March 19, 2020 12:30PM PT
Coral Princess is currently docked in Buenos Aires, and has been cleared by Argentine customs as well as the Ministry of Health. However, Coral Princess has not yet been fully cleared by local immigration. As such, only guests holding an Argentinean passport and/or guests who have confirmed flights departing today (March 19) have been cleared to disembark.
Princess Cruises is working through diplomatic channels to get full clearance so all guests can depart over the next several days. As of this update, Coral Princess will remain alongside in Buenos Aires to accommodate guest’s departures in this evolving situation. Princess Cruises will also help rebook air travel for all guests as needed.
Given the fluid nature of the situation and limited availability of flights, we thank our guests and all those impacted for their continued patience and understanding. We will share additional information as it becomes available.
March 19, 2020 9:00PM PT
Princess Cruises confirms that Coral Princess was required to abruptly depart the port of Buenos Aires late on March 19, before all guests were disembarked. Argentine President, Alberto Fernandez, issued a decree at 8:00 pm local time that began at midnight. The decree would require the ship to remain in port for an indeterminate number of days, and no guests would have been permitted to disembark during that time. Therefore, the decision was made to leave port immediately.
Coral Princess is now sailing to Montevideo, Uruguay, where it will take delivery of supplies and fuel on March 20. We have been, and will continue to, seek permission to complete guest disembarkation there. Princess Cruises port operations is exploring all avenues, including diplomatic channels. Also, we are working with our shoreside teams on several options to disembark should there be any issues with Montevideo.
Internet and guest stateroom telephone service remain complimentary so that guests can stay in touch with family. Updates will be made available as we obtain more information.
This is an unprecedented situation and we thank our guests for their continued patience and understanding. The safety, health and well-being of everyone on board remains our highest priority.
March 22, 2020 10:30AM PT
Princess Cruises can confirm that Coral Princess made a port call to Montevideo, Uruguay, on March 21 to take delivery of supplies and fuel. No guests were permitted to disembark. The ship continues to encounter difficulty disembarking their guests due to port closures and changing regulations, therefore Coral Princess set sail directly for Fort Lauderdale, which will take approximately 14 days. There are 1,024 guests onboard.
This is an unprecedented situation and the operations team at Princess continues to support the Captain and his crew to ensure everyone onboard returns home safely. The continued patience and understanding of the guests and their families is appreciated. The safety, health and well-being of everyone on board remains our highest priority.
Both Internet and guest stateroom telephone services remain complimentary so that guests may stay in touch with family.
March 23, 2020 6:30PM PT
Coral Princess is currently sailing a South America voyage and continues to encounter challenges disembarking guests due to port closures and changing regulations. In the continued effort to repatriate guests as quickly as possible, the ship will sail to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, arriving March 24. Although Brazil has been closed to cruise ship traffic, we are working through diplomatic channels to obtain permission and have received positive responses.
Guests with confirmed homeward flight arrangements will be permitted to disembark and go directly to the airport. Regretfully, we do not anticipate that all guests will be able to disembark in Rio due to limited flight availability. From Rio, Coral Princess will sail to Fort Lauderdale as previously announced with a planned arrival on Sunday, April 5.
Guests who purchased flights through Princess will be automatically rebooked on flights. We recommend that guests with independent arrangements wait to rebook their flights until official confirmation from the port authorities is received. Independent guests will be able to claim reimbursement upon their return home as previously advised.
Both internet and guest stateroom telephone service remain complimentary so that guests can stay in touch with family. Updates will be made available as we obtain more information.
This is an unprecedented situation and we thank our guests for their continued patience and understanding. The safety, health and well-being of everyone on board remains our highest priority.
March 30, 2020 3:00PM PT
Coral Princess is scheduled to arrive in Bridgetown, Barbados the evening of Tuesday, March 31. During the short time at the port, extra provisions will be brought onboard to keep all guests comfortable during the onward journey. No guests or crew will be permitted to disembark during this time.
Coral Princess will continue to proceed directly to Ft. Lauderdale, with an estimated arrival date of April 4. There remains no known risk of COVID-19 onboard.
