# Covid-19 and cruise ships **URL:** \ **Category:** Professional Mariner Forum\ **Created:** [April 9, 2020, 2:19pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938 "2020-04-09T14:19:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lee\_Shore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Lee\_Shore](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Lee_Shore)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 2:19pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/1 "2020-04-09T14:19:40Z")
The cruise ship Greg Mortimer is a niche cruise ship “home based” in Australia but registered in the Bahamas. It has been loitering off Uruguay with a 60% infection rate. Passengers from Australia and New Zealand will board an emergency flight on Tuesday afternoon. The cost per passengers is about $9300 and the cruise ship operator has asked the Australian government for help with expenses. > **[Cruise ship stranded off Uruguay says 60% onboard have Covid-19](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/australian-cruise-ship-stranded-off-uruguay-reports-60percent-on-board-have-coronavirus/ar-BB12hXh9?li=BBnb7Kz)** > > Australian and New Zealand passengers to be flown home as Greg Mortimer cruise reported to have carried 128 people who tested positive for coronavirus ---
**Author:** ![Steamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Steamer](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Steamer)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 2:38pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/2 "2020-04-09T14:38:36Z")
> [@Lee\_Shore](#): > > The cost per passengers is about $9300 and the cruise ship operator has asked the Australian government for help with expenses. Sell the ship, sell the owner’s house and fly the Aussie and Kiwi passengers home. The passengers may be stupid but the cruise ship owners should be criminally charged. This is what was happening in Australia the day the ship sailed: > **[Coronavirus: Australia orders all arrivals to self-isolate for 14 days](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-51894322)** > > PM Scott Morrison orders 14 days self-quarantine for anyone entering Australia from midnight. The cruise parasites are hoping the government will help pay the repatriation costs on top of the hospital bills. They are telling the passengers that they are doing everything possible to reduce the cost to the passengers (except refund the cruise and fly back at company expense) … what kind of bastards are those people? > **[Antarctica Cruises | Experience Breathtaking Antarctica](https://www.auroraexpeditions.com.au/destination/antarctica-cruises/)** > > Discover Our Antarctica Expeditions. 30+ Years Experience, Flexible Bookings & Safe Deposits. Book With Confidence For 2023 & 2024. ---
**Author:** ![DeckApe](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/deckape/32/1271_2.png) [@DeckApe](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/DeckApe)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 2:47pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/3 "2020-04-09T14:47:14Z")
Naw. Give it a month and it’ll be fine. Figure a week from now they could have universal infection - less if they intentionally make each other sick. Add two weeks for most infections to run its course. Add a week to be safe. The sick should be cared for on board until healthy or otherwise. Then they could all fly home like normal non-infected people. It’s different than a mega cruise ship with thousands of souls. It would take too long for an onboard universal infection. ---
**Author:** ![Lee\_Shore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Lee\_Shore](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Lee_Shore)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 2:53pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/4 "2020-04-09T14:53:40Z")
You’re probably right. An added benefit is that shipping corpses in body bags as cargo instead of live infected passengers is bound to be cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![Steamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Steamer](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Steamer)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 3:31pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/5 "2020-04-09T15:31:40Z")
> [@Lee\_Shore](#): > > An added benefit is that shipping corpses in body bags as cargo instead of live infected passengers is bound to be cheaper. Maybe the Australian authorities that are being asked to bailout the Bahamian registered ship should forward the funding request to Nassau. WTF does that company’s problems have to do with Australia? It’s not even a humanitarian issue, the ship is docked in a port thousands of miles away, and the owners have money to pay for flights. I hope potential cruise passengers read about this crap. ---
**Author:** ![Lee\_Shore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Lee\_Shore](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Lee_Shore)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 5:14pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/6 "2020-04-09T17:14:22Z")
It would be nice if they did but I doubt it. A couple of senators objected to bail out money to the industry because they are heavy polluters, not because they’re FOCs. You’d expect senators to know better but both Trump and Pence, allegedly elected to protect US citizens’ interest, praised them as good American businesses. If the country’s leaders are blind to the industry’s true nature Joe Average isn’t likely to know better. Joe proved it when he and this loved ones bought the sales pitch and followed the rest of the sheep up the gangway in the middle of a pandemic. ---
