COVID cases send cruise ship into quarantine

The first cruise ship to cancel runs through Southeast Alaska this summer due to COVID-19 cases on board is tied up in Juneau, waiting for the 10-day quarantine for the crew to end.

The 267-foot American Constellation, which was carrying 162 passengers and a crew of 52, docked in Juneau last Saturday after a day earlier letting off several people in Petersburg for medical care and quarantine.

Uninfected passengers flew home from Juneau, while the crew remains on board.

“The three individuals who tested positive for COVID-19, along with their close contacts, remain in Petersburg to isolate. Any unvaccinated crew members will quarantine aboard the ship in Juneau,” the City and Borough of Juneau reported last Friday.

All of the ship’s guests had been fully vaccinated, Juneau reported, but not all of the crew.

Neither the ship operator, American Cruise Lines, nor the Juneau borough reported the mix of passengers and crew among the three COVID-19 cases, though the company said two of the infected people had been fully vaccinated.

“The City and Borough of Juneau Emergency Operation Center — in coordination with the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services and Juneau Public Health — is working closely with American Cruise Lines on a testing plan for the unvaccinated crew during their quarantine on the ship,” the borough said.

The Constellation’s scheduled stop in Wrangell last Sunday was canceled as the ship headed north to Juneau instead.

The ship’s next voyage, which was scheduled to start on July 14, has been cancelled. The 4-year-old Constellation started its Southeast Alaska cruises in early June, and is scheduled to operate into September.

Though the first case in the outbreak was discovered last Thursday, American Cruise Lines allowed passengers to leave the boat the next morning in Petersburg for tourist activities because the travelers were all fully vaccinated, according to a media release from the Petersburg Medical Center.

Then two more cases were reported on board the ship on Friday and all three stayed behind in Petersburg to isolate. The cruise operator also left a representative in Petersburg. 

“American resumed domestic small ship cruise operations in March and since then has carried over 10,000 passengers aboard 130 U.S. cruises without incident,” the cruise line said in a prepared statement.