Princess will continue to book flights for all guests. Due to limited flight availability, Coral Princess will remain alongside in Fort Lauderdale for two days to allow all guests to proceed directly from the ship to the airport.
Princess is also working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to ensure smooth arrival into port. We are also in regular contact with multiple embassies and consulates.
Both internet and guest stateroom telephone service remain complimentary so that guests can stay in touch with family.
March 24, 2020 5:45PM PT
Despite continued efforts from several consulates, Anvisa (the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency) has denied the disembarkation of Coral Princess guests, including those with confirmed outbound flights.
Coral Princess will proceed directly to Ft. Lauderdale, with no foreseen need for additional port calls. There remains no known risk of COVID-19 onboard.
Both internet and guest stateroom telephone service remain complimentary so that guests can stay in touch with family. In this unprecedented situation, we thank our guests and their loved ones for their continued patience and understanding.
March 31, 2020 9:40AM PT
The medical center onboard Coral Princess has reported a higher-than-normal number of people presenting influenza-like symptoms.
Many have tested positive for regular influenza, however given the concern surrounding COVID-19 (coronavirus), and out of an abundance of caution, guests have been asked to self-isolate in their staterooms and all meals will now be delivered by room service. Crew will remain in their staterooms when not working.
Coral Princess is scheduled to arrive in Bridgetown, Barbados this evening - Tuesday, March 31. This is a service call only and no guests or crew will be permitted to go ashore during this time. Following her service call to Barbados, Coral Princess is currently scheduled to proceed directly to Ft. Lauderdale for disembarkation, with an estimated arrival date of April 4.
Both internet and guest stateroom telephone service remain complimentary so that guests can stay in touch with family. The health, safety, and well-being of all guests and crew are our absolute priority.
April 2, 2020 5:30PM PT
In response to a reported small cluster of cases of respiratory illness and in an abundance of caution, Coral Princess proactively collected and sent 13 COVID-19 test samples to Barbados on March 31. We can confirm the results yielded 12 positive cases (7 guests and 5 crew).
Why is Coral Princess still sailing?
Coral Princess set sail on March 5 from San Antonio (Santiago) for a South America voyage which was scheduled to end in Buenos Aires on March 19. In response to the global spread of COVID-19, Princess Cruises announced a voluntary 60-day pause of operations on March 12, becoming one of the first companies in the leisure travel industry to take this proactive measure. The operational directive being to end each cruise as soon as possible while being able to assure guests the ability to continue their journey home by air travel safely and with certainty.
Following the pause of operations announcement, Coral Princess had planned to disembark in Buenos Aires on March 19 and March 20 as originally scheduled. This was the first available opportunity for disembarkation and a location from where guests had air travel booked. However, due to ongoing port closures and changing regulations, Coral Princess encountered challenges disembarking guests despite best efforts and additional complications with cancellation of air flights.
Princess continues to seek approvals through multiple diplomatic channels, and to work with local officials for disembarkation in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Guests will continue to self-isolate in their staterooms, with all meals delivered by room service. Crew will remain in their staterooms when not working. There are 1,898 people onboard including 1,020 guests and 878 crew members. Both internet and guest stateroom telephone service remain complimentary so that guests can stay in touch with loved ones.
April 4, 2020
Two people have died aboard the Coral Princess, which docked in Port Miami Saturday morning and began to unload people shortly after.
April 5, 2020 1:08PM PT
Princess Cruises can confirm that guest disembarkation for Coral Princess at the Port of Miami began yesterday, April 4. Disembarkation will continue today limited to those departing on chartered flights arranged by Princess Cruises to California, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Overnight, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) communicated changes to their policy regarding post-disembarkation travel for cruise passengers, recommending no travel via commercial flights nor shared transportation with non-cruise guests. Princess Cruises continues to work tirelessly to adjust the repatriation plan to meet the new CDC requirements. This will unfortunately result in further delays in disembarkation and onward travel for many guests as we work through this complex, challenging and unfortunate situation. We express continued gratitude to our guests for their patience and understanding as we work to adapt to these new requirements.
