New COVID outbreak alarming and will impact cruiseship business again

Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas has been refused entry onto Aruba and Curacao after it was found that some passengers and crew members had contracted the virus.

This big cruise liner has a capacity for 5,500 passengers.

Curacao and Aruba, both part of the Dutch Caribbean, are not taking any chances and are making efforts to prevent mass infections from the Omicron variant. Holland has retreated into full lockdown.

Both Caribbean countries are popular tourism hotspots but their respective governments are moving to prevent the fourth wave of COVID taking hold.

A government official from Aruba said today: “The cruise ships are super spreaders of COVID and we have to protect the country. We are expecting a mass outbreak early in the new year. We cannot allow passengers from Odyssey of the Seas to disembark.”

Odyssey of the Seas will be returning to Fort Lauderdale on Boxing Day. The big ship set sail on December 18 and now 60 fully vaccinated people have been found infected.

Royal Caribbean said: “In an abundance of caution for the well being of our guests and crew, adjustments have been made to Odyssey of the Seas’s schedule of shows and activities on board the December 18 sailing.”