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This week, a Disney Cruise Line ship saw its passengers denied entry to St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. the Disney fantasy, who is on a 7-day Caribbean trip from Port Canaveral, was not allowed to allow guests to disembark the ship on December 30 during its stopover to the Virgin Islands.
Although guests from another ship were allowed to leave, the Disney cruise ship did not receive the so-called free practice needed to allow guests to leave.
Disney visitors are not permitted to disembark at St. Thomas
The past few weeks have turned out to be eventful for the cruise industry as another cruise line has been denied the opportunity for guests to explore ashore. Disney fantasy is next in what is quickly becoming a long list of ships that have been denied entry into a Caribbean port of call.
Even though the cruise line says the ship is offering less than 1% off guests and crew infected with COVID-19, authorities in St. Thomas have not cleared the ship and granted Free Practice . This is the license given to a vessel to enter a port once the vessel shows it is free from contagious diseases. Disney issued the following statement:
“The Disney Fantasy did not call on St. Thomas today due to both an increase in COVID-19 cases on the island and a small number of crew and crew members. fully vaccinated guests – less than 1% of those on board – isolated for COVID -19.
“People affected by these groundbreaking cases are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, and we follow CDC protocols for on-board case management. We continue to operate with multiple layers of health and safety protocols in place, such as the requirement for vaccinations, pre-board port PCR testing for all guests, testing of our crew several times a week, improved cleaning protocols and a requirement that masks be worn in all interior spaces.
The gross ton of 129,750 Disney fantasy, which can accommodate 2,500 passengers, operates 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruises with stops in the British and US Virgin Islands and the Bahamas.
St. Thomas could refuse cruise ships
According to Daily News from the Virgin Islands, the island will not allow entry to any guest sailing on a ship with positive cases representing more than 1% of the total guests and crew on board. According to the local authorities, this is within the framework of the agreements put in place with the cruise industry:
Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion: “We assess the percentage of positivity on each vessel and adhere to the contractual arrangement for passengers and crew. If that matches our agreed critical level, which they all have, we do not approve disembarking passengers unless there is a life-threatening emergency. “
While Disney Cruise Line said the denial of entry was due to the number of local and onboard cases, according to the health commissioner, the number of local cases in St. Thomas did not take into account the decision of refuse entry to guests on board. Disney fantasy.
Also Read: Mexico To Allow Cruise Ships With Positive Cases To Dock
Nonetheless, this is yet another example of the confusion that has set in in recent weeks. Various ports have refused entry to cruise ships based on whether or not there are positive cases on board. Quoting a number of 1% adds to the confusion. A ship with 6,000 people on board would have 60 cases and be refused entry. A ship with 1,000 people would only have 10 cases and would be refused.
Perhaps the confusion will soon be a thing of the past as the cruise industry, the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), port agents, and islands such as St. Martin are work on a solution it will make the whole process much smoother.
This will hopefully also prevent ships from having to find out at the dock that they will not be allowed to disembark passengers, as was the case with Disney fantasy, a process where cruise lines are blamed for arbitrary decisions by ports of call.
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