The cruise line said in an updated statement Monday morning that 48 people on the Symphony of the Seas ship tested positive for the disease during the seven-day cruise.
There were 6,091 passengers and crew members on board the Symphony of the Seas when it left Miami on December 11.
There were 44 cases on the cruise line. "This number includes four additional close contacts which were identified as positive at the end of the voyage," Sierra-Caro said. The guests were assisted upon the ship's arrival and were kept on board.
Passengers 12 and older were required to have their vaccinations and test negative to board the ship. Royal Caribbean said 98% of the people who tested positive for vaccine were fully vaccine free.
A passenger who sailed on the same ship earlier this month tested positive for the omicron variant of the coronaviruses.
Sierra-Caro said that a guest on the December 4th cruise tested positive for omicron and was identified as such. The CDC asked us to notify guests on the current sailing and the one that ended today.
Royal Caribbean: Update onboard mask requirement as omicron spreads.
A breakthrough case sent one couple from an ocean view balcony to thedungeon.
Royal Caribbean sent an email to the passengers who sailed on the three cruises on the symphony of the seas.
The email obtained by USA TODAY said that the guest did not report symptoms to the medical teams. The post cruise test results were confirmed as the omicron variant.
The 48 cases on the recently disembarked cruise were found after a guest tested positive, Sierra-Caro said. Everyone who tested positive was monitored for their health.
Royal Caribbean initially said that everyone who tested positive was normal. Everyone who tested positive were free of symptoms, and we continuously monitored their health.
Six passengers were taken home after disembarking from the cruise. The rest of the passengers were assisted at the airport.
Royal Caribbean said in the email that the cases on the Dec. 11th sailing were unrelated to the case from the guest who sailed on December 4th.
The cases were unrelated.
The CDC advises that passengers visit a testing center three to five days after disembarkation.
The CDC said in a statement on Saturday that it was aware of the situation on the ship and that it was working with RCI to gather more information about the cases and possible exposures.
According to the CDC, the Symphony of the Seas is on a cruise ship color list that says it has investigated and is under observation.
In a Wednesday, May 20, 2020, file photo, the Symphony of the Seas cruise ship is docked at PortMiami.
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The passengers say Royal Caribbean was overwhelmed.
A party of 12 were traveling with a 29-year-old from Florida on the Symphony of the Seas. Six of his traveling companions tested positive. Everyone in the group had a booster shot, O'Dell said.
He said that O'Dell and James Johnson tested negative.
O'Dell said that the first person to test positive was Johnson's aunt, who is at high risk for COVID. She reported her symptoms to Royal Caribbean during the cruise.
O'Dell said that she had a bad cough and sore throat and that she didn't get an in-depth physical exam or ask about her previous conditions. The problem is that we were promised a set of protocols and they were never followed.
It took four hours for a nurse to give a COVID test. Johnson's aunt was taken to a hospital for the rest of the trip.
Johnson said he contacted medical staff and was told they were understaffed. He asked if the ship's medical team could check on his aunt. His aunt got a call the next day.
She was the only one who was checked in on by the cruise line after five other people tested positive.
After the positive test came back on Johnson's aunt, they were told that they could leave their room, even though they had been spending time together as a group.
We kept asking if we could leave. Johnson said something. O'Dell said that they were asked by crew members to remain isolated.
Johnson said that they received conflicting results, with his cousin being told she tested positive, then later told that it was her boyfriend who was positive.
Johnson said they were so overwhelmed. They kept saying something and then changing their minds. He said that everything was confusing.
Sierra-Caro said that if protocol wasn't followed properly, staff was overwhelmed.
"Our staff was able to handle all of the cases on board and we followed all of the protocols for testing and scurvy," Sierra- Caro said.
The USA TODAY article was about cruise ship passengers testing positive for carbon dioxide.
