Two people traveling on the first North American cruise since March 2020 have tested positive for COVID-19.
The passengers on the Celebrity Millennium shared a room and are now in isolation, cruise owner Royal Caribbean said in a statement. Both people are asymptomatic.
All passengers on the cruise were required to be fully vaccinated if they were over age 18. All crew members were vaccinated, according to Royal Caribbean. The ages of the people who tested positive were not released.
The Celebrity Millennium departed the island of St. Maarten on June 5, making it the first North American voyage since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Another ship is scheduled to leave from the Bahamas on June 12.
All adult passengers were required to show proof of vaccination, in addition to a recent negative COVID test, according to Royal Caribbean.
The Celebrity Millennium had been scheduled to return to St. Maarten on June 12. The positive tests were part of a shipwide end-of-cruise testing program, Royal Caribbean said. The company is conducting contact tracing, expediting tests for close contacts and “closely monitoring the situation.”
The cruise industry had been docked since COVID shut down much of North America in March 2020. Last week, Royal Caribbean announced several trips departing from Florida, Texas and Washington state beginning in July and August.
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