Fourth cruise ship delays docking over coronavirus concerns

A fourth Princess Cruises ship is delaying its docking after notifying the U.S. government that two crew members had transferred from another Princess ship in California where a passenger tested positive for coronavirus.

The Caribbean Princess will keep passengers and crew from disembarking after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gave it a “no sail order.” The CDC gave the order because two crew members had transferred from the California Princess ship where a passenger tested positive, the company said.

The crew members are “asymptomatic” and staying alone in their rooms “out of an abundance of caution” as the ship makes its way to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Princess Cruises said in a statement. The ship was originally scheduled to return to Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday.

The Caribbean Princess had been scheduled to dock in Grand Cayman Monday as part of a 10-day trip to the Panama Canal.

Another ship, the Regal Princess docked at Port Everglades, Fla., on Sunday night and passengers were let off the ship after two crew members who transferred from the Grand Princess tested negative for coronavirus. At least 21 people who were aboard the Grand Princess have tested positive for the virus.

It is not clear how many people were on board both ships, but the capacity of the Regal Princess is 3,560 guests and, for the Caribbean Princess, it’s more than 3,600.

The Grand Princess and the Diamond Princess both faced delays in docking after positive coronavirus cases. The Diamond Princess was quarantined off of Japan. Almost 700 people on the ship contracted the virus and six people died.

The CDC advised people against traveling on cruise ships Sunday amid the outbreak.

The heads of cruise lines met with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Vice President Pence to find ways for the ships to more easily transport those who test positive on the ships.

Thus far, more than 600 people have contracted the coronavirus in the U.S., leading to 22 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.