Coronavirus concern: Travelers stuck on cruise ship in Long Beach all day as passenger is tested

Travelers on a cruise ship docked in Long Beach were blocked from disembarking on Saturday while a woman who had been aboard the ship was being tested at a local hospital for coronavirus.

As the passengers remained stuck on the ship for hours, hundreds of others milled about nearby, waiting to board the Carnival Panorama for a 7-day trip to Mexico.

A letter given out by Carnival Cruise Line staff said that the passenger “did not meet the CDC criteria for coronavirus risk” but “officials still require additional information.”

Long Beach city officials announced in the early afternoon that the passenger was taken to a hospital to be evaluated and tested for the coronavirus. While that was taking place, city officials said, the other travelers were being kept on board out of an “abundance of caution.” The officials described the passenger as a woman.

This morning, a passenger on @CarnivalCruise was transported to a local hospital by @LBFD. Ship is docked at LB Cruise Terminal. In an abundance of caution @CDCgov has decided to hold passengers on board until the patient can be evaluated & tested for COVID-19. #COVID19LongBeach

— City of Long Beach (@LongBeachCity) March 7, 2020

There was no official count of how many passengers were on board, but the ship can hold more than 4,000 passengers, At 6 p.m., those waiting to board received a text from Carnival saying some news was expected in an hour.

The ship was supposed to disembark Saturday around 9 a.m. and load the new passengers at 1:30 p.m., some passengers said.

Tasha Wiles was planning to get married on board the Panorama this weekend with a group of 13 from Arizona. They were waiting out the delay in the shade Saturday afternoon, enjoying a mellow breeze off the Long Beach harbor.

“I’m more worried about getting stuck in quarantine on the ship than actually getting the coronavirus,” she said.

The situation in Long Beach is still in limbo. Message just a few minutes ago informed passengers there is still no update. pic.twitter.com/QINUdiw8vY

— David Rosenfeld (@RosenfeldReport) March 8, 2020

Baltimore Sandoval and his family of five drove six hours from Salinas Saturday. He said they’ve been making payments for a year to go on the trip, so they plan to stick around.

A cruise official told him it might be four or five hours.

But, he said, “We drove all this way and were looking forward to it.”

Millie Vallejos from Lake Elsinore, said she would wait it out, too.

“I’m going if it kills me,” she joked.

Ed Spreitzer, who was waiting to board the cruise with a group of eight from Ohio, said he was told that if they cancel their trip Saturday afternoon the cruise line would offer just a 70% refund but if Carnival cancels they will give them a full refund and pay for airfare home. So they are waiting until 6 p.m. when they are expected to get an announcement.

“I think they are handling it the right way,” he said.

“I’m glad they are taking precautions,” said his wife Barb Spreitzer. “Hopefully they clean the ship before we get on.”

Margaret Mayole and her mom Tara drove from Phoenix Saturday morning for the cruise. After getting several messages about delays they were frustrated by what they perceived as a lack of information. At about 2 p.m. they received a message that they won’t know the status of the sick passenger until at least 6 p.m.

They don’t want to wait that long, but were told if they canceled before then, they could not be assured a full refund.

“So I can cancel now but I won’t know until tomorrow if I’ll get a refund,” said Tara Mayole. “That’s pretty harsh.”

“Carnival sent us messages saying they would do a good job with medical screening and keeping the ship clean,” Margaret Mayole said, “so my concern is whether that happened.”

Ron Griffin, who was scheduled to board the ship with his wife and 5-year-old daughter, was frustrated. At about 6:30 p.m. he said he had enough and wanted a refund but operators were not answering the phone.

“We can wait a certain amount of time, but after seven or eight hours, kids can’t wait that long,” he said. They were planning to try to get their luggage and book a hotel room, then sort out the finances in the morning.

“We have to get our money back,” he said.

At about 6:30 p.m., a Carnival official told a group of passengers he wasn’t sure about refunds. Many were frustrated by that answer.

“I’m not canceling until I know we can get a refund,” said Debbie Witheridge who was with her husband Grant from Australia.

Aboard the Panorama, at least some activity continued pretty much as normal.

Ell Sean Smith, who was on the ship with his wife, said the casino and the bars remained open.

“We’re just waiting,” he said at about 5:30 p.m. At close to 7 p.m., they were told of events planned on the ship for the evening, in case they would still have to be on board.

The Panorama made its debut last year as the cruise line’s first new ship on the West Coast in 20 years. It launched its seven-day Mexican Riviera service from Long Beach in December, featuring trips to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.