By Elishya Perera
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CWBN)_ SeaDream Yacht Club’s SeaDream 1 is heading back to Barbados after a passenger received a preliminary positive test result for Covid-19.
SeaDream 1 is the first cruise ship to resume sailing in the Caribbean since the pandemic caused sailing to cease in March this year.
The vessel set sail on Saturday (Nov 07), and had already called at St. Vincent, Canouan, the Tobago Cays and Union Island, with trips ashore to empty beaches with no contact with local people.
It is reported that passengers were tested for Covid-19 in advance of traveling, and they were given another PCR test before boarding the ship. They were tested once again on Wednesday, according to Barbados protocols which requires a test several days into sailing.
The ship was anchored off Union Island in the Grenadines at the time the captain informed passengers of the preliminary positive test over the ship’s intercom. According to Gene Sloan, a senior reporter for cruise who was aboard the ship, the captain had instructed guests to return to their cabins and remain isolated there.
The passengers on board include nationals of the United Kingdom, the United States, Austria, Denmark, Germany and Sweden.
Previously, the SeaDream Yacht Club had a Covid scare in Norway, and the line had to quarantine its ship after a passenger from a previous cruise tested positive. However, none of the subsequent passengers contracted the virus and the vessel completed a successful tour in Scandinavia.
Nevertheless, the line has instituted a bunch of health protocols before and after the vessels sets sail. In addition to testing and social distancing, temperatures are checked daily and cabins are sanitised with UV light every day. Even though the gym has been open, passengers are required to book a slot in advance.
Even though SeaDream’s ships, which the company refers to as “superyachts,” have 56 staterooms, with a capacity for 112 guests and 95 crew, however, SeaDream 1 currently has only 53 passengers onboard and 66 crew.
Edited By Chathushka Perera
