Swine Flu Cruise Confirmations

Only sixteen hours after confirmation of two cases of swine flu on Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas, Carnival Victory was delayed in Barbados after one staff member showed symptoms of swine flu. 2,758 passengers on Carnival Victory were subjected to lengthy screening procedures during the docking at Barbados after a female employee became unwell. The woman who had exhibited flu-like symptoms was placed in isolation to establish whether she has the H1N1 virus.

Carnival Splendor has annoyed many of its customers by failing to provide what they considered to be adequate compensatory port calls after cancelling visits to Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas and instead offering Santa Catalina Island and San Diego which many American passengers felt were ‘commonplace’ and ‘not exciting. While the customers understood the need to avoid high-risk areas, they were incensed to discover that they Carnival guarantee, which offers money back if your holiday does not meet your expectations, would not be in operation because of ‘exceptional circumstances’