--- title: "The First Cruise Ship to Return to the Caribbean Is Already Under COVID Lockdown" description: "On Wednesday, a passenger on the SeaDream 1, the first cruise ship to return to the Caribbean since the start of the pandemic, tested positive for COVID-19" date: "2020-11-12" modified: "2020-11-12" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/first-cruise-return-caribbean-under-covid-lockdown" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid19" - "cruise" - "cruise ship" --- # The First Cruise Ship to Return to the Caribbean Is Already Under COVID Lockdown ![On Wednesday, a passenger on the SeaDream 1, the first cruise ship to return to the Caribbean since the start of the pandemic, tested positive for COVID-19]() *\Image: SeaDream\* The SeaDream Yacht Club's cruise ship SeaDream 1 was the first cruise ship to return to the Caribbean since the pandemic — and a passengers on it has already tested positive for COVID-19, [*CNN* reports](). Passengers were instructed to isolate inside their cabins while the ship returned back to its starting port in Barbados. [Sound familiar]()? Cruise ships accounted for [several outbreaks]() during the early days of the pandemic, with thousands of passengers being stranded at sea for sometimes [several weeks at a time](). By mid-February, the largest cluster of COVID cases outside mainland China occurred on the Diamond Princess cruise ship off the coast of Yokohama, Japan, according to a [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case study](), with over 700 confirmed cases by the end of February. The industry was left in tatters following the ensuing global escalation of the pandemic — it's not easy to convince people to willingly board a ship, become cut off from the rest of the world, and be stuck with thousands of others in the middle of a novel disease outbreak. SeaDream attempted to sell its Caribbean experience by promising a COVID negative bubble experience by testing passengers both before travel and prior to boarding. "And SeaDream also was testing passengers four days into the trip," Gene Sloan, a senior reporter for cruise and travel at *The Points Guy*, told *CNN*. "We were scheduled to be tested again today. That's a more rigorous testing plan than most lines had been discussing for the restarts." The ships are also relatively small, with a capacity of just 112 guests and 95 crew — meaning SeaDream can operate outside of the [CDC's orders]() around cruising, which limit "any commercial, non-cargo, passenger carrying vessels" to a capacity of 250. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()