SARS Becomes Serious Concern for Cruise Line Industry
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Several major cruise lines are taking the SARS virus very seriously. Four of them have already denied boarding to anyone who's been in one of the Asian countries hit hard by the crisis. And now some cruise lines are taking it