Marella Cruises has cancelled a Caribbean sailing on Marella Discovery after “small numbers of positive Covid cases” were reported on board.
The 2,076-passenger ship had been due to operate a seven-day cruise from Bridgetown, Barbados, starting last Sunday (January 2) but now remains in port.
Marella confirmed that all positive cases were isolating in “a separate area” while “the majority” of passengers had been able to go ashore freely this week.
Passengers have received refunds based on their embarkation dates.
In a letter sent to passengers, Marella pointed to the “changing landscape of local guidance” to explain its decision.
The letter reads: “We had been given clearance to transfer our isolated guests into quarantine hotels and were waiting for Bajan officials to give us the stamp of approval.
“Our understanding of the current situation is that Barbados are no longer accepting asymptomatic cases ashore.”
A Marella Cruises spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Marella Discovery’s current itinerary has unfortunately been cancelled following changes in local guidance in Barbados.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely and any customers impacted by changes to their holiday will be contacted directly as soon as possible.”
Marella Discovery is scheduled to homeport in Bridgetown this winter before repositioning to Mallorca in April.
The ship’s winter programme is a mix of seven-night round-trip itineraries.