Cruise sector efforts at relaunch under threat
(CNS): The Crystal Symphony has become the latest cruise ship to be quarantined in port after six passengers on the ship tested positive for COVID-19. The ship was quarantines while docked in Bermuda, where 72 deaths have so far been attributed to COVID and there are currently just under 1,500 active cases among its population.
This news follows the publication this week of research by international academics, who concluded that the cruise industry should be subject to global monitoring and effective legislation because of its increasing negative impact on both the environment and human health and well-being. Risks include the spread of COVID-19, as outbreaks on some cruise ships have been well documented.
The review, published in Marine Pollution Bulletin, found that cruising is a major source of environmental pollution and degradation, with air, water, soil, fragile habitats and wildlife affected.
According to officials in Bermuda, five people on the Crystal Symphony tested positive during the crossing from New York, even though everyone on the ship was fully vaccinated and boarded with negative PCR tests. Crystal Cruises confirmed that another guest received a positive result after further testing.
While the positive passengers were left behind, some passengers opted to leave the ship and fly home from Bermuda and the rest sailed back to the US under strict protocols with masks and social distancing. This is yet another clear demonstration that preventing outbreaks of the virus on board cruise ships appears to be extremely difficult and may be impossible.
The industry, which was halted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in March 2020, is nevertheless attempting to set sail again, even though almost every cruise is recording outbreaks of the coronavirus on board. While there is no definitive tally of how many cases have been detected on cruises so far since their return, the CDC is investigating dozens of ships.
In the latest research, the academics compiled evidence from more than 200 research papers on the health of people and the environment in different oceans and seas around the world.
Professor Lora Fleming, of the University of Exeter, an author of the review, said, “Cruise tourism was rapidly expanding pre-COVID-19, and our research shows it causes major impacts on the environment and on human health and well-being. We need much better monitoring to generate more robust data for the true picture of these impacts. Without new and strictly enforced national and international standardised rules, the cruise industry is likely to continue causing these serious health and environmental hazards.”
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Any politician who stands against cheap mass cruise tourism will get my vote.
What does ‘SMH’ mean in comments? Is it a cayman thing? Anyone know?
Shaking My Head. We are regressing to animal sounds, abandoning words and sentences.
lol!
Shaking My Hat
Ohhh, boomer.
does it make you feel smarter? I bet you don’t know how to change a light bulb or hang a shelf on a wall without an app or YouTube.
“Boomers” invented the internet then millennials invented social media. Well done you.
shake my head, its an internet thing
Shake my head.
This more or less proves that vaccination plus pre-testing of arriving tourists does not prevent the introduction of Covid no matter how people arrive. The unfortunately reality is that unless we are happy with people spreading Covid on arrival and some of us dying then quarantine must be maintained.
Yeah cuz tourists are the only ones that bring in Covid.
Border closed!
Cayman Islands 851 cases of Covid. 81active. 2 deaths.
Go figure!
We have known that for a while. Every traveler who has tested positive here, had to submit a negative test result before embarking on their flight. It happens every week. It amazes me that we still have a 10-day quarantine — the very bare minimum for controlling incoming infection.
The cruise industry is only interested in money. They could care less about the environment or anything else.
You all care less about your own environment. The Dump is growing higher snd higher and little children clean your beaches while you won’t move a finger.
Two wrongs don’t make a right.
Greta……is that you?
Grownups who mock teenagers are immature. Disagree with her? Debate civilly, offer alternatives, do something. Have nothing to say? Then shut up.
6:03 She is legally an adult now and needs to start acting like one. I have lost patience with Greta. At first, she had a good point but she’s now just starting to sound like a deranged brat. If she behaved and put her points and ideas across in a mature manner more people would listen to her. But at this point, many see her as a joke.
I wish we had more of her.
Do you mean they’re putting a band-aid on it? I don’t see you are talking about garbage reduction in your comment.
Shut up and stop watchin FoxNews. And get vaccinated.
The dump is being capped and they’re building s new waste management facility. Grow up
covering a spreading gangrene with a gauze.
I bet CHEC are following this with great interest.
Wouldn’t be surprised if they have already approached their best friend now that UDP are back running the show.
