COVID-19 strands thousands of cruise ship workers at sea
At least 120 ships are stranded in U.S. waters with crew members prevented from disembarking; insight from cruise ship performer Ryan Driscoll.
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Royal Caribbean International has reportedly created a plan for how to best repatriate thousands of crew members, who are currently stranded aboard ships around the world as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
Though passengers have long disembarked, 25,000 crew members across 26 cruise ships have completed two weeks of in-room quarantine, Royal Caribbean president and CEO Michael Bayley recently shared an internal memo, USA Today reports. These crew members are now practicing social distancing.
Royal Caribbean's cruise ship, Radiance of the Seas departs Sydney, Australia on April 4. (James D. Morgan/Getty Images)
Now, the cruise line is focused on repatriating these employees, who are said to hail from 60 different countries. Bayley predicted that this process may prove to be “incredibly complex.”
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"What we’ve learned over the past month is that one simple question – how do we get you home? – turns out to be incredibly complex to answer," Bayley said in the letter.
Per guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) amid the COVID-19 outbreak, crew members can only disembark from ships if the cruise line pledges that the employees will not travel home on public transportation or through public airport terminals, among other rules, in the fight against the viral disease.
Though the tentative plans remain subject to change, the cruise line plans to begin flying home American crew currently aboard ships near the U.S. on May 6. American crew members in Asia will return stateside from the Philippines, awaiting the reopening of Manila’s airport. Crew members from the U.S. who are presently in the Mediterranean should be flown home by May 20. Employees at Perfect Day, Royal Caribbean’s private Bahamian island, and off the coast of Barbados. will sail to Miami, and then travel home by private transportation, arriving home by May 14.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the CDC told Fox News that the agency looks forward to reviewing the cruise line's plans to safely transport employees home.
"CDC is pleased Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited has decided to take the necessary steps to ensure their crew members can safely disembark and stand ready to review the cruise line’s submissions as soon as we receive them," an official with the CDC said. "CDC is committed to ensuring crew members disembark and return home to their families as quickly and safely as possible while protecting their health and the health of the communities to which they will be returning."
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A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday morning that the cruise line is indeed working with governments and health authorities around the globe to repatriate employees, and that thousands of crew members have already been able to return home.
“We have already been able to help more than 12,000 of our crew members return safely home on commercial flights, charter flights and direct sailings to their home countries and thousands more are going home in coming weeks,” the spokesperson said. “We are working with governments and health authorities around the world on our plans, and we very much appreciate our crews’ patience, understanding and good spirit.”
On Monday, USA Today reported that five Royal Caribbean crew members remained in isolation for treatment of flu-like symptoms, which can be similar to those of the novel coronavirus.
The memo also said that one employee had recently passed away after several weeks of hospitalization, though a cause of death was not specified. Royal Caribbean also revealed that the company was mourning "the loss of several of our colleagues over the past two months,” though the letter did disclose whether or not these late employees had COVID-19.
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Competitor Carnival Cruise Line has announced that it plans to gradually resume North American cruising on August 1.