COVID hits first cruise ship to return to Caribbean since pandemic stalled industry

What they're saying: "SeaDream I has paused its current Caribbean voyage and returned to Barbados after guests’ tests for Covid-19 returned assumptive positive results," the Norway-based company said in a release.

• All passengers were tested twice before embarking and were tested again, the company added.
• The company did not specify how many people tested positive, but said all guests and non-essential crew members were quarantining in their staterooms in "an abundance of caution."
• The New York Times reported Friday that at least seven of the ship's 53 passengers tested positive.
• SeaDream’s Andreas Brynestad's said the company is "working closely with local health and government authorities to resolve this situation in the best possible way.”
• He added that after "completing a successful summer season in Norway, we implemented even stricter health and safety protocols for our Barbados winter season."
• According to the company, it completed 21 cruises during Norway's summer season.

The big picture: Cruise ships cautiously resumed sailing in Europe in August, per WSJ.

• Some ships that did not require testing were forced to cut their trips short due to suspected COVID-19 cases among passengers or crew, WSJ wrote.
• At the end of October, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention replaced its "no-sail" order on American cruises with a less restrictive "Conditional Sailing Order," setting the stage for the phased resumption of passenger cruise line travel.
• It will likely be months, however, before U.S. cruises resume with passengers on board.