MIAMI (WSVN) - A cruise ship where a crew member fell ill with what turned out to be the flu has returned to PortMiami, days after it was denied entry at two ports over coronavirus concerns.
7News cameras captured passengers of the MSC ship back on dry land and sharing their experiences on board with 7News, Sunday.
A passenger who identified herself as Paloma said she was concerned upon learning they were not being allowed to disembark.
“At first, we were a little bit worried,” she said.
But MSC Cruises USA spokesperson Ken Muskat said passengers were never at risk of contracting the virus.
“No issues with coronavirus whatsoever,” he said.
However, Muskat said, that did not stop two ports on the ship’s itinerary to deny them entry.
“Jamaica, unfortunately, did not allow the ship to come in, just based off of fear, basically,” he said, “so then we went on to Grand Cayman. Unfortunately, Grand Cayman did not allow the ship to come in either, also based on fear. They didn’t even check.”
More than 6,000 passengers and crew members were stuck on the ship for days.
“We didn’t know where we were going out from the boat,” said Paloma.
The ship was eventually allowed to dock at the port of Cozumel in Mexico, where health officials boarded the boat to conduct tests.
The sick crew member was diagnosed with the flu, and the rest of the passengers passed health screening tests before their journey back to South Florida.
“Fortunately, the ship was deemed perfectly healthy,” said Muskat.
But it wasn’t good news for travelers flying from the Dominican Republic after a confirmed case was found there.
The news came a day after the White House expanded U.S. travel restrictions to Asia and Europe following the first U.S. death from the virus.
Delta Airlines also followed suit, suspending U.S. flights from New York to Milan.
7News spoke with Marvin and Marsha Gallow after they flew into Miami International Airport from Rome, Saturday.
“We just packed up and left today,” said Marvin.
The couple said they cut their vacation to Italy short once news of the virus spread. They said they immediately drove from Milan to Rome just to catch the first flight home.
“We were going to take trains and all that, and we went and got a rental car and drove straight south for six hours,” said Marvin.
That decision has left them with thousands of dollars in debt.
“We didn’t get any refund on our flight. We had to buy a new one to get home,” said Marsha.
Cruise line officials said any booked passengers who traveled to China over the past 14 days cannot board a ship at PortMiami. They also said all passengers who were on board the MSC ship will receive a full refund.
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