Cruise ship stops in Spain to drop off COVID-infected crew

OVIEDO, Spain

A Royal Caribbean cruise ship had to make an unplanned stop off the Spanish island of Mallorca on Monday to drop off five crew members who tested positive for COVID-19.

This is the first cruise ship that has stopped near the touristic region since March 2020 and its sight came as a surprise to many locals.

Although the massive ship has room for more than 4,100 people, it is only carrying around 1,400 crew members and fewer than 100 passengers, according to Spanish media.

The ship, called Odyssey of the Seas, left from Civitavecchia, Italy and is bound for the US state of Florida.

The infected crew members are set to be picked up by Spanish ships and taken to a private clinic to quarantine, according to the Balearic government. They are all reported to be asymptomatic.

According to health protocols, the cruise ship will also conduct more coronavirus tests to reveal whether more people have been infected.

The Odyssey of the Seas is Royal Caribbean’s newest ship and has already had a fraught odyssey of its own.

Its launch was planned for last year, but was delayed, unsurprisingly, due to the pandemic.

It had a brief moment of optimism earlier this month when it was gearing up to run out of the port of Haifa, Israel. As the majority of the Israeli population had received a jab, it was going to be open to only Israeli residents from June 2.

However, the recent outbreak of violence in the Gaza Strip and Israel forced the cruise company to change its plans once again.

The company announced on May 15 that the Odyssey of the Seas would instead kick off its inaugural season from an undisclosed port in Florida.

Whether this outbreak of coronavirus infections and emergency stop in Spain will cause another delay to its inaugural season remains to be seen.

Royal Caribbean has said it is continuing to suspend the majority of its cruise routes until June 30, with most operations resuming in July.

Spain’s ports remain closed to international cruises, and the government has not yet set a day for when they will resume.