‘People coughing, clearly sick’: Cruise passengers ‘not told’ of outbreak

A cruise ship currently docked in Brisbane should have more rigorously tested those aboard for Covid before departing, says one of its passengers who fears she is a positive case.

A passenger aboard the Coral Princess cruise ship who fears she’s contracted Covid has described it as the “cruise from hell”.

After boarding the ship last Sunday, Wendy said she and her husband Bruce weren’t told anything about the recent outbreak.

“I feel that Princess should’ve notified that there were positive cases before we went on last Sunday because we wouldn’t have boarded,” she said.

“The buffet should not have been self-serve.

“There were people coughing and clearly sick when we got on.

“There needs to be more of a rigorous process by Princess of testing passengers.”

Despite two negative rapid antigen tests, Wendy said her husband has fallen ill with Covid symptoms and she herself still needs to be tested. 

The Coral Princess.

There are more than 2300 guests and crew on board the Coral Princess cruise ship headed to New South Wales, with about 100 testing positive to Covid and isolating on board.

A small number of positive guests disembarked the cruise ship at the end of their voyage in Brisbane on Monday and are currently isolating.

On Monday night, the crew put a health advisory note on the bed of passengers which said they hoped they had a “wonderful time on board”.

“The health and safety of our guests and crew are of the upmost importance and as such, we would like to notify you of elevated positive case numbers among crew members currently on-board Coral Princess,” the note said.

“We continue to test all crew members and isolate any that return a positive result along with their close contacts.”

More than a dozen cases were reported among the Coral Princess’s guests across the weekend, with some leaving the ship in Brisbane before it started a new five-day journey on Sunday travelling to Sydney and back.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath confirmed authorities were aware the outbreak.

She said anyone due to embark in Brisbane on Tuesday had been informed of the outbreak and could make “personal decisions as to whether they want to go on board or not”.

A Queensland Health spokeswoman said “Covid cases on cruise ships are expected and we are always prepared to manage them”.

“We are in contact with the operators of a cruise ship on which a Covid outbreak has been reported,” she said.

“Cruise ship crew and their passengers are subject to strict requirements to minimise the Covid-19 risk to Queenslanders,

“Cruising plays a vital role in our state’s tourism industry and it is important we continue to adapt and learn to live with Covid-19.”