Crew members onboard the luxury ship Azamara Onward are facing a makeshift quarantine following an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness during the current sailing.
Because of the outbreak, crew members will not be permitted to debark when the ship visits Saint Tropez on the French Riviera on Saturday, July 5, 2025. The port is a tender port, requiring small boats to ferry guests and crew members to the dock, but crew will not be allowed on tenders with guests.
“Sadly, based on our current OPRP status, crew will not be allowed to ride in tenders with guests tomorrow,” an email from the cruise line’s human resources department confirmed.
OPRP stands for “operational prerequisite program” and refers to food safety procedures and minimizing the risk of cross-contamination.
In this context, it confirms that the ship is operating under enhanced safety and sanitation protocols to ensure there is no further spread of the gastrointestinal illness. Such bugs, commonly norovirus, are often spread through contaminated surfaces.
Crew members onboard the vessel have noted that fewer than 10 guests have been isolated due to symptoms of illness, which typically include vomiting and diarrhea.
Azamara Onward can carry up to 826 guests, and while she may not be fully booked for her current 10-night sailing, the number of isolated guests represents less than 1.5% of passengers.
There is no confirmation about whether or not any of the ship’s crew members have reported illness symptoms. If not, then the number of those ill aboard the vessel is closer to three-quarters of a percent.
Health and safety is of course a top priority for the cruise line and crew members, but the full ban on crew members prohibiting them from going ashore may seem extreme.
This is a step the cruise line feels is necessary to minimize contact between guests and crew, and therefore minimizing any further spread or contagion.
Crew members, however, work very diligently seven days a week, often for long and strenuous shifts. The few hours they may be able to spend ashore on port days are a welcome and even necessary respite from their duties.
Furthermore, the break helps keep up crew morale and ensure the very best of service for all guests.
Is Crew Isolation Necessary?
Could other steps have been taken instead of prohibiting the crew from going ashore in what almost feels like a punitive measure?
Ideas such as a separate tender for crew members, sanitizing the tender boats between trips, or even requiring crew members to wear masks and gloves might have been effective.
Other options might have included restricting exactly when crew members could come and go to the ship so they weren’t mingling with guests on the dock, or only prohibiting crew members who had already reported symptoms.
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Azamara Onward – with her roughly 370 crew members – is currently sailing a 10-night one-way voyage from Barcelona to Nice. The ship departed Spain on Friday, June 27, and has called at various ports already, including Valencia, Palma de Mallorca, and Marseille.
The vessel will arrive in Nice on Monday, July 7. At the moment, there is no indication that she will be delayed or that there might be any delayed embarkation for her next cruise to permit extra sanitizing and cleaning, though such measures wouldn’t be unheard of.
Azamara Onward‘s next sailing is an 8-night cruise from Nice to Civitavecchia (Rome). She will remain in the Mediterranean on a diverse schedule 7-12 night sailings through early November, at which time she will head to Florida to offer a short series of Eastern Caribbean cruises from Miami.
