Celebrity cruise line
LONG ISLAND, N.Y. — A husband and wife sued a world-famous cruise line after taking a trip with passengers who were carrying the novel coronavirus. The couple says that the Celebrity Cruise Lines were negligent — at a minimum — for refusing to inform passengers about the travelers who tested positive until a few days after the passengers left the ship and returned to their homes. In the meantime, according to a report on Fox News, life on board of the ship was as jovial as ever, and the crew running the cruise ship Eclipse maintained its dining and entertainment options despite knowing that passengers displayed symptoms of COVID-19.
The cruise ship Eclipse left port on February 29, 2020. After leaving the ship’s port of origin, the medical staff and crew learned that some passengers fell ill. The passengers who took sick displayed many of the same symptoms associated with COVID-19. No tests were available to confirm until the ship entered a port of call.
The captain and crew kept the mood light on the ship. The staff onboard threw a large party honoring the medical staff on the ship who were working extremely hard to treat the sickened voyagers. The party drew hundreds of people together in a confined area on the ship. Additionally, the crew continued to severe buffet meals. According to the pleadings filed in court, the crew held a Mexican Fiesta in the buffet area. The party crammed many passengers together in a confined area for the duration of the event.
The plaintiffs in the case argue to the court that Celebrity Cruise Lines did nothing to protect the passengers from contracting the novel coronavirus and developing COVID-19. The plaintiffs claim the cruise line not only failed to warn the travelers about at least one symptomatic person onboard, but the crew also facilitated the spread of the disease by holding large gatherings in confined spaces.
