The Bermuda-registered cruise ship Coral Princess, which has been hit by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, recently docked in Miami, Florida after being turned away at other ports.
The ship, with 1,020 passengers — some of whom are reportedly Bermudians — and a crew of 878, allowed some passengers to disembark.
CNN report, “After nearly a month at sea and two days in port, Americans onboard the Coral Princess cruise ship are still trying to get home in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic.
“The ship docked at PortMiami late Saturday night with 1,898 people — 1,020 passengers and 878 crew members– and began disembarking the most critically ill patients for medical treatment.
“Two passengers died while the ship was at sea and a third died after being transported by a private ambulance to a hospital in Hialeah, Florida late Saturday night, according to Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez.”
A statement from the cruise line yesterday said, “Princess Cruises can confirm 545 guests disembarked Coral Princess yesterday, April 5 and a further 139 guests disembarked this morning. Meanwhile, 274 guests remain on board.
“Disembarkation continued today prioritizing those who departed on a chartered flight to Canada, in addition to chauffeured ground transportation for local Florida residents – all of which were arranged by Princess Cruises. Additional domestic charter flights are being coordinated and are scheduled to depart tomorrow, April 7. All guests requiring shoreside medical care have been disembarked and are being treated at a facility pre-arranged by Princess Cruises.
“Princess continues to work with several federal, state and local authorities including the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], the United States Coast Guard [USCG], the Office of the Governor of Florida, the Florida Department of Health, the Office of the Mayor of Miami-Dade County, PortMiami, and others.
“In order to protect the safety and welfare of our guests, as well as the population of other communities, authorities have dictated several requirements and protocols. We are required to follow these requisites without variance, and when they change, we must adjust our plans. We continue to work through the CDC’s updated recommendations regarding post-disembarkation travel for cruise passengers, which includes no travel via commercial flights nor shared air or ground transportation with non-cruise guests. We again must express our continued gratitude to our guests for their patience and understanding as we navigate the unique and complex logistics required to manage this situation.
“Coral Princess departed March 5 from San Antonio [Santiago] for a South America voyage which was scheduled to end in Buenos Aires on March 19. In response to the global spread of COVID-19, Princess Cruises announced a voluntary 60-day pause of operations on March 12, becoming one of the first companies in the leisure travel industry to take this proactive measure. Coral Princess remained in service longer than previously expected, until arriving at the Port of Miami, due to a series of port closures, airline cancellations and other actions taken, which impacted the onward travel home of the guests and crew onboard.”
