The first cruise in the Caribbean since the start of the pandemic is reporting a COVID-19 case.
A passenger aboard SeaDream Yacht Club’s SeaDream 1 received a preliminary positive COVID-19 test.
According to passengers, the captain informed them about the preliminary positive test over the ship’s intercom system while they were anchored off the coast of Grenadines.
The vessel is now headed back to Barbados, where it is based.
The SeaDream is carrying 53 passengers and 66 crew, with the majority of passengers hailing from the U.S. according to Sue Bryant, who is aboard the ship and is a cruise editor for The Times and The Sunday Times in Britain.
The SeaDream is the first vessel to resume sailing in the Caribbean since earlier this year when coronavirus pandemic concerns docked the cruise industry following high profile infections.
Passengers were tested both in advance of traveling, before boarding, and again a few days into the trip.
The SeaDream has a capacity of about 110 guests and 95 crewmembers. It also sails outside of U.S. waters. This puts it below the 250 guests threshold and outside the area under the CDC’s orders about cruising.
