Royal Caribbean cancels two cruises this week after Covid-19 cases detected on a recent trip

Ili Nadhirah Mansor/TODAYIn December 2020, the Quantum of the Seas cruise had cancelled a sailing after a passenger on an earlier trip tested positive for Covid-19.

SINGAPORE — Cruise line Royal Caribbean International (RCI) has cancelled two sailings over the upcoming Chinese New Year period on its ship Quantum of the Seas due to Covid-19 infections detected onboard the ship in its last trip. 

In response to queries from TODAY, RCI said it had cancelled the cruise voyages embarking on Monday (Jan 31) and Feb 3. 

An RCI spokesperson said the move was made out of "an abundance of caution", after "less than 0.6 per cent" of the "onboard community" had been found to be infected on the Jan 27 trip.

"They were identified during routine weekly testing conducted by the cruise line for the well-being of its guests, crew and Singapore’s community," the spokesperson said. 

When asked, the cruise line did not elaborate on how many people were on board the cruise at the time, how many were infected, or if they were passengers or crew.

RCI also did not elaborate on how many guests would be affected by the cancellations. 

However, the Singapore Cruise Society website stated in an article on Sunday that the infections involved a "small amount of crew". 

This is not the first-time cruise sailings have been cancelled due to Covid-19 cases on board.

In December 2020, RCI's Quantum of the Seas cruise had cancelled a sailing after a passenger on an earlier trip tested positive for Covid-19.

In July last year, a Dream Cruises ship turned back after a passenger on board was suspected to have Covid-19. 

RCI said that guests who were supposed to sail on the four-day, three-night cruise on Monday will receive a full refund together with an additional one hundred per cent in cruise credits to use for future voyages. 

For the guests that booked the five-day, four-night cruise on Feb 3, they can choose to receive a full refund or 125 per cent of cruise credits. 

"We regret having to cancel our guests’ long-awaited vacations and appreciate their loyalty and understanding," said the RCI spokesperson.

"We’re making a prudent decision based on the ongoing Covid-19 circumstances around the world."