All guests are being screened as directed by the CDC before disembarkation of the vessel. During disembarkation, and until they reach their homes, guests are required to wear a mask and practice social distancing measures.
Those with respiratory symptoms, or who are still recovering, will remain on board until medically cleared by the ship’s doctors. Further details on disembarkation will be shared once available.
April 6, 2020 2:48PM PT
Princess Cruises can confirm 545 guests disembarked Coral Princess yesterday, April 5 and a further 139 guests disembarked this morning. Meanwhile, 274 guests remain on board. Disembarkation continued today prioritizing those who departed on a chartered flight to Canada, in addition to chauffeured ground transportation for local Florida residents - all of which were arranged by Princess Cruises. Additional domestic charter flights are being coordinated and are scheduled to depart tomorrow, April 7. All guests requiring shoreside medical care have been disembarked and are being treated at a facility pre-arranged by Princess Cruises.
Princess continues to work with several federal, state and local authorities including the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States Coast Guard (USCG), the Office of the Governor of Florida, the Florida Department of Health, the Office of the Mayor of Miami-Dade County, PortMiami, and others.
In order to protect the safety and welfare of our guests, as well as the population of other communities, authorities have dictated several requirements and protocols. We are required to follow these requisites without variance, and when they change, we must adjust our plans. We continue to work through the CDC’s updated recommendations regarding post-disembarkation travel for cruise passengers, which includes no travel via commercial flights nor shared air or ground transportation with non-cruise guests. We again must express our continued gratitude to our guests for their patience and understanding as we navigate the unique and complex logistics required to manage this situation.
April 7, 2020 9:19AM PT
Disembarkation will continue today with an additional nine domestic charter flights scheduled. All charters were arranged by Princess Cruises. Guests requiring shoreside medical care have been disembarked and are being treated at local and regional hospitals.
Following today’s disembarkation efforts, approximately 90 international guests will remain onboard given current international travel restrictions. Homeward travel arrangements will be made for these guests as soon as arrival clearance is obtained by each country.
April 8, 2020 3:00PM PT
Disembarkation efforts in Miami, Florida continue for Coral Princess guests with three additional charter flights scheduled for departure today. Pending government approvals, an additional four international charter flights to South America and Europe and one domestic charter flight are in-planning to depart on April 9. Our goal is to ensure all guests are repatriated to their home countries however, this is a complex process due to unique international travel restrictions which vary by country and require clearance for arrival by customs officials. We do not recommend that guests remain on the ship when it heads back to sea for marine operations and local authorities will not authorize the use of local hotels, making timely approvals for repatriation critical.
Princess Cruises would like to thank the leadership and operations team at PortMiami and the many responders who are supporting the effort to care for guests and crew while the disembarkation process nears its completion.
Currently, Princess Cruises is creating a crew repatriation plan for the global fleet. Until it is finalized and ready to action, all crew fleetwide will remain onboard in the care of Princess.
April 9, 2020 3:30PM PT
Disembarkation efforts in Miami, Florida continue for Coral Princess guests with five charter flights scheduled for departure today - one domestic charter flight and four international charter flights to South America and Europe.
Despite continued efforts through diplomatic channels, current travel restrictions by home countries will prevent homeward travel for 13 international guests, and local authorities will not authorize the use of local hotels. These guests will join the Coral Princess crew members for a self-imposed 14-day quarantine to monitor symptoms and to reduce the possibility of transmission if they became symptomatic. Additional Princess Cruises crew members will be boarding today to aid the quarantine.
Coral Princess is scheduled to depart PortMiami today at 5:30 PM ET.
Coral Princess departed March 5 from San Antonio (Santiago) for a South America voyage which was scheduled to end in Buenos Aires on March 19. In response to the global spread of COVID-19, Princess Cruises announced a voluntary 60-day pause of operations on March 12, becoming one of the first companies in the leisure travel industry to take this proactive measure. Coral Princess remained in service longer than previously expected, until arriving at the Port of Miami, due to a series of port closures, airline cancellations and other actions taken, which impacted the onward travel home of the guests and crew onboard.
No comments:
Post a Comment