Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-04-20)

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onboard,Armasaidovertheloudspeaker,but

passengersshouldavoidclosecontactwithany-

onesufferingrespiratoryillness,washtheirhands

for 20 seconds,andseektreatmentfromtheship’s

nursesif theyhadfever,chills,ora cough.“Rest

assured,therewillbenochargeforthisservice,”

hesaid.UponarrivalinYokohamathatevening,

Japanesehealthofficialsstartedmedicalscreen-

ings.Armaadded:“Thesituationis undercontrol,

andthereforetherearenoreasonsforconcerns.”

EvenafterCarnivalbecameawareofthe

potentialcoronaviruscase,passengerssaystaff

triedtokeepthefungoing.Guestscon-

tinuedeatinganddrinkingatbuffetsand

bars,hangingoutinsaunas,andattending

shows,includinganoperaticperformance

calledBravo. Carnivaldistributeditineraries

(knownas“PrincessPatter”)guidingguests

totriviacontestsandothergroupactivities

onFeb.3.“Theywereencouragingusto

mingle,”saysGayCourter,who,afterget-

tinghertemperaturetakenbya Japaneseofficial

thenextday,wentfora walkondeckandsaw

tablesofasmanyas 30 peopleplayingmahjong.

ACarnivalspokesmansaysthestaffdiscon-

tinued“most”scheduledactivitiesonFeb.4,

thoughJapaneseofficialsdidn’tinstitutea ship-

widequarantinerequiringpassengerstostayin

theircabinsuntilFeb.5.

ThepresidentofCarnival’sPrincessCruises

division,JanSwartz,saysthecompanywas

deferringtoJapanesehealthofficials.Shesays

thecrew followed government guidelines,

deliveringthepassengersfoodandpre-

scription refillsas thequarantine at

Yokohama’sportworeon.CarnivalCEO

Donaldsayshewasawareofthesituation

butdidn’tpersonallytakecontrolofthe

responseeffortsuntilFeb.5.“Wehavea

nicechainofcommand,”hesays.“Asit

becamea biggerissue,I’mdialingintothe

situationupdates.”

It wasanincreasinglychaoticperiod

forCarnival.ShortlybeforetheDiamondPrincess

problem,therehadbeena coronavirusscare

aboard one of its ships near Italy, and a second in

mid-February on another Carnival cruise in Asia.

(Carnival says these were false alarms.) Countries

around the world began refusing to allow the com-

pany’s boats to dock, fearing they’d spread the

virus, creating novel challenges for Donald and his

team. “It wasn’t like there were protocols, and that

this was established. You’re at sea, you’re moving

people around, and the rules are changing as you

go,” he says. He adds that by early March, when the

virus hit the Grand Princess, Carnival had systems

inplacetotakebettercareofitsguests.Some

Grand Princess passengers had to fill out a ques-

tionnaireaskingif they’drecentlybeentoChina,

thoughtherewerenoquestionsaboutwhether

theyhadsymptoms consistent with Covid-19.

On March 5, after the ship’s crew canceled

the ukulele concert and any further games of

True or Moo, the Grand Princess went into a

holding pattern off the San Francisco coast while

the White House and state and local officials fig-

ured out what to do. Passengers were stuck in

their cabins for almost two weeks as helicopters

delivered provisions and test kits.

The Grand Princess pulled into port on

March 9 in Oakland, Calif., where the CDC

mostly took over. Like those aboard the

Diamond Princess, the passengers endured

an additional 14-day quarantine after dis-

embarking before being allowed to travel

home. Between the Diamond Princess and

Grand Princess, 850 people tested positive

for Covid-19 and 14 have died. More would fol-

low from outbreaks on other ships.

Asked why Carnival didn’t act sooner to ini-

tiate stringent shipwide quarantines, and why

so many passengers reported being able to

stroll about the ships following alerts of possi-

bly deadly infections, Swartz says the company

was following the direction of health authorities.

“It’s very easy and Monday morning, you know,

20/20 hindsight, to say what’s the view of what

should have been occurring,” she says. “We did

our best to take care of people.”

Carnival executives say they’re proud

of how they served the customers aboard

these cruises. They refunded everyone’s tick-

ets and onboard purchases, provided free

internet access during the quarantines, and

assisted with post-cruise travel accommo-

dations. Swartz, who notes she’s had “many

tours of duty in crisis management” during

her 20 years at Carnival, says she expects the

experience to make customers more likely

to cruise with the company, not less. “There

are many loyal Princess guests who have told

us that this has actually cemented Princess as

their No. 1 vacation choice,” she says.

During Bloomberg Businessweek’s March 27

phone interview with Swartz, reports sur-

faced that four more people had died and at

least 138 passengers were sick aboard another

Carnival ship, the Zaandam, part of its Holland

America line. Over the following days, the ship

lingered near the coast of Fort Lauderdale wait-

ing for government permission to dock at Port 1, 3, 5: COURTESY KAREN DEVER. 2: COURTESY DEBBI LOFTUS. 4: COURTESY MILLLER FAMILY

Photographs from passengers

aboard the Grand Princess

① A helicopter flies over the Grand Princess preparing

to drop supplies. ② Crew members wear masks during

the quarantine. ③ Containers of food are delivered to the

guestsbeingkeptisolated in their cabins. (“I wouldn’t

have fed it to my worst enemies,” says passenger Karen

Dever.) ④ Passengers Laurie and John Miller leave the

ship. ⑤ The typical quarters guests were confined to

weren’t especially roomy.

①

②

③

④

⑤