A cruise ship was locked in a standoff off the coast of Chile on Sunday after the country banned cruise ships from docking in its ports — the latest ship to leave passengers stuck as companies have suspended trips and ports have restricted access because of the coronavirus.
The Celebrity Eclipse, a cruise ship with a capacity of nearly 3,000, attempted to dock in San Antonio, Chile on Sunday after their cruise line, Celebrity Cruises, announced Saturday night that they had suspended operations due to coronavirus travel restrictions.
Though no one on board has reported being sick, passengers are stuck and unsure when or how they will be let off.
The cruise company confirmed the port closure in a tweet and said they're working with the Chilean government "to provide a controlled debarkation plan for that would ensure all guests have travel arrangements to leave the country."
Celebrity Cruises' suspension coincided with the same decision by many other major cruise companies. On Friday, President Donald Trump announced that Carnival Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, and Royal Caribbean — Celebrity Cruises' parent company — had "all agreed to suspend outbound cruises for thirty days."
The widespread cruise suspensions came just after Chile's Minister of Health, Jaime Mañalich, announced a ban on cruises docking at the country's ports after an elderly British man on one ship tested positive for the coronavirus.
There are no reports of anyone testing positive for or showing symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, aboard the Celebrity Eclipse, which departed March 1 for a two-week voyage from Buenos Aires to San Antonio.
The ship arrived off the coast of San Antonio around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, sailing in circles as it tried to negotiate permission to dock with local authorities.
Passengers — many of whom had planned to continue on with the ship to San Diego — have now spent hours in long lines to give their passport and flight information to crew members in preparation to debark. Simultaneously, many of them are scrambling to book new flights and hotels.
The State Department and US Embassy in Chile did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Despite the chaos, the vibe has stayed sunny, and dining and recreational activities have continued, Rev. Ian Jonhston, a British passenger,
"Mood on board is very good," Johnston said. "People [are] being very friendly and lots of humorous banter."
Johnston said it had been an "amazing trip," and he said the cruise line was assisting his fellow passengers in making new travel arrangements.
"Apparently things are pretty calm and since no one is sick, people are just waiting to hear any news but they know it’s out of their hands," Tulk said.
Another passenger on board, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he had heard some passengers arguing and blaming US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the media for panic over the pandemic.
"My family is riding this out in our room for now," he said.
While inconvenient, the passenger said he understands "Chile's unease with accepting so many American passengers."
"I haven't seen symptoms on board, and the captain reports no cases," he said. "But I'd be wary of exposing my country to a large group of Americans right now, too."
Around 4 p.m. local time — more than 12 hours after arriving near San Antonio — an announcement was made that previously collected luggage would be returned to owners and dinner would be served, implying passengers would be spending the night onboard the ship.
The anonymous passenger said the captain announced there would be free drinks every night they are there, which he took as a pretty clear hint it might be a while before they can leave.
"So this may be a long haul," he said.
Shortly after that, the captain announced that passengers would need to spend the night on the ship. Chile's Minister of Tourism had approved them to debark, the captain said, but the Minister of Health still had not. They had, however, been given permission to refuel and get more food and supplies.
The Celebrity Eclipse isn’t the only cruise ship currently stuck sailing open waters right now, desperately looking for somewhere to dock.
The MS Braemar, a Fred Olsen Cruise Lines ship carrying more than 600 people, has been refused entry at several ports in the Caribbean, CNN reported on Sunday. Twenty passengers and another twenty crew members are reportedly exhibiting flu-like symptoms and are quarantining on board.
The British cruise company still does not know where or when passengers will be allowed to debark, and are reportedly even considering sailing back to the UK.
Another ship, the Grand Princess, was held at sea for several days after 21 passengers tested positive for COVID-19. The passengers were eventually allowed to disembark in Oakland, California, and all were quarantined.
Rick and Wendy, a married couple from New Jersey on the Holland America Line ship Zaandam, told they woke up to a note under their door Sunday morning that the vessel was not being permitted to dock in Punta Arenas, Chile.
No one on their ship is currently known to have the coronavirus, but they’re now concerned about getting quarantined a long way from home.
“A lot has changed since we left New Jersey on Friday the 6th,” he said, mentioning the CDC warning about cruises that came out two days later on March 8.
On another Holland America Line ship, the Nieuw Statendam, passengers were temporarily not permitted to disembark in Fort Lauderdale after a passenger died of undisclosed causes during the cruise. About 65% of passengers got off the boat after the CDC initially cleared it, but the ship then halted the disembarking process.
Hours later, the cruise line announced the deceased passenger had tested negative for COVID-19, and passengers would be allowed to continue disembarking.
Still, one anonymous passenger expressed her concern with how the Nieuw Statendam dealt with medical issues aboard. She said she’d had headache, cough, sore throat, and fatigue for a few days, but was told by the ship’s medical staff not to worry about it if she didn’t have a fever. She was also told seeing a doctor on board would cost an additional fee, since they were closed.
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