This island has been infinitely better without the cruise ships The diving is much better. More to see underwater than there has been in a long time. Less garbage on the beaches. Less sheeple cluttering up the middle of town. No dancing policeman to hold up traffic. And best of all, I can get served at KFC straightaway without battling through blobby Trumpers.
You complain about pollution and you eating KFC…..
Humour gone in everyone now too. SMH
Environmentally conscientious people still can enjoy fried chicken and Mac n cheese every once in a while ya turd.
Processed garage! But hey if you’re happy being fat and diabetic, then hey don’t let me get in the way.
Who doesn’t enjoy breast, thighs and a greasy box?
You had me cheering until your KFC comment. Hard to hide behind that admission that you care nothing for the environment except if your next meal is excluded.
Sense of humour bypass detected here. I think you’ll find the original poster was being sarcastic with the last sentence.
We have been closed for a pandemic and got SCTLD while we had NO cruise. Keep smokin the pipe dream as you are clueless.
You’re ones to talk about blobby..
Bring back the dancing policeman, he was fun and cheerful to see every morning going to work. Don’t be so miserable.
Fine. Keep him. Agree that he was uplifting and entertaining. Belay the cruise ships. ALL of them. they do the most of us little good.
And no one can tell me that cruise ships were not responsible for the spread of the coral disease! Yet, we still have a few bright-minded individuals here pushing for cruise tourism to come back to our shores. Diversify tourism is my opinion. Let us all brainstorm and come up with other options.
Diver have been proven to spread the coral disease, so are we banning all dive visitors? NO we need to have policies in place!
You are assuming divers still are coming here. That stopped nearly 2 years ago. So yes, divers are banned because tourism is banned.
obviously all passnegers should be vaccinated and test negative prior to embarking.
for the cruise snobs….regarding covid..not sure what the difference is between a tourist stepping off a plane or a boat???
You can quarantine an air arrival.
Air passengers can’t be quaranting forever
Not forever – all we need is 14 day quarantine – then they can go about their business if they test negative for Covid.
And what long term effect, potentially for ever – covid may never disappear – would a 14 day quarantine have on the island? That’s effectively what you are asking for? Do you even begin to understand the implications of that? It’s learn to deal with covid or turn Cayman into a third world economy.
The US should have a 14 day quarantine, too then.
Won’t come if there’s a quarantine
Excellent!
Turks & Caicos
Air arrivals can be tracked and monitored, spend real money while they’re here which goes to Caymanian businesses, leave less trash, and don’t destroy our native marine habitat. Plus, we don’t need to destroy swathes of coral reefs to allow planes to land.
ha…none of what you said makes sense…but definitely sounds good!
soundbites forever!
?????
track and trace?…please explain how this will work when borders are fully open.
cruise tourists spend money…ask any business in gt.
leave less trash?…please explain that please
destroy marine habitat?…so you want a total ban on diving and watersports???
destroy natural habitat?…how many acres were destroyed to to creat owen roberts????
6:45 am The average cruise tourist spends $30 on shore if that much and the cruise line pre-sells the tours to our attraction, leaving very little business for the people selling tours on arrival. That industry is not our friend.
How would this help? According to this article all Passengers were Fully Vaccinated and had Negative Tests prior to boarding the cruise ship. Yet there are those now testing positive. Covid will continue to pop up in fully vaccinated groups because the vaccine does not stop the spread… this is fact. Look what just happened at Harvard Biz School. 95% vaccinated yet they are already having to do all remote classes because of an outbreak. It’s like a dog chasing it’s tail. Cayman will continue to experience outbreaks even if the borders stay relatively closed. It’s inevitable.
People who have had both doses of vaccine can still get COVID and pass it on. It’s not an invisible shield that magically protects you. About a month ago I heard from a friend of mine in the UK that one of his work colleagues who’d had a fairly mild dose of COVID last year got vaccinated as soon as he was eligible but still got re-infected and this time he was much worse. So even with the natural immunity generated by the first infection and two doses of vaccine he still wasn’t safe – this is clearly a very nasty virus.