**Author:** ![Lee\_Shore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Lee\_Shore](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Lee_Shore)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 7:43pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/7 "2020-04-09T19:43:55Z")
> [@Steamer](#): > > WTF does that company’s problems have to do with Australia? They contribute to the economy. They rent office space in Sydney so they can call themselves an Australian company. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/8 "2020-04-09T20:48:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Most on board are understood to be Australian, although there are also citizens of New Zealand, the US and the UK. I was of the impression that a Govt.'s first duty was to take care of it’s citizens?: > [@](#): > > Passengers from Australia and New Zealand will board an emergency flight bound for Melbourne on Thursday, Uruguayan authorities confirmed on Tuesday afternoon. > The cost per passenger is about $9,300 and the cruise ship operator has asked the Australian government for help with expenses. On landing, the passengers will undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Maybe this does not apply to all Govt.?: > [@](#): > > Other passengers will have to wait longer. “We have been advised that European and American passengers that have tested positive to Covid-19, unfortunately must wait until they have a negative test result after which we will be able to organise their departure via Sao Paulo and then to their final destination,” the company said. BTW The Greg Mortimer belongs to company in Florida called SunStone Ships Inc.: But is on hire to Aurora Expeditions: > **[Aurora Expeditions™: Explore the Real World](https://www.auroraexpeditions.com.au/)** > > Aurora Expeditions pioneered ship-based adventures 30 years ago with expedition cruises to Antarctica and we remain committed to small low-impact groups. A fair dinkum Aussie company as far as I know. ---
**Author:** ![Steamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Steamer](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Steamer)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/9 "2020-04-09T20:56:36Z")
> [@ombugge](#): > > BTW The Greg Mortimer belongs to company in Florida called SunStone Ships Inc.: > But is on hire to Aurora Expeditions: Yeah, another Scandinavian carpetbagger. ---
**Author:** ![DeckApe](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/deckape/32/1271_2.png) [@DeckApe](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/DeckApe)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 4:56am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/10 "2020-04-10T04:56:35Z")
> [@ombugge](#): > > Maybe this does not apply to all Govt.?: Is it a government’s responsibility to unfuck the stupid? I say ‘No’. If citizens want to be reckless then may God help them and keep them safe… because that’s not the responsibility of the State. ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 10:45am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/11 "2020-04-10T10:45:57Z")
Are you saying that only stupid people goes on cruise? Or that Govt. should not help anybody that is stupid, or does stupid things? Does not apply to everybody apparently: > **[Trump: U.S. Is Trying to Help Rapper A$AP Rocky After Arrest in Sweden](https://www.thedailybeast.com/asap-rocky-trump-says-us-is-trying-to-help-rapper-asap-rocky-after-arrest-in-sweden)** > > “I have been called by so many people asking me to help A$AP Rocky,” he told reporters. ---
**Author:** ![Steamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Steamer](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Steamer)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 11:11am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/12 "2020-04-10T11:11:54Z")
> [@ombugge](#): > > Does not apply to everybody apparently: In Trump’s case it does not apply to those who might influence enough votes to keep him out of prison next year. > **[An Oral History of Trump’s Bigotry](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/06/trump-racism-comments/588067/)** > > His racism and intolerance have always been in evidence; only slowly did he begin to understand how to use them to his advantage. America excels at hypocrisy, nothing new there. ---
**Author:** ![Lee\_Shore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Lee\_Shore](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Lee_Shore)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 12:43pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/13 "2020-04-10T12:43:44Z")
Being BFFs means looking out for each other. Micky gets his bailout one way or another. (Huff Post) By addressing one of Trump’s big current fixations, the Saudis may have secured undue influence on the president and U.S. foreign policy ― another quid pro quo for a president who’s proven transactional in his approach to global affairs. Trump said at a March 19 briefing that he’d discussed the coronavirus crisis with Arison, Carnival’s chairman and founder, who helped sponsor the president’s old television show “The Apprentice” and is also the owner of the Miami Heat. The president praised Arison ― and the company’s share price [rose by 7.5%](https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article241336261.html) that day. On March 6, Trump privately told donors gathered at his Mar-a-Lago resort that he wanted to protect cruise companies, The Washington Post [reported](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/coronavirus-pandemic-tests-clout-of-cruise-industry-and-its-long-standing-ties-to-trump/2020/03/12/3f79a1ba-63aa-11ea-912d-d98032ec8e25_story.html). And at a press conference on March 26, he applauded cruise lines as “big,” “great” and “very important” ― adding the following week, “we have to get those cruise ships moving along.” Micky Arison, CEO of Carnivore cruise lines and his wife Madeleine out on a date with Trump and the lovely Melania. ![micky and don](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/gcaptain_maritime_forum/original/2X/a/ad2c61d2d1ad0910e7e77d502aa9e348b819d2d0.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Lee\_Shore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Lee\_Shore](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Lee_Shore)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2020, 11:53pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/14 "2020-04-10T23:53:28Z")
