Carnival Freedom hit with COVID-19 outbreak, third South Florida cruise ship disrupted by virus
A group of passengers and crew aboard a Carnival Freedom cruise that departed from Miami Saturday for the southern Caribbean has been infected by the coronavirus and so the ship was denied entry to Bonaire and Aruba, Carnival Cruise Line confirmed Thursday.
It’s the third COVID-19 outbreak in less than a week affecting cruise ships operated by Carnival and Royal Caribbean that have departed Miami and Fort Lauderdale ports.
The infections come as the omicron variant, now the dominant strain of the coronavirus in America, keeps spreading in Florida and nationwide among even fully vaccinated people.
Carnival officials told the Miami Herald Thursday a small number of people infected aboard the Freedom ship have been isolated from other passengers and crew. Carnival declined to disclose how many passengers and crew members have tested positive or are in quarantine. The ship has 2,497 passengers and 1,112 crew members.
“We are working closely with the CDC and local health authorities in all ports and destinations that we visit,” Carnival said. “Some destinations have limited medical resources and are focused on managing their own local response to the (omicron) variant.”
Carnival Freedom is on an eight-day voyage and slated to return to port in Miami the day after Christmas. The ship docked in Curacao on Tuesday, but wasn’t able to stop at Bonaire or Aruba on Wednesday and Thursday as scheduled. Carnival said the ship is headed to Amber Cove, Dominican Republic on Friday.
Royal Caribbean also experienced two recent outbreaks. On Wednesday, the cruise line confirmed 55 fully vaccinated crew and passengers on Odyssey of the Seas ship were infected by the pandemic disease, while on Saturday its Symphony of the Seas ship docked in Miami with at least 48 infected passengers and crew.
Ashley Peterson, a passenger aboard Carnival Freedom, was hoping Bonaire would be country No. 99 she’s visited when she boarded the ship Saturday.
On Wednesday morning, she and the other passengers were informed by ship Captain Mario Imbimbo about the blocked entry to Bonaire due to COVID-19 cases among people on board.
In a letter to passengers, Imbimbo wrote, “I want to apologize again that we are unable to make our call in Bonaire. The rapid spread of the Omicron variant impacts how destinations are responding to even a small number of cases.”
Peterson told a Herald reporter the forward part of the ship’s deck was blocked off for rooms to quarantine people.
“They refuse to tell us any numbers at all,” she said of Carnival and the magnitude of the viral outbreak. “A lot of passengers are complaining and upset about the lack of transparency.”
Imbimbo’s letter noted that passengers would get $100 per stateroom as onboard credit to “help enjoy the ship these next two days.”
Meanwhile, Corvaya Jeffries said she has family members onboard said and has not been able to reach them or get any information from Carnival.
“I’ve reached out to Carnival through every platform and every method and have not received a response,” she said. “Not only are the people aboard frustrated with the lack of transparency...but us family members are worried sick about our loved ones.”
This story was originally published December 23, 2021 at 7:15 PM.
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