Yes, cuz Covid only come with tourists. Lol
Cayman Islands- 851 total cases of Covid
The only cruise ships that we ought to even consider going forward are the ultra-high end expedition ships that carry fewer than 200 passengers and do pre and daily testing for Covid. These ships exist. They have never been inclined to visit Cayman in part because of the massive ships that used to pollute our country.
There’s nothing for them to do on the Dump island .
They would never want come here tho
Let’s hope we never see another cruise ship here. Thank you so much again to everyone involved in stopping the cruise dock. Our finances would ge dire by now.
The way it’s going, tourists may not be coming either. You can say great, but be careful what you wish for. T&C is doing it right and not telling them off.
Floating petri dish. Why? Go on vacation and explore one island at a time. You might actually find something you like rather than a $30 t-shirt and a $7 bottle of water.
The cons clearly outweigh the pros in this unsustainable industry. We are blessed by not having a new cruise port hanging around our necks and Cayman needs to retool and retrain our people that were once part of this failed mode of travel. I hope it never ever comes back, at least to Cayman.
Thanks to Shirley Roulstone and CPR for standing up and challenging the lies of the PPM
Who in their right mind would go on a cruise ever? But especially now. SMH
Might as well hitch a ride on a cattle ship.
Americans who you think! lol
The Americans we’re ashamed of.
Those Americans who are now going to T & C instead of Cayman where they are being welcomed?
If the are racist, misogynist, anti-science and intolerant Trump Americans, we’re glad they’re going to T&C. Otherwise, we hope they’ll consider returning to Cayman at some time in the future.
The America you travel to? You ashamed so much stop – no need to come visiting especially during a pandemic.
Plenty of residents go on cruises- stop w/ the comments.
The same type of people who want to open up this place and remove quarantine. In the middle of a world wide plague
Fat American Trump supporters.
And we’re coming for you! Boo!
Not on a cruise ship you aren’t – at least not any time soon!
Waddle waddle
Are you talking about CayMas ?
It’s funny how much people hate Trump. I will not be surprised if future historians look back on Trump’s policies and find just how good the vast majority of them were for America.
They will do whatever it takes to make him look bad. But little by little things are now starting to pop up that he was right about.
They will continue to find other things to degrade and discredit him because they are so frightened that he will run again. It’s all about making sure he doesn’t get back in.
These last 2 years have been a gong show all around the world. But let’s blame it on Trump.
PS. I am a slim fit athletic Caymanian Trump supporter. LOL But you just keep on pressing those stereotypes. We all understand stereotypes. Caymanians especially.
Nope
You have been misled by the right wing media and alt news. Trump was the worst thing to happen to america. He emboldened the white supremacists and Q Anon, which is a plague upon america.
Okay I neither hate nor like him. He wasn’t a politician when he was elected, and he is quite eccentric, but frankly, he wasn’t given a chance to do anything, Pelosi, who should be knitting socks and playing bingo had her filed days.
And you “his policies are/were good” people will be seen in the same light as Nazi sympathisers. Policies or not, Trump is horrible beyond belief for the future of America.
Let me guess – your a white, male, Boomer or GenXer?
All the white supremacists his rhetoric brought to light were cool, huh? Charlottesville, Virginia’s gathering of white racists with those flaming torches that resulted in the death of an unarmed anti-fascist was cool, huh? Murdered by being ran over by car driven by a hateful idiot was cool, huh?
Trump said these white supremacists were very fine people, when in fact they were racists hellbent on “making america great again”. His presidency was the worst thing to happen to america in these times. He emboldened white supremacists and the Q Anon movement.
The white supremacists, Proud Boys,3 Percenters, Oath Keepers, Patriot Front, etc, etc all grew and became public and violent as a result of Trump. There is actually nothing cool or good resulting from Trump. He is a despicable human.
“human”?
I’d like him if he wasn’t religious
Well Biden has continued pretty much all of them
Sorry to give a bit of sad history. “Who in their right mind would go on a cruise ever?” Well… Those hundreds of thousands annually that gave jobs, income and businesses to many Caymanians. (Yes, at a terrible cost, but that is on who YOU elected).
Do I want them back -NO! But you need to admit what Cayman and its electorate have historically supported. Fix your country.