A crew member ‘medically evacuated’ from 2 different Royal Caribbean ships, company says
Two Royal Caribbean crew members — one from the Symphony of the Seas and one from the Oasis of the Seas — were “medically evacuated” from their respective ships Monday at Port Everglades, the cruise line confirmed.
While Royal Caribbean would not confirm whether the members have been diagnosed with COVID-19, a spokesman for the company said the crew members were evacuated “for observation and treatment of respiratory issues.”
Ellen Kennedy at Port Everglades said: “It’s a Coast Guard mission. Port Everglades is not involved.”
The Coast Guard confirmed late Monday that Coast Guard Sector Miami watch standers monitored two medical evacuations, one from each of the cruise ships. “The vessels arranged commercial transfer ashore of each patient for further transportation to local area hospitals,” the Coast Guard said in an email.
Both ships were located just outside the port Monday. Royal Caribbean canceled all cruises March 13 because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
A crew member on Oasis told the Miami Herald Monday that “the ship is coming into port due to a crew member who’s really ill but not the coronavirus.” There are 14 people on board who have COVID-19.
This story was originally published March 30, 2020 at 9:48 PM.
