Hundreds of British cruise ship passengers who became stranded on a Caribbean voyage over Coronavirus (COVID-19) fears will be evacuated from Cuba. Captain Jozo Glavic told travellers that MS Braemar is sailing for Cuba where officials had agreed to accept the vessel out of 'humanitarian concerns'. The UK's Foreign Office in London revealed it was "working around the clock to arrange evacuation flights from Cuba to the UK".
The shipowner Fred Olsen Cruise Lines said the 667 Britons will fly back to the UK from Havana on Wednesday, March 18. In a tweet, the company said they were still finalising the details and flight times but could confirm the flights back to the UK would be operated by British Airways and leave Cuba on Wednesday.
The cruise ship has been anchored close to the Bahamas for a number of days after 5 people tested COVID-19 positive on the Dutch island of Curacao. MS Braemar has already been refused entry by Barbados and the Bahamas after 4 passengers and 1 crew member tested positive. They are in isolation onboard. Another 27 crew and 28 passengers are also quarantined onboard after showing flu-like symptoms, including a physician.
For other Braemar accidents and incidents see at the ship's CruiseMinus page.
For Coronavirus updates on cruise ship quarantines (infected passengers and crew) and top-pandemic countries (COVID-19 cases and deaths, daily updated statistics) see at CruiseMapper's Norovirus page.