The number of positive cases on the SeaDream Yacht Club cruise in the Caribbean has grown, according to the Points Guy, which has a reporter onboard the SeaDream I.
A statement from SeaDream sent before the reporter's tweet confirmed that the ship had returned to Barbados after receiving news of a passenger's "assumptive positive" results. Subsequent tests of crew all came back negative, and the line is retesting all passengers.
According to the Points Guy report, Capt. Torbjorn Lund said that overnight testing of close contacts of the original passenger returned five positive cases; that was upped to a "possible" sixth case. There are 53 passengers and 66 crew onboard.
SeaDream has not yet confirmed the increase in cases. In its earlier statement, the line said it had advised health authorities and set in motion its response protocols.
Passengers and nonessential crew are in quarantine in their cabins, and the line is awaiting authorization from the Barbados government to disembark passengers, it said.
"After completing a successful summer season in Norway, we implemented even stricter health and safety protocols for our Barbados winter season. All guests were tested twice prior to embarkation, and we are in the process of retesting guests," said SeaDream's Andreas Byrnestad.
The ship did not initially require passengers to wear face coverings, but it reversed its decision four days into the cruise, according to the Points Guy.
The line had a brush with Covid while operating sailings in Europe this past summer. In that case, a passenger who had departed SeaDream I had received word of a positive Covid test, but passengers and crew on the subsequent sailing tested negative and a follow-up test on the passenger was also negative.
This report was updated Nov. 13 to include new information on the number of Covid cases on the ship.