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Cruise ship leaves New Orleans after COVID cases for previous trip rises to 17

The customers will have new restrictions on their cruise that left Sunday night

NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana Department of Health released that there are now 17 cases of COVID that were detected on the Norwegian Breakaway, with one case possibly being the new Omicron variant. 

The seven additional cases were found after the ship disembarked at the Port of New Orleans Sunday.

According to the Louisiana Department of Health, the one case of the Omicron variant was among the previous 10 detected Saturday and is present in a crew member. The person is not a Louisiana resident and has not left the ship.

According to the City of New Orleans, the cases were identified in both crewmembers and passengers.

A spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line tells WWLTV that all cases of COVID-19 onboard were asymptomatic.

"In addition to requiring that 100% of guests and crew are fully vaccinated, per the Company’s comprehensive health and safety protocols, we have implemented quarantine, isolation and contact tracing procedures for identified cases," the cruise line spokesperson wrote in a statement. "We are testing all individuals on Norwegian Breakaway prior to disembarkation, as well as providing post-exposure and quarantine public health guidance by the CDC."

The ship left the Port of New Orleans on Nov. 28 and voyaged to Belize, Honduras and Mexico with more than 3,200 people on board.

Officials said everyone on board was tested for COVID-19 before leaving the ship and was provided post-exposure and quarantine public health guidance by the CDC.

"We take this matter extremely seriously and will continue to work closely with the CDC, the office of Governor John Bel Edwards, the Louisiana Department of Health as well as the city and port of New Orleans," the cruise line spokesperson wrote.

Credit: nola.com
Norwegian Breakaway

Anyone whose test comes back positive will either: 

  •  Travel by personal vehicle directly to their personal residence.
  • Self-isolate according to current CDC guidelines in accommodations provided by NCL.

The ship left New Orleans Sunday night.

According to a cruise spokesperson, the following changes are in effect for those on board now:  

They will not be stopping in Costa Maya.  The original itinerary was modified due to embarkation delays.

  • Guests who opt to sail must wear masks while indoors except while actively eating or drinking and will be tested twice during the cruise.
  • All reservations will receive a $400 non-refundable onboard credit, which will reflect on their onboard account as $200 for the 1st  and 2nd guest in the stateroom.
  • 10% discount towards that is combinable with all available promotions at the time of booking.  The 10% OFF discount will be added to their Latitudes account and will be available as of December 10th, 2021.  This discount can be applied towards any sailings through December 31, 2022. 

RELATED: LIST: Where have omicron cases been confirmed in the US?

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