Singapore ‘cruise to nowhere’ passengers disembark after coronavirus case

Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas was on a four-day cruise from Singapore. All passengers have been isolated as contact tracing continues

The cruises are a part of Singapore’s plans to revive its tourism industry that has been battered due to the pandemic

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The Royal Caribbean cruise ship Quantum of the Seas is docked at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre in Singapore, after a passenger tested positive for Covid-19. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 9:50am, 9 Dec 2020Updated: 2:15am, 10 Dec 2020

A Royal Caribbean “cruise-to-nowhere” from Singapore began disembarking its nearly 1,700 passengers who were confined to their cabins for more than 16 hours on Wednesday after a Covid-19 case was detected on board, forcing the ship back to port.

All passengers aboard the Quantum of the Seas had cleared a mandatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for the virus up to three days before the four-day cruise began on Monday.

Authorities said close contacts of the Covid-19 patient among the 1,680 guests and 1,148 crew members on board had so far tested negative. The passengers were stuck in their rooms while contact tracing was being conducted.

“I feel relieved, it was obviously a very boring wait,” said Isaac Lung, a 16-year-old student, who had taken the cruise with his parents.

Passengers leave Marina Bay Cruise Centre after disembarking from the Quantum of the Seas cruise ship in Singapore. Photo: Reuters

The “cruise-to-nowhere” by Royal Caribbean is one of its first sailings since the Miami-based company halted global operations in March due to the pandemic. The sailing in waters off Singapore is open only to Singapore residents and makes no stops.