A crew member on the Jewel of the Seas informs me that the Royal Caribbean cruise ship has a total of seventy-three (73) COVID-19 cases on the ship. There are fifty-seven (57) guests who tested positive for the virus and sixteen (16) crew members. The hotel director is also positive for COVID-19.
The Jewel left port in Amsterdam on Thursday July 14, 2022, on a twelve day cruise to ports in Scotland, Ireland, England, Wales, and Guernsey Island. She is scheduled to return to Amsterdam on July 26, 2022.
We last reported on COVID-19 cases on the Jewel of the Seas on July 2, 2022 when the ship was leaving on her last cruise and had seventy-nine COVID-19 cases amongst guests (61) and crew members (18).
Despite the efforts of the cruise lines and travel agents to convince the public that it’s safe to go on a cruise ship, the truth is that the vaccine-resistant BA.4 and BA.5 variants of COVID-19 are spreading around the world, including not only the U.S. but in Europe. In the U.S., according to the COVID-19 Disease Cruise Ship Dashboard, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicates that of the 95 cruise ships monitored, 100% are orange. Zero are green.
In US, according to @CDCgov COVID19 Cruise Ship Dashboard, of the 95 cruise ships monitored, 100% are orange. Zero are green. This is first time CDC has concluded that all #cruise ships sailing from US ports have 0.3% or more of total passengers and/or crew positive for COVID. pic.twitter.com/1wsfcCUSIo
— James (Jim) Walker (@CruiseLaw) July 16, 2022
To our knowledge, this is the first time that the CDC has concluded that all cruise ships sailing from U.S. ports have 0.3% or more of total passengers and/or crew positive for COVID.
Unfortunately, neither the CDC not the cruise lines will make the number of infected passengers and/or crew members public knowledge. This is a public disservice.
From information that we receive regarding the Jewel of the Seas from crew members and other sources, it reasonably appears that all cruise ships probably have an average of 75-150 infected guests and crew at any given time.
If you are aware of a COVID-19 outbreak on a cruise ship, please alert us and we will get the word out.
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Image credit: Jewel of the Seas – Dave souza – CC BY-SA 2.5.