Some Coral Princess cruisers leave ship; Costa Favolosa crew member dies of coronavirus
Nine charter flights were winging passengers home Tuesday from the Coral Princess, a crew member on the Costa Favolosa cruise ship died and six Americans were stuck on a ship in Uruguay as the coronavirus pandemic continued to devastate the cruise industry.
Against the backdrop of the unfolding tragedy, the flights for Coral Princess passengers represented some good news.
Princess Cruises said it arranged the charter flights to U.S. destinations, but that about 90 foreign passengers remain aboard the troubled cruise ship pending travel arrangements to get them home.
Another group of travelers were able to leave the ship Sunday to take flights departing to the United Kingdom, Australia and California, but the process was then held up because of policy changes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the cruise line said.
The Coral Princess’ ordeal began March 5 when the ship departed Santiago, Chile, with 1,020 passengers and 878 crew members. The ship was then denied permission to dock at ports as it proceeded north before finally being allowed to dock in Florida.
In the meantime, three passengers died, including a 71-year-old man in a Miami hospital after waiting four hours to be transferred off the ship.Â
Costa Favolosa crew member dies
The Costa crew member, of Indian nationality, died Saturday at a Miami hospital after disembarking from the ship March 29 for medical reasons, according to a statement from the cruise line provided by spokesperson Davide Barbano.Â
“Costa would like to express its deepest grief and condolences to the family of the beloved colleague. … Sincere thanks go to the doctors and nurses of the Larkin Community Palm Spring Hospital for doing everything possible to save our colleague’s life,” the statement said. “This is a challenging time for everyone in the world, and we are close to all those impacted and confident that with the measures adopted globally, we will be all able to overcome this soon.”
Costa Cruises is a subsidiary of Carnival, the world’s largest cruise line.
Costa’s ships the Costa Magica and Costa Favolosa had been anchored near Miami, waiting for medical evacuation plans to be finalized. The Favolosa is now in Freeport, Bahamas, “for bunkering and provisions,” according to the cruise line. CruiseMapper shows the Costa Magica near the Bahamas.Â
Both vessels received permission from port and health officials to anchor and send boats to shore, Roger Frizzell, spokesperson for Carnival, told USA TODAY on March 26. .Â
Six crew members were to get off the Magica and seven off the Favolosa. All were set to be taken to a hospital for treatment, observation and testing. Frizzell said some crew members on both ships had flu-like symptoms.
Aurora Expeditions Greg Mortimer ship has six Americans onboard
The Greg Mortimer ship from Aurora Expeditions is docked in Montevideo, Uraguay, with more than 100 people onboard who tested positive for coronavirus, according to a statement from the cruise line.
On the ship, 217 people have been tested for coronavirus, and 128 of them tested positive. According to CruiseMapper, the ship can hold up to 234 crew and passengers.Â
The ship is working to disembark all passengers as soon as possible.
There are six American passengers aboard the ship; it is unclear whether any of them tested positive for coronavirus.
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Contributing: Morgan Hines, Chris Woodyard and Rasha Ali, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
