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There is no denying the cruise industry has taken a brutal hit in 2020 stemming from the COVID-19 outbreak, amongst numerous other businesses. But the question lingered on who would be the first company to fire up the engine again and resume voyages across the seas for cruise line customers to enjoy again. The Sea Dream 1 decided to take on the challenge and instantly have to be regretting it as it has been reported that 5 people aboard the ship have tested positive for COVID-19.
A Sea Dream Yacht Club statement released on Thursday afternoon says “guests’ tests for Covid-19 returned assumptive positive results,” indicating multiple positive results, although the company did not provide a number in the statement.
CNN has requested the exact number of positive results and is awaiting confirmation.
“The ship’s medical staff has tested all crew members and all tests have come back negative. SeaDream is currently retesting all guests,” the statement says.
Not that I would ever want to be aboard this ship right now but I do wonder how the captain goes about making this type of announcement on the ship? Is it a loudspeaker that he goes on or is there a representative of the ship that goes around the different Olympic size pools, basketball courts, and water slides to get the word out to get back to your room?
Thankfully if you wanted these types of answers to these types of questions the Sea Dream 1 has just the right man for the job on board with them as we speak.
Gene Sloan, a writer for the American travel blog, The Points Guy, just so happens to be one of those passengers and has been cranking out blogs to keep curious folks like myself updated.
Sloan responded to that very question about making the announcement in his new blog titled “Day 2 I’m stuck on a cruise lockdown due to Covid. “In a subsequent announcement over the ship’s intercom system in the early afternoon, Lund said that all passenger tests that had been done so far by the ship’s doctor had come back negative.
“I understand that this situation is not fun or pleasant at all, and I really feel with you for being so isolated in your cabin,” Captain Lund said in his Thursday letter to passengers. “We will do whatever we can to make this time as pleasant as possible for you and also as short as possible,” wrote Sloan.
The only question that the Points Guy writer has yet to answer has been why he would even consider going on the ship in the first place? But again, somebody had to do it and I tip my cap to the guy for keeping us updated and powering through what has to be some pretty sub-par cruise ship quarantine meals.