Norwegian Pearl returns early to Miami as crew members test positive for COVID-19

The Norwegian Pearl returned to Miami on Wednesday, after just one full day at sea and an outbreak of COVID-19 among crew members.

Passengers were informed that their cruise, an 11-day voyage to the Panama Canal, would be turning around on Tuesday night. They were told that the ship would be returning to Miami on Thursday, January 6, but the ship pulled into PortMiami midday Wednesday.

In a letter from the cruise line to passengers and posted on a Florida travel agency’s Facebook page, cruise operator NCL said even though all guests and crew members aboard the Pearl were vaccinated, several crew members tested positive for the coronavirus.

The cruise line also canceled a nine-day Caribbean cruise on the Norwegian Getaway that was scheduled to leave PortMiami on Wednesday due to “COVID related circumstances.” While the cruise line alerted travel agents that the cruise would be canceled on Tuesday, some passengers weren’t informed until Wednesday morning, after they’d already traveled to Miami from other parts of the country.

Gabrielle Rodriguez, a hospital administrator from New Jersey, boarded a 6:20 a.m. flight for Miami and only received an email notifying her that the cruise had been canceled after she’d arrived at the port.

“I just wish I had known the night before,” she said sitting on top of her suitcase, while scrolling through her phone trying to book an Airbnb. Norwegian did not provide any information about whether she would be reimbursed for her accommodations while in Miami.

“Might as well stay in Miami, I already took time off work,” she said.

Matt Daly, 68, left his home in Surf City, North Carolina, at 3:30 a.m. to catch a flight to Miami, only to be notified at 11 that his cruise was canceled. He said they had planned the trip a year in advance and that NCL would not be reimbursing him and his partner for their expenses.

“I’m never leaving North Carolina again,” he said.

The infections on NCL ships come as the omicron variant, which has become the dominant strain of the coronavirus in America, continues to spread around the globe. On Dec. 30, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an advisory that travelers should avoid cruise ship trips, regardless of vaccination status, due to the surge in virus outbreaks on cruises since the highly contagious variant emerged in the United States in late November. At that time, the CDC said it was monitoring more than 90 cruise ships with an unspecified number of COVID-19 cases among passengers and crew.

According to the CDC, the Norwegian Pearl was marked as a yellow level, meaning an investigation had begun.

Besides the Pearl, since Dec. 18 there have been at least three other cruise ships operated by Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean that departed Miami and Fort Lauderdale ports and had their voyages disrupted by the coronavirus.

On its second day of the 11-day voyage, passengers received a letter about the virus outbreak where Norwegian Pearl officials said, “As a result, Norwegian Pearl’s January 3rd, 2022 sailing has been canceled and we will be returning to Miami to disembark all guests on Jan. 6, 2022. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, as we understand now, more than ever the desire to travel and reconnect with the places and people we’ve missed most.”

Norwegian did not respond to a request for comment about why the ship docked one day earlier or for more details about the number of COVID-19 cases onboard.

The cruise ship, which can hold nearly 2,400 passengers and 1,100 crew members, was supposed to make stops in Cartagena, Colombia; Panama Canal/Gatun Lake, Panama; Colón, Panama; Puerto Limon, Panama; Roatán, Bay Islands, Honduras; Harvest Caye, Belize and Costa Maya, Mexico.

“We made the difficult decision to cancel Norwegian Pearl’s January 3, 2022 voyage due to COVID-related circumstances,” NCL said in a written statement.

Last month, Carnival Freedom, which departed from Miami Dec. 18, was denied entry to Bonaire and Aruba because of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Royal Caribbean had two ships that were disrupted because of the virus. The Odyssey of the Seas ship had 55 fully vaccinated crew and passengers infected with the pandemic disease and the Symphony of the Seas docked in Miami with at least 48 infected passengers and crew.

Miami Herald staff writer Devoun Cetoute contributed to this report.