Dozens of passengers who booked a luxury Caribbean New Year cruise on the Queen Mary 2 ocean liner have spent the trip isolating in their cabins after mass Covid outbreaks on board.
Holiday makers had paid upto £5,000 a head for the cruise on the famous Cunard vessel from Southampton sailing on 13 December that was to take in New York and then stops around the Caribbean before returning this weekend.
But by the time they’d crossed the Atlantic on the first leg of the voyage there were Covid infections on board and despite the ten passengers who by then had tested positive leaving the ship in New York, the numbers contracting it among both passengers and crew continued to rocket.
Cabin fever: The couple has been kept in one room since they were positive after testing positive.
The Queen Mary 2 had been a dream cruise for passengers, but Covid ended their dreams
Because of their infections, they were unable to travel from the next stop, Tortola, British Virgin Islands, and Basseterre, St Kitts.
By the time they’d reached Barbados most passengers were told they couldn’t disembark and many were forced to spend days in their cabins without leaving. The number of sick staff meant that conditions quickly deteriorated.
Christine Martin (66), from Angmering in West Sussex, and Richard Martin (77) both test positive for HIV/AIDS late December despite having been triple-jabbed and taking all the precautions.
The couple, who had paid £9,860 for their trip, have had few if any symptoms but have been left frustrated at being shut up for days with nothing to do.
Mrs Martin told Mail Online: ‘We tested positive for Covid on Tuesday 28th December and have been in isolation since. It’s been pretty miserable. It is possible to get some fresh air from the balcony but not enough for exercise.
‘It’s hard to know exactly how many people have tested positive as they haven’t told us but friends who are still allowed to use the dining rooms tell us they are ghostly.
‘The captain regularly speaks on the tannoy to passengers but never makes any reference to us – the positive passengers – not even a Happy New Year. We feel like lepers.’
Christine Martin and Richard enjoyed the cruise before they were able to test postive Christine.
She went on: ‘Our food is served on paper plates stone cold . But, only upon request do we get clean linen. On 29 December, we received a phone call from our doctor. Other than that, we called to discuss testing or other questions. No one has otherwise asked about our general well-being.’
But the couple’s main problem is the misery of their conditions and they haven’t been too badly affected by the Covid itself: ‘The vaccinations are doing their intended job and we and the people we have had contact with have said we just feel like a summer cold indeed some people haven’t had any symptoms at all.’
Mrs Martin continued: ‘It all started when we arrived in New York from Southampton and people started testing positive. We all had a routine test and those with Covid weren’t allowed to disembark.
‘We were in New York for three days then sailed onto the Caribbean with new American passengers on board . Our first stop was supposed to be Tortola but we weren’t allowed to dock there and this was the same at all ports until Barbados.’
Queen Mary 2 is well-known for providing a luxurious experience, however some passengers don’t like it.
Bridgetown, Barbados was where the boat docked for three days. This meant that it missed its three next scheduled stops: Roseau in Dominica and Philipsburg, in the Dutch Antilles, as well as a stay in New York. It will instead return to Southampton, carrying passengers who originally intended to embark in New York. Others, who were financially able and could sail to the UK for more money flew home.
It’s believed so many staff were ill and isolating on board that new workers had to go on board to keep the boat functioning. Many passengers are still trapped in the cabins as it makes its way to Southampton.
‘Only those passengers who had booked an organised trip could go ashore. Covid had become more problematic by that time, and Captain made the decision not to allow us to go on to our final port of call or to New York.
‘The passengers who were to disembark in New York were flown back from Barbados and of those disembarking at Southampton who wanted to fly back rather stay on the ship….of those as many as possible were flown back to Uk.’
The passengers had planned to stop in a few Caribbean beauty spots. However, they have been stuck for days in cabins.
She added: ‘A lot of the problem has been the complete lack of information from the Bridge as to the extent of Covid on board, and in fact anything else. Of course it goes without saying that covid needs to be taken seriously but the lack of information given is intolerable.’
The spokesperson said that they could not give any numbers on how many people were affected by positive testing.
They said: ‘Cunard has a comprehensive, approved and audited set of enhanced protocols in place to protect the health and wellbeing of guests, crew and the communities we visit and best manage against Covid-19. As a condition to employment, all guests must be fully immunized. Crew members also have to undergo testing before they board our ships.
‘Should any guest test positive for Covid-19 whilst on board, they and their close contacts will move to dedicated isolation cabins for their and other guests’ well-being. This will be for either the duration of the required isolation, or to the next port of call, or to the scheduled port of disembarkation.’