By HAYLEY MUNGUIA PUBLISHED: March 8, 2020 at 9:17 a.m. | UPDATED: March 9, 2020 at 4:06 a.m.
While the cruise industry takes a beating over the coronavirus, some passengers disembarking the Carnival Panorama on Sunday morning said whether to book another voyage would be an easy call.
Yes. And no.
“It could have been worse,” said Cindy Turchin, who shrugged off Saturday’s day-long wait to get off the cruiseliner. “We took it knowing this could have happened.”
Panorama passengers were forced spend an extra day holed up on the ship while one traveler was taken to a Long Beach hospital and tested for the virus. The results, late Saturday, came back negative.
Ryan Hudson and Shawn Burke, 46, both from Sacramento, will think twice before they book another cruise.
“We almost jumped off, like fifty times,” said Hudson, 42.
Burke said he’ll be canceling an upcoming trip. “I’m supposed to be on another cruise in about a week out of Miami,” he said. “I don’t think I’m going.
“The problem isn’t dealing with the virus,” said Burke, 46. “The virus is going everywhere. You’re going to get it or you’re not. It’s not like Ebola, so most people are going to be fine. But I don’t want to be stuck on a ship.”
At the nearby Port of Los Angeles, Princess Cruises on Saturday canceled a cruise by the Royal Princess after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a “no-sail order” because of concerns about a crew member who previously served on the Grand Princess and was transferred to the Royal Princess more than two weeks ago.
The Grand Princess was heading from Hawaii to San Francisco when it was held off the California coast Wednesday so 46 people with possible coronavirus symptoms could be tested. The testing was ordered after a 71-year-old man who had been on a February voyage of the same ship to Mexico contracted the virus and died this week at a hospital in Placer County in Northern California.
Others who were on that voyage also have tested positive in Northern California, Minnesota, Illinois, Hawaii, Utah and Canada.
Princess Cruises said of the Royal Princess: “Late this afternoon, the CDC informed us of their decision to issue a ‘no-sail order’ until the crew member was tested for COVID-19. We have unfortunately been unable to obtain this test given the lateness of the request.”
“The crew member is past the maximum incubation of COVID-19, has been evaluated and has never developed any respiratory symptoms or fever. The crew member had no known contact or exposure to other guests or crew who were ill on Grand Princess. The crew member received a precautionary screening by the Medical Staff upon boarding Royal Princess to test for respiratory symptoms, including fever. Due to the unknown timing of obtaining the test and results or anticipated response, we have cancelled the cruise,” the company said in a statement.
Top cruise line executives met Saturday with Vice President Mike Pence at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after which Pence announced “significant changes” to the industry going forward, but gave no indication what would happen next with the Grand Princess.
Pence said cruise officials agreed to enhanced entry and exit screenings and to establish shipboard testing for the virus, along with new quarantine standards established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The industry also was asked to come up with and fund a new plan on how to transport cruise passengers who contract the disease.
Princess officials said the new protocols include asking all new passengers to sign a health declaration, and temperature screenings as passengers leave. Anyone coming from a “high-risk area is also undergoing a medical evaluation,” Dr. Grant Tarling, chief medical officer for Carnival Corporation, told reporters.
There was no word on the Royal Princess crew member’s test results as of Sunday morning.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. The Associated Press contributed to this report.