Celebrity Summit cancels berth in wake of COVID spike
The BVI Ports Authority (BVIPA) has announced the cancellation of the Celebrity Summit’s July 15 cruise call to the BVI – the second such cancellation in recent weeks.
The cruise was expected to bring more than 2,400 guests to the BVI’s shores, with Grandeur of the Seas expected to follow two days later on July 17 with a similar number of passengers.
The cancellation comes amid a stratospheric upsurge of COVID-19 positive cases in the BVI — a state that has led to a condition of advanced community spread according to health officials.
The territory marked its third death as a result of the virus days ago, and has since seen more than 1,200 active positive cases of the dreaded virus, with the majority of cases on the main island of Tortola.
Following the spike in cases, government moved to implement a sweeping 14-day nighttime curfew to help stem the deluge of cases that has severely impacted the territory.
In a release to the media issued yesterday, the BVIPA said: “As a result of the high numbers of active COVID-19 cases within the territory, the organisations involved agreed that it was in the best interest for all to cancel the call to port.”
Just last month, the Celebrity Millennium, a sister cruise to the Summit, was forced to cancel its calls to the BVI after experiencing a COVID-19 passenger scare, shortly after it had left a nearby Caribbean port.
Meanwhile, the Ports Authority promised to update the public and announce any returning cruises, but said it remained hopeful that once the territory’s COVID-19 cases are controlled, the ship will be able to resume its calls in keeping with the original schedule.
According to the BVIPA website, the Celebrity Summit is the next scheduled to make a port call to the BVI on July 28. It remains unclear if this too will be cancelled given the circumstances.
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No one to blame for this but ourselves.
ID10Ts chose not to be vaccinated, so we pay the price for the virus surge. Cruise ships, tourists, visitors all cancel coming here. Another season gone.
Point the finger of blame at yourself if you haven’t been vaccinated.
But carry on…
How many that was tested positive had the JAD??? That S*** will KILL YOU!!
No.
Please stop vilifying the non-vaxed. They have their choice. The vaccine is neither a miracale or a “cure-all”. Vaccinated people can become infected and can spread infection. They should not have any preferential treatment. We should all ALWAYS follow all the protocols and continue to be vigilant.
How can you not understand the advice of your senior doctors and advisors and global health advisors??? God gave you brains and medical experts so use them. Else you are heading for an early grave, like three BVIslanders in the past week. Their blood is on your hands
so the Millennium was here July 1.
Of all the people who are testing positive… How many of them were exposed to the cruise passengers that were here a couple weeks ago? How are you going to contact trace for that?… Just curious. I’ve been on many cruises and they are basically a petri dish. How many snotty nose kids are running around that ship sanitizing their hands before they grab a spoon at all the buffets??… Just curious Under 18 aren’t vaxed but aren’t they carriers?…Just curious. But they want full access to the territory??… Just curious. The people that want the most always contribute the least.
so was I.