Miami-based cruise companies Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will no longer allow people with passports from Macau, Hong Kong, or China to board their cruise ships as part of an effort to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
The companies announced their new policies on Friday, February 7, after 4 passengers on Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas were hospitalized to be tested for the coronavirus in New Jersey Friday morning. The ban on Chinese passport holders is so far the most stringent cruise industry constraint in response to the outbreak.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said people who had the coronavirus began to show symptoms between 2 and 14 days after infection.
Carnival Corporation is taking a different approach in line with the Centers for Disease Control guidance and will not allow people who have visited Macau, Hong Kong or China in the last 14 days to board its cruise ships.