Dear Crew, whether you are at home battling through daily tasks, trying to cope with our new reality or still on board, trying to keep sane and healthy, - we are here for you.

Crew Center keeps its hand on crew-news pulse and does an admirable job at helping/supporting whoever we can.

Dear Crew Worldwide,

How are you today? We really hope you are managing as well as it is possible in these uncharted waters. We know it’s scary to find ourselves in this new reality with suspended jobs, no certainty and plenty of challenges to come. So, let’s take a few moments and explore the state of our inner world, our inner selves.

A crew member on the cruise ship Celebrity Infinity tested positive for COVID-19.  The crew member disembarked the ship on March 21, and was sent to hospital in Florida for testing. As soon as his symptoms were reported he was isolated and then disembarked the ship. 

Celebrity Infinity crew received the following letter on 23 March:

• Who would have thought that this will happen?
• Who would have thought that this unexpected event will suddenly affect all of us?

Celebrity Infinity crew member was recently disembarked from the cruise ship and sent to hospital for testing. As a precaution measure from the Miami Head Office starting today, all public areas will be closed for the crew and all crew activities have been suspended until further notice. 

In light of the global outbreak of Covid-19 and cancelations of fleet-wide voyages, a tough decision has been made by TUI Cruises to send as many crew members as possible back home. The German cruise operator is trying to provide as much information as possible to their crewmembers, but at the same time, they are still bound by regulations, restrictions, flight options, meaning that valid statements at this time are very difficult to make.

The luxury expedition cruise line Ponant will voluntarily suspend the cruise operations across the entire fleet as their ships are not able to continue sailing in the right conditions. Following this difficult decision the company sent a letter to all the crew members saying that a significant financial effort will be made out of solidarity to support disembarked crews.

The German Cruise line AIDA Cruises has made a very difficult decision announcing temporarily pause of its global cruise operations until early April 2020. The decision was taken as a response to the global spread of COVID-19 virus, recently calling for extraordinary measures and for the resolute contribution of all stakeholders to stop the outbreak.

Watching the latest statement by the President of the United States after the announcement of the Coronavirus outbreak on the cruise ship Diamond Princess made me sad.

I am not a Democrat, I am not a Republican, I am not American, I am not a number, I am crew member.