Grand Princess will not anchor in Santa Barbara, city to ask more cruise lines to do the same
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The City of Santa Barbara has been informed by Princess Cruises that the Grand Princess will not anchor in Santa Barbara this month as previously scheduled.
The cruise ship, which is docked at the Port of Oakland after at least 21 people tested positive for coronavirus, was scheduled to stop in Santa Barbara on March 24.
The cruise line informed Santa Barbara city officials on Monday that the cruise ship would not be anchoring in Santa Barbara, according to Mayor Cathy Murillo.
While one cruise ship is skipping Santa Barbara on its own accord, Murillo says the city is drafting a letter to send to all cruise line companies, asking them to avoid Santa Barbara for public health concerns.
“I appreciate Princess Cruises taking action and protecting the safety of the community and passengers. We are asking other cruise lines to follow their lead and take a cautious approach,” Murillo said in a statement.
The city is asking cruise lines to cancel stops in Santa Barbara until the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removes their travel advisory for cruise ships. There are currently ten cruise visits planned in Santa Barbara through June 2020.
The decision comes the same day that the City of Monterey announced it was canceling all cruise ship visits through April.
We reached out to Santa Barbara County Public Health officials Monday, and were told that officials did not know if the ship would be anchoring in Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara County Public Health Department is expected to make a presentation regarding the coronavirus during Tuesday's Santa Barbara City Council meeting.
