The ship had about 600 passengers or 30 percent capacity.
Two positive cases fly home on a private flight
Celebrity Cruises spokeswoman Susan Lomax, who has just returned from St. Maarten, said everyone disembarked in Philipsburg, St. Maarten on Saturday, with the two people who tested positive flown home via private flights.
Closely watched first cruise
The cruise was closely watched as the first cruise in the Caribbean since the global shutdown, save for the unfortunate attempt by SeaDream Yacht Club to restart from Barbados last November. Several reporters were on board, and national media covered the departure and what the experience is now – remarkably normal, apart from the extra pre-cruise papers and tests and “bubble” tours in a port – and then the two COVIDs -Cases .
However, thanks to Celebrity’s vaccination mandate for crew and adult passengers, and the effectiveness of the protocols that didn’t spread beyond the two individuals, the stories were balanced – even downplayed. For example, the New York Times – unbelievably – didn’t even mention the two positives in its headline or up to the 36th paragraph of the story, and then only incidentally.
The ship continues
After the two positives, who were asymptomatic, the week-long trip was not interrupted, aside from contact tracing with those identified for expedited testing who stayed in their staterooms pending clearance.
The two positive results had surfaced Thursday during Celebrity’s routine pre-disembarkation testing on Curaçao, with a sea day on Friday and today’s arrival in St. Maarten.
Previously, Celebrity Millennium had visited Aruba and Barbados.
The ship sailed again today with a new group of around 600 passengers on board. This week’s cruise will visit Tortola, St. Lucia, and Barbados.
The butterfly program in St. Maarten should run until August.
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