TUI-owned Marella Cruises has axed a sailing on its Discovery ship after a small number of positive Covid infections were confirmed on board the vessel.
The 2,076-passenger Marella Discovery had been scheduled to set sail on a seven-day voyage due from Bridgetown, Barbados, on January 2, but now remains in port. Most of its winter schedule involves seven-night round-trip cruises.
Passengers received a letter from the operator outlining the current Covid guidelines, according to Travel Weekly.
It read: “We had been given clearance to transfer our isolated guests into quarantine hotels and were waiting for Bajan officials to give us the stamp of approval. Our understanding of the current situation is that Barbados are no longer accepting asymptomatic cases ashore.”
A Marella Cruises spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Marella Discovery’s current itinerary has unfortunately been cancelled following changes in local guidance in Barbados.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely and any customers impacted by changes to their holiday will be contacted directly as soon as possible.”
Marella Discovery is operating from Bridgetown throughout the winter before repositioning to Palma de Mallorca for its summer 2022 programme.
The family-friendly ship has seven bars and seven restaurants, plus an outdoor cinema and a five-storey atrium. Family Suites and Family Junior Suites are kitted out with a chalkboard and a PlayStation 4, plus there’s a rock climbing wall, a mini-golf course and two pools onboard, one of which is indoors.
TUI was forced to cancel all its River Cruise sailings in December when the German government banned UK tourists from visiting the country. They are now expected to resume by the end of March.
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