The Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas, is seen moored in the Port of Miami on August 1, 2021.
The Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Symphony of the Seas, is seen moored in the Port of Miami on August 1, 2021.Photo by Daniel SLIM / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images
  • 48 passengers and staff recently tested positive for COVID-19 on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.
  • The ship returned to Miami on Saturday after a week-long tour of the Caribbean. 
  • There were 7,000 people aboard the cruise ship, which is one of the world's largest.

Forty-eight passengers and staff tested positive for COVID-19 on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that returned to Miami on Saturday, NBC News reported on Monday.

Royal Caribbean said in a statement to NBC that people who tested positive for the virus "were identified as a result of immediate contact tracing after a guest tested positive."

"Each person quickly went into quarantine. Everyone who tested positive was asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, and we continuously monitored their health," the statement said.

Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The company's guidelines require travelers over the age of 12 to be vaccinated with either two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

NBC report said that 95% of people on the ship — and 98% of those who contracted COVID-19 — were vaccinated under those guidelines.

The Symphony of the Seas had returned to Miami after completing a week-long tour of a handful of Caribbean islands, the report said, and that its journey wasn't impacted by the outbreak. 

There were 7,000 people aboard the cruise ship — one of the world's largest, the report said.    

Royal Caribbean told NBC that its staff aboard the ship are vaccinated and tested weekly. 

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