Coronavirus: Thailand reportedly turns away Holland America, leaving cruise in limbo
by Morgan Hines and Julia Thompson
Thailand has reportedly turned away Holland America's MS Westerdam which had been previously scheduled for disembarkation in Laem Chabang on Thursday, according to the cruise line.
On Tuesday morning, Thailand's public health minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, announced on Facebook that he had prohibited the ship's entry.
"I have issued orders. Permission to disembark refused," he wrote. Thailand currently has 32 confirmed cases of the virus.
"We are aware of the reports regarding the status of Westerdam’s call to Laem Chabang (Bangkok), Thailand," the cruise line said in a statement provided to USA TODAY by Holland America's director of relations, Erik Elvejord. "We are actively working this matter and will provide an update when we are able. We know this is confusing for our guests and their families and we greatly appreciate their patience."
Passengers who had already begun booking return flights from Bangkok based on the announcement that they'd be getting off the ship in Thailand now find themselves back in limbo.
The ship had already changed its disembarkation point from Shanghai to Yokohama before Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe denied the MS Westerdam entry last week. It was subsequently turned away from Guam, a U.S. territory. The Philippines also barred the ship from making a scheduled port call earlier in the sailing.
There are no known cases of coronavirus among the 1,455 passengers and 802 crew on board despite reports to the contrary, the cruise line said, and the MS Westerdam has not been in quarantine.
"We have no reason to believe there are cases of coronavirus on board," Erik Elvejord, Holland America's public relations director, said in an email Friday morning.
The next scheduled cruise on Feb. 15 has been canceled. The cruise line is assessing the impact of port restrictions in Asia on cruises departing Feb. 29 or later. The current passengers have been promised a full refund and a credit toward a future cruise.
Source: USA Today