The press refuses to get this right. The cruise line has a sales office in Sydney to attract Australian customers. It doesn’t make it an Australian ship, it’s registered in the Bahamas and that makes it a Bahamian ship. [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/virus-infected-australian-cruise-ship-arrives-at-montevideo-port/ar-BB12sgnV?li=BBnb7Kz](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/virus-infected-australian-cruise-ship-arrives-at-montevideo-port/ar-BB12sgnV?li=BBnb7Kz) ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 9:23am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/15 "2020-04-11T09:23:07Z")
Yes it is a Bahamian registered ship, owned by an American company. She is on long term charter to, and operated by, an Australian company, with their registered office and HQ in Sydney,NSW. BTW; She was built in China, from a design and equipment packet delivered by Ulstein Group, a Norwegian company, crewed by people of many different nationalities. As is the Pax she carries on cruises in the Arctic, around Antarctica.and to many other destinations around the world. She use “bases” (turn-around ports) in the region where she operate at the time. (Anywhere that offer good communication and facilities) NOTE!! Shipping is an international business, as it should be… PS\> Do you expect the media to get things right when they report on anything maritime?? ---
**Author:** ![Kraken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Kraken](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Kraken)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 11:16am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/16 "2020-04-11T11:16:40Z")
> [@ombugge](#): > > NOTE!! Shipping is an international business, as it should be… Easy to say as a international gun for hire. Ordinary workers need protection from predatory corporations. ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/17 "2020-04-11T16:56:33Z")
Shipping IS an international business and is not likely to return to anything resembling the 1960s ever again. Even then, ships were built in different countries from that of their flag state and operated in international trade w/o ever calling at their home port. The Greg Mortimer is an example of how the shipping business, not only the Cruise segment, work today. It is very similar in the Offshore segment. as well as in the ordinary shipping business. I have worked in various positions in shipping and the offshore industry all my life. Most of it w/o “protection” of nationality requirement or Union and never by cabotage laws OK, so I have not had a “normal” seafaring career, having operated many years as a freelancer in various positions. mostly in the offshore oil & gas industry, lived and worked internationally and for companies of many different nationalities. My views are obviously coloured by that background, Protection you can find by working for good companies on permanent employment contracts, with regular work schedule and benefit packet. Not all is that lucky. That is not today’s reality for many seafarers and offshore workers that is on short term contracts w/o guaranteed time off. or re-hire. ---
**Author:** ![Kraken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Kraken](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Kraken)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/18 "2020-04-11T17:19:15Z")
> [@ombugge](#): > > Protection you can find by working for good companies on permanent employment contracts, with regular work schedule and benefit packet. > > Not all is that lucky. That is not today’s reality for many seafarers and offshore workers that is on short term contracts w/o guaranteed time off. or re-hire. Good companies dont exist anymore, the downturn in oil broke their back, and covid-19 and Russian - Saudi oil war is the coup de grâce. ---
**Author:** ![ombugge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/ombugge/32/11217_2.png) [@ombugge](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ombugge)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 11:28am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/19 "2020-04-12T11:28:22Z")
One of the founder of RCCL, Arne Wilhemsen has died: [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-12/royal-caribbean-cruises-co-founder-arne-wilhelmsen-dies-at-90](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-12/royal-caribbean-cruises-co-founder-arne-wilhelmsen-dies-at-90) His brother Gjert Wilhemsen, also a co-founder of RCCL, died in 2018: > **[Gjert Wilhelmsen, co-founder of Royal Caribbean, dies at 91 - The Medi Telegraph](https://www.themeditelegraph.com/en/shipping/2018/03/13/news/gjert-wilhelmsen-co-founder-of-royal-caribbean-dies-at-91-1.38084978)** > > Oslo - Gjert Wilhelmsen, co-founder of what would have become the world’s second largest cruiseship owner, has died at the age of 91. In 1968 he was one of the three Norwegian investors who financed and launched what soon came to be the Royal... ---
**Author:** ![Lee\_Shore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Lee\_Shore](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Lee_Shore)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 11:51am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/covid-19-and-cruise-ships/54938/20 "2020-04-12T11:51:19Z")
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