After carrying a suspected Ebola sufferer on board, the Carnival Magic ship recently debarked in Galveston without any issues.
The passenger had been quarantined amid worries that she had been infected with the disease, but she did not show any symptoms of the virus when tested at the Department of State Health Services, where all exams came back clear.
The passenger has completed the 21-day incubation window and, along with her travel partner, she was able to go home on her own without any issues.
Spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz explained that debarkation for the rest of the passengers carried on as expected, with the passengers given a leaflet from the Centers for Disease Control, which emphasised that they were not in danger.
“This is purely to allay any concerns our guests may have and not because there is any science-based reason. Be that as it may, we are undertaking an aggressive cleaning and sanitizing initiative anyway,” Ms de la Cruz explained.
The ship will continue to embark as scheduled, going on to visit Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel as expected.
Despite the concerns of passengers, Carnival will not provide refunds to those wishing to cancel a cruise journey. Instead, those on the affected voyage will receive credit to the value of $200 per person, along with a 50 per cent discount on a future trip.
Ms de la Cruz confirmed that only a handful of travellers cancelled their cruise and that the vessel will carry on with around 4,000 passengers.
Despite concerns across the cruising industry, Ebola has yet to infect any passengers and all the checks are in place to ensure the virus does not cause any issues.
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