Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line ban Chinese passport holders from ships

Taylor Dolven
·2 min read

Miami-based cruise companies Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. will no longer allow people with passports from China, Hong Kong, or Macau to board their ships as part of an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The companies announced the new policies Friday after four passengers on Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas cruise ship were hospitalized to be tested for the virus in New Jersey early Friday morning. The companies’ ban on Chinese passport holders, regardless of residency, is the most stringent cruise industry restriction in response to the outbreak so far.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people who have the coronavirus begin to show symptoms between two and 14 days after infection. Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to a request for comment about its decision to ban all Chinese passport holders, and Norwegian Cruise Line declined to comment.

Competitor Carnival Corp. is taking a different approach in line with the CDC guidance and will not allow people who have visited China, Hong Kong or Macau in the last 14 days to board its ships.

The restrictions come as people in countries around the world are reporting an uptick in anti-Asian discrimination, and travel options for people from China are dwindling. In the Caribbean, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominica, and Trinidad and Tobago have all announced China-related travel bans, even though there are no direct commercial flights between mainland China and their nations. Last weekend, the Dominican Republic and Haiti prevented Chinese tourists from getting off their private plane and rerouted them to Portugal.

The cruise industry has struggled to contain fears among passengers about the coronavirus as one Carnival Corp. ship, the Diamond Princess, remains quarantined in Japan through Feb. 19. The Royal Caribbean ship in New Jersey has delayed its next cruise while it waits for results on the four hospitalized passengers from the CDC. Japan turned away Carnival Corp.’s Westerdam cruise ship, which was scheduled to visit the country this week.

The coronavirus is a respiratory illness that has killed more than 630 people worldwide and has infected more than 31,000 people across 29 countries, including the United States, since it was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December. Twelve people have tested positive for the coronavirus in the United States. None of the confirmed cases is in Florida.