COVID-19 pandemic on cruise ships

[20] After the Guangdong government official announcement of confirmed cases among former passengers, on 4 February 2020, Taiwan blocked the ship's port of call in Kaohsiung due to concern on the virus.

On 5 February 2020, World Dream returned to Hong Kong and all 3,800 passengers and crew on board the ship at the time were put under quarantine at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal.

[180][181] On 4 February 2020, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced that Diamond Princess,[bt] which had docked at Yokohama[bu] the previous day,[bv] was quarantined at sea with 10 positive cases on board.

[186][187] After initially receiving approval on 10 February to let the passengers disembark in Thailand, as the ship was heading to Laem Chabang port near Bangkok, permission to dock was refused the next day.

[197][192][193][195][198] Despite these findings, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen visited the ship, discouraged use of masks, and encouraged the passengers to tour the city, sparking concerns that another spoke was being added to the contagion network.

[36] Eventually, the ship stopped three miles (4.8 km) offshore from Miami, and on 26 March, the U.S. Coast Guard reported evacuation of six sick crew members from Costa Magica.

At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the passengers were met by people with hazmat suits to check their body temperatures, perform visual assessment and ask if any had COVID-19 symptoms.

[40][241] Silversea Cruises ship Silver Shadow was blocked from disembarking its 608 passengers and crew at the port of Recife in Brazil, as a 78-year-old Canadian aboard had been suspected of having the virus.

[245][247] It was also reported that the disembarkation process was "surprisingly routine", with one former passenger stating that there was "[n]o temperature check, no screenings, no questions asked, nothing", and that he "just walked away from the ship, got on a shuttle and left".

[ce][74] On 2 April 2020, a 22-year-old crew member of MSC Bellissima, who had quarantined himself at home in Trappeto, Sicily, after returning from Dubai, announced that he had tested positive that day.

[75] On 10 April 2020, a dancer from Klagenfurt, Austria, who performed in Cirque du Soleil shows aboard MSC Bellissima, tested positive for the virus while she was still on board the ship.

[95][287] On 24 April 2020, 57[cf] Indonesian crew members came ashore at Port of Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, and were taken to the emergency field hospital set up at Kemayoran Athletes Village to be tested for the virus and monitored for 14 days.

[105] On 23 March 2020, around 14:00 CET, a Thai crew member working aboard MSC Splendida as a buffet attendant was medically evacuated via lifeboat after she exhibited symptoms consistent with the coronavirus disease and was having difficulty breathing.

The president of Holland America made a public plea for acceptance of the ship and expressed concern that various ports in several countries had been reluctant to provide provisions and medical supplies.

The cruise line was making arrangements for passengers who were fit to travel to their home countries to leave via chartered aircraft, directly from the ship to bus and then to aeroplane.

A news item on 2 April 2020 stated that "Passengers have been confined to their rooms...when the company noticed a higher than normal number of flu-like cases on board".

[329] The vessel left Port Miami on 10 April 2020 with its crew and 13 international passengers who were unable to return to their home countries due to travel restrictions.

[122] On 7 April 2020, Greg Mortimer, which held 114 passengers, was stranded in Uruguay for a week and asking for help after people exhibited symptoms such as fever, which prompted authorities to ban them from disembarking.

[333] A news report on 8 April stated that the ship had not yet received permission to dock, although an evacuation flight to Australia and New Zealand was being arranged by Uruguayan authorities.

[125] A total of 112 passengers (96 Australians and 16 New Zealanders) were transported via a humanitarian corridor of ambulances and buses to Montevideo's Carrasco International Airport, where they boarded a chartered Hi Fly Airbus A340-300 flight to Australia.

[127] Following the suspension of cruise operations to mitigate the effect of the pandemic, Pride of America has not carried passengers since 14 March 2020, and is currently docked at Honolulu Harbor, its home base, with a complement of roughly 500 crew members.

[346] On 30 April 2020, A Tribuna [pt] reported that the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency confirmed the notification of 10 crew members aboard MSC Seaview that had tested positive for the virus.

[152][347][348] Crew members aboard Mein Schiff 3 have strongly complained about the mismanagement and general cluelessness of those higher up, and about the difficulty of attempting to isolate on such a crowded ship.

[356] Mein Schiff 1 was to have launched from the Port of Kiel on 31 July 2020, but TUI Cruises cancelled the trip, citing issues assembling a crew in time due to coronavirus travel restrictions.

[164][359] On 31 July 2020, the University Hospital of North Norway (UNN) announced that four crew members aboard MS Roald Amundsen had tested positive for the virus.

[168] Troms Parliament Member Kent Gudmundsen expressed shock over Hurtigruten's management of the situation,[168] and Minister of Health and Care Services Bent Høie praised the efforts of Tromsø and the NIPH in containing the virus.

[489][490] After disembarking passengers, many cruise ships remained docked or at sea near ports with crew members still aboard, in some cases unpaid though with free room and board.

[501] Cruise line stock fell sharply on 27 March 2020 when the US$2 trillion relief package passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Trump excluded companies that are not "organized" under United States law.

Carnival Corporation & plc is registered in Panama, England and Wales; Royal Caribbean International is chartered in Liberia, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is domiciled in Bermuda.

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) tweeted that cruise lines should register and pay taxes in the United States if they expect a financial bailout.