Royal Caribbean and Carnival will push ahead with a return to cruises this summer despite two guests testing positive for COVID-19 onboard a test run for Royal Caribbean’s Celebrity Millennium ship.
A year after several cruise ships were host to major coronavirus outbreaks and with large numbers of Americans now vaccinated, cruise lines have been striving to get business going.
Shares in Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, which all booked massive losses last year as restrictions brought the industry to a standstill, fell between 1% and 2% in response to the positive tests.
Asked by Reuters on Friday, Royal Caribbean declined to give more details on the guests who had tested positive or the circumstances of their infection.
Celebrity Cruises later said it was paying to fly both guests home privately on Saturday and planning to disembark the remaining passengers on time after being tested.
A source close to Carnival who declined to be named said the company was also pressing ahead with its summer cruises as planned.
Carnival also is said to be moving ahead with its summer cruises as planned.Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Royal Caribbean’s Celebrity Millennium cruise is due to end on the island of St. Maarten on Saturday.
All guests on board were required to show proof
