Sapphire Princess will be kicking off her next sailing – a 17-night voyage to Antarctica – on December 18, 2024. However, the planned embarkation in Buenos Aires, Argentina, has now been delayed.
This change became necessary due to reported gastrointestinal illness on the Gem-class vessel’s current voyage – which is another 17-night sailing to Antarctica – although it is unclear how many of her up to 2,670 guests and 1,100 crew members have become sick.
Before new passengers are brought onboard on December 18, the crew members will spend extra time sanitizing and disinfecting the ship to prevent any further spread of illness on the subsequent sailing.
“Please be advised that there will be a slight delay in the embarkation process for your upcoming Sapphire Princess cruise on Wednesday, December 18,” Princess Cruises wrote in a letter to booked guests.
“Our crew will be spending extra time disinfecting the ship in Buenos Aires that day following reported cases of gastrointestinal illness among guests on the current voyage,” continued the notice.
As a result, guests have been asked not to arrive at the cruise terminal until 1:30 p.m. at the earliest – with staterooms not available until later on in the afternoon. However, all guests must be onboard by 5:30 p.m. local time.
“Guests will be permitted to check in beginning at 1:30 PM, and staterooms will be available later in the afternoon. Please do not arrive before 1:30 PM as the terminal will be closed with limited shelter in surrounding areas. Guests with Princess hotels or transfers will have their new pick-up times provided at the hotel or airport,” the Carnival-owned cruise line added.
All that said, the delay shouldn’t impact the itinerary – as the 116,000-gross ton ship actually isn’t scheduled to depart from Buenos Aires until 4 p.m. local time on the following day (December 19) anyway.
Her polar itinerary includes calls on Punta Arenas, Chile; Ushuaia, Argentina; Port Stanley, Falkland Islands; and Montevideo, Uruguay.
How Bad is the Outbreak?
Although the number of gastrointestinal cases onboard Sapphire Princess’ current Antarctic cruise is unknown, it’s important to note that the medical event has not been classified as an outbreak – at least not as of the time of publication.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) runs a vessel sanitation program (VSP) where they monitor and report outbreaks from cruise ships where 3% or more of the passengers or crew report gastrointestinal symptoms to the onboard medical staff – as well as other noteworthy medical events or outbreaks.
This includes all ships under VSP jurisdiction – which applies to Sapphire Princess – even when they are sailing outside of the US (as is the case here).
Read Also: How to Stay Safe and Enjoy Your Cruise Vacation
As of December 17, 2024, Sapphire Princess is not on the list of outbreaks reported in 2024 – which means the number of gastrointestinal cases onboard is likely low and the enhanced cleaning is out of an abundance of caution.
The ship’s April 5, 2024, voyage is listed as having a norovirus outbreak – but that has since been resolved and is a separate incident.
But as it is the cold and flu season, it may seem like people everywhere are getting sick more frequently – including on cruise ships.
In the past week alone, gastrointestinal outbreaks have been reported for both Ruby Princess and Holland America Lina’s Zuiderdam – which is a sister-brand of Princess Cruises.
