The Caribbean cruise destination of St Kitts and Nevis has denied Carnival Freedom to make its scheduled port of call on January 5, 2022, as part of an eight-day voyage out of Miami in Florida. The decision was made due to positive cases on board among the crew.
Carnival Freedom Denied to Call at St. Kitts
The Carnival cruise ship was denied entry to St. Kitts on Wednesday morning due to COVID cases among the crew. Guests were informed that the vessel was not allowed to make its call over the public PA system onboard at approximately 8:00 AM.
The cancellation was due to positive cases among the crew members, as confirmed by the captain over the PA system. Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John heald responded to a guest on the current sailing and confirmed that there is no outbreak onboard:
“Hello, well, first of all, I’m very very sorry that this has happened and it’s a shame that this port has decided to do this. There is not an outbreak. I just want to make that clear as well. We are testing crew daily – more than 20 percent of crew are tested each day as part of our proactive approach to managing public health. All crew are fully vaccinated, those who are eligible have also received a booster. For crew members that have tested positive the vast majority of cases are asymptomatic – and were only identified because of our frequent testing.”
The cruise line did not reveal the number of positive crew and if any have the Omicron variant. Even if that is the case, Carnival Cruise Line does have protocols in place to deal with any situation to make sure everyone remains safe. There is no doubt the crew and close contacts are already in isolation.
Carnival Freedom has continued with the sailing, and the ship spent a day at sea due to the canceled call at St. Kitts. The vessel is currently en route to the next port of call at Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos. The ship is scheduled to arrive on January 7, with guests being allowed to enjoy a day ashore, including the stunning beach right next to the pier. The ship will arrive home in Miami, Florida, on January 9, 2022.
According to the current entry requirements for cruise passengers into St. Kitts as of December 30, 2021, fully vaccinated guests must provide proof of a negative PCR or antigen test taken not more than 72 hours before entry into the island nation. The country currently has 643 active cases of COVID, and 24,465 residents are fully vaccinated.
When it comes to Carnival Cruise Line, only a minimal number of unvaccinated guests under the age of 12, teens and adults with a medical condition are exempt to cruise. The cruise line also recently tightened its mask policy on sailings through January 31, 2022.
It’s not the first time the Carnival cruise ship has been denied at a port due to COVID. Toward the end of December 2021, authorities in Kralendijk, Bonaire, decided not to allow passengers to disembark after advice from health officials, resulting in the cruise line heading back out to sea. Carnival Freedom was also forced to cancel its call in Aruba during the same voyage in December.
The next Carnival Freedom sailing is still scheduled to depart on January 9 from PortMiami, including calls at Princess Cays in the Bahamas, Grand Turk, and Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic.
