No cruise ships for the Cayman Islands this year

They are really crucibles for the virus because of the way people have to live in such confined spaces and in such close contact.

Premier Aldin McLaughlin

(CMR) Cruise lines with planned trips to the Cayman Islands will have to cancel those voyages this year.

Premier Aldin McLaughlin said the Cayman Islands was unlikely to welcome any cruise ships this year.

“The cruise ship business is not really our contemplation this year,” he said.

With COVID-19 still affecting countries worldwide, Premier McLaughlin said this decision would only be changed if there are drastic changes with the coronavirus's current spread. He said,

“I think we would have to be satisfied that the world was in a very different place in terms of safety-related to the coronavirus before we would even consider having cruise ships come here. They've demonstrated that they are really crucibles for the virus because of the way people have to live in such confined spaces and in such close contact.”

Despite these recent announcements, several cruise lines still offer cruises to the Cayman Islands.

The Carnival Cruise Line currently has four different ships scheduled to visit in April: Carnival Vista, Carnival Horizon, Carnival Sunrise, and Carnival Glory.

Norwegian Cruise Line also has two ships scheduled to visit Grand Cayman in April 2021, the Norwegian Jade and Norwegian Escape.

With the coronavirus pandemic, several cruise lines have canceled sailing until later this year. However, many of these cancellations go until the end of March or April.

Disney Cruise Line has canceled all voyages until March.

Royal Caribbean International said it had canceled all cruises until the end of April. All cruises which were scheduled for February and March have been canceled.

Meantime,  the Virgin Islands welcomed their first cruise ship in 10 months when the Rhapsody of the Seas visited on Monday. The ship had 80 crew members but no cruise passengers.

Grandeur of the Seas also joined the ship on Tuesday. The ships are expected to dock for one month.