Marella Cruises has confirmed that its 30 January cruise from Barbados will be going ahead, ending a near month-long series of cancellations.
The TUI-owned brand said it was ‘delighted’ to welcome back passengers on its Discovery vessel following the enforced hiatus.
Confirmation that its Caribbean programme will resume follows a difficult month for the cruise line which cancelled Barbados sailings on the 2, 9, 16 and 23 January following a number of COVID cases.
Operations were further hampered after Barbadian authorities prevented people with positive tests from disembarking and staying in quarantine hotels.
A TUI spokesperson said: “We can confirm that the Barbados cruise will be going ahead as planned from 30th January, we’re delighted to welcome back guests onboard as they enjoy their Caribbean holidays again.”
But the company denied reports that Explorer 2 had sailed to the Caribbean to accommodate Discovery passengers who had contracted COVID.
While acknowledging the ship had sailed to Barbados, it was in preparation for a series of voyages from Montego Bay – which begin on 1 March – rather than for any health-related issues.
“The ship is currently based in Barbados for operational reasons and will not be used for any customers who test positive for COVID onboard Marella Discovery,” the spokesperson said.
