After being denied disembarkation in Thailand, the Westerdam is now setting course to Cambodia where guests will be able to disembark. According to an announcement onboard, the company will charter planes to move guests, with more details to come.
“The ship is not in quarantine and we have no reason to believe there are any cases of coronavirus onboard despite media reports,” Holland America said, in a statement. “We have also received a letter from the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment affirming that they have full confidence in all our medical reporting and the quality of our medical staff and services on Westerdam. This assessment was done in concert with the Ministry of Health of the Netherlands.”
Royal Caribbean International has cancelled the Feb. 15 departure from Singapore aboard the Quantum of the Seas. The nine-night cruise included calls in Thailand and Vietnam.
Princess Cruises has cancelled the Feb. 13 and Feb. 23 departures from Singapore aboard the Sapphire Princess.
Dream Cruises said the World Dream’s cruises departing from Feb. 9 2020 to March 22 2020 from Hong Kong and Guangzhou will be cancelled.
Thirty-nine additional people on the Diamond Princess were diagnosed with coronavirus, bringing the total number to 174. Among the new cases was a quarantine official.
According to an article on Crew Center, the crew onboard the Diamond Princess will get two months paid time off following the quarantine,
South Korea has issued new health standards, requiring ships submit various documents to government officials before entering any port in the country. Among the reporting requirements are whether any passengers have a cough, fever or any other flu-like symptoms. “As long as one person has symptoms … no one on the ship will be allowed to disembark.”