Cruise ship with Covid outbreak arrives in Melbourne after turnback from Newcastle

A cruise ship battling a Covid outbreak has arrived in Melbourne after reports it was turned away from other ports.

A cruise ship with a Covid outbreak on-board has docked in Melbourne amid fears dozen of infected passengers may be allowed to disembark.

The Grand Princess, which has about 4000 passengers and crew, arrived in Melbourne on Thursday morning.

It is unknown how many positive Covid cases there were on-board when it docked.

A Princess Cruises spokesperson said on Tuesday the vessel had been impacted by a spike in cases across Australia.

“Like many other tourism operators, we too have been impacted by the current fourth wave being experienced across Australia,” the spokesperson said.

The Grand Princess has a capacity of roughly 4000 passengers and crew. Picture: David Crosling

Confirmed positive cases were not allowed to leave the ship after it docked on Thursday morning. Picture: David Crosling

Hundreds of passengers, all wearing masks, disembarked at Port Melbourne early on Thursday morning, while several ambulances were seen driving to a collection point without lights or sirens.

Confirmed positive cases were forced to remain behind in their cabins as other passengers disembarked. Picture: David Crosling

Grand Princess passengers wait to be taken from the pier. Picture: David Crosling

Disembarking couple Niele and Barb Clough told the Herald Sun they had enjoyed their cruise, but some of the friends they had been travelling with had caught the virus and were stuck on-board.

“Part of our group is stuck on-board, and they can’t leave until someone can come and get them privately later in the day,” Ms Clough said.

“We had a fantastic time – a few teething problems with onboarding and getting off, but all in all it was great.”

Ms Clough said car companies had cancelled transports from the pier at the last minute, leaving long delays for passengers trying to return home.

“A few companies said they didn’t want to put their drivers at risk, which I understand, but it means people are stranded here,” she said.

Niele and Barb Clough said several friends in their travelling party had been forced to remain on board after they tested positive to Covid. Picture: David Crosling

Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said on Tuesday she expected passengers who were disembarking to be respectful of Victorians.

“(Staying away from the community) is the most important thing,” Ms Thomas said.

“We know that there are many cases of Covid that are not being counted or reported.”

An ambulance arrives on the dock at Station Pier. Picture: David Crosling

Passengers were all required to wear masks as they disembarked. Picture: David Crosling

About 5 per cent of Princess Cruises passengers were allowed to be unvaccinated, for medical reasons only, according to the company’s Covid rules.

While on-board, passengers with the virus were required to isolate for five days, and close contacts needed to be tested each day before leaving their cabin.