CEO of Carnival Cruise Corporation, Arnold Donald, has said that a number of procedures have been put in place to protect the health of their passengers against the deadly coronavirus.
He was addressing CARICOM heads at a press conference held yesterday.
According to Donald, the ships travel to over 700 ports a year and some of the highest priorities of the cruise lines are always excellence in safety, marine safety, health safety, environmental protection and compliance.
“We have a number of screening procedures and protocol for prevention…,” he stated. “We have to do this all the time.”
Donald continued, “Through the years there have been a number of diseases, issues and scares around the world, to name a few – Zika, Ebola…”
He said the protocols that are in place tend to serve the cruise lines well.
Donald encourages everyone to align with the guidance and procedures from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other global medical experts.
In addition to the cruise line’s usual procedures, the expanded protocols include:
- Guests who have been to China, Hong Kong or Macau in the 14 days prior to embarkation are asked to notify us ahead of their sailing.
- All guests must comply with standard pre-boarding health reporting at the time of check-in.
- Additional pre-cruise and in-terminal screenings and questionnaires will be administered, including pre-boarding medical evaluations, as needed.
- Crew members from China, Hong Kong and Macau who were scheduled to join any of our ships have been delayed from joining, and we are not booking any crew members on flights connecting through China or Hong Kong.
- While our international guests have already been screened upon their arrival to the U.S., we have implemented secondary passport checks prior to boarding.
- Enhanced onboard sanitation measures with non-toxic materials are in place, in addition to our rigorous daily cleaning regimen.
“Ultimately, any guest or crew member who has been to China, Hong Kong or Macau in the 14 days prior to embarkation will not be allowed to sail,” Donald explained. “The cruise lines onboard Medical Centers are staffed to handle a wide variety of staff and crew medical situations. The crew knows to report any symptoms of respiratory illness to the onboard medical team, and guests are asked to do the same.”
Jamaica’s health authorities last night reiterated that interim guidelines relating to the admittance of cruise ships to the island’s ports have been drafted and circulated to The Port Authority of Jamaica and relevant agencies!! Where are ours? Should this not be a joint Caribbean activity? True we little but we tallawah, yet commonsense would tell us that our tallawahness (my own concoction) would have a far greater reach working together than standing aside talking about how tallawah we are. Is it not time that Caribbean entities endorse the adage that together we achieve more and begin to act as if they believe this!!! People there is strength in numbers.
The CEO of Carnival cooperation, who appears to be visually challenged, talks about their efforts to ensure the safety of their passengers, how many Caribbean health ministry personnel has seen the document in action? Was it drawn up after consultation with the territorial health ministries? The world is no longer a safe…
I have been begging Carnival to reschedule since paying for a cruise a month ago and right up to just hours from departure yesterday. Carnival refused to reschedule, issue credit or refund our cruise. Out of health concerns and fearing disruption due to the virus, I cancelled anyway. Despite all the their assurances, after one day at sea, our ship the Carnival Horizon has been banned from it’s first two ports of call in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
I just came back from a cruise and at every turn the crew would be squirting alcohol onto the hands of the passengers. Before anyone entered the dining room, they would squirt alcohol onto our hands. I felt safe during my cruise.
I am booked to go to Italy later this year. I am monitoring the situation closely and may cancel if they have not brought it under control within the next 3 months.
you people are to disgusting, and your heads are as hard as a rock. you all know whats going on and in the heat of the moment y’all want to go on cruise. it’s like life of death with you all. wicked and bad mind. SMH