Barbados will this weekend welcome its first cruise passengers since the global suspension of cruise in March this year.
The SeaDream I will sail into Barbados from Portugal on November 1 to facilitate the medical evacuation of one passenger with a non-COVID-19 related illness and will depart on November 2 for Charlestown, Nevis as part of its scheduled Transatlantic voyage.
The vessel, which usually homeports in Barbados, returns to the Port of Bridgetown on November 5, the original scheduled date of arrival, with 25 guests and 66 crew on board. Passengers due to terminate their voyage here will disembark for a short stay on the island before returning home via air. In line with protocols established for the restart of cruise on the island, all passengers are expected to take a COVID-19 test and must have a negative result before being allowed to disembark.
Similarly, all passengers entering the island by air to join the vessel must provide evidence of negative tests results, will undergo health screening and will travel from the airport to the seaport via an established sterile corridor.
Passengers already on island who will be joining the cruise must also provide evidence of negative tests results and will undergo health screening before being allowed on board.
The vessel will leave Barbados on November 7 for the first commercial cruise out of Barbados and is expected to return every 14 days.
CEO of Barbados Port Inc. David Jean-Marie, commenting on the SeaDream’s arrival, said it speaks volumes of the industry’s confidence in Barbados that the SeaDream Yacht Club, one of the smaller luxury cruise lines, should choose the Port of Bridgetown as the first from among all other Caribbean ports to manage a turnaround call since sailings were suspended.
“Our efforts to assist stranded passengers and crew in repatriating while offering safe harbour to multiple cruise ships, has given us the experience we need to manage passengers securely and under strict health and safety protocols,” he said.
“We have established the requisite procedures to ensure operations go according to plan and stand ready to assist wherever possible in helping the industry recover and return to its full capacity.” (BT/BPI)
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I was going to say, oh no, more COVID-19 coming, but I hope those passengers who are to join the ship and require COVID-19 tests PAY for them if they have to get them done here. It is NOT fair for our island with limited and stretched resources to give that test free….as has been happening with visitors returning to various countries.