus can spread particularly fast on a cruise ship.
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MSC Cruises responded; Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. A cruise ship worker says that due to positive test results for COVID-19, he's still stuck on a cruise ship that's docked in Italy. Because of the risk of infection, the CDC recommended in mid-March that travelers put off any planned cruises.
It paints the picture of a company that, even in early March as the threat of the novel coronavirus become abundantly clear worldwide, did not take action fast enough to order its passengers into self-isolation and dock its cruise ships. They even splashed further on it so that their children and their grandchildren could accompany them on cruises in what emerged as another lucrative segment for cruise lines.
It may sound counter-intuitive to avoid overindulging on a cruise ship, since most cruises really emphasize the wonderful food they offer. By the time major cruise lines halted new voyages last Friday, at least half a dozen other ships had sailed with at least one passenger later diagnosed with highly contagious virus.