Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth cruises cancelled after crew test positive

The first five scheduled voyages on board the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship (pictured above in Sydney), after its pandemic shutdown, have been cancelled.

Cunard has announced a number of crew tested positive for Covid-19.

It was due to restart voyages with cruises around the UK coast, after suspending all sailings in March 2020, says the BBC.

The company says it had to limit crew numbers and could not complete ‘final essential preparations’.

“Working in conjunction with Southampton Port Health we took immediate steps to successfully contain the situation and we have limited the number of new crew joining the ship,” Cunard’s Simon Palethorpe says.

“This has meant, however, that we are not able to complete the final essential preparations or deliver the comprehensive training schedule to the full required contingent of crew prior to the first scheduled sailing.”

Queen Elizabeth‘s first ‘staycation cruise’ should have been a trip to Cornwall, departing from Southampton on 19 July.

Its first departure from Southampton is now planned for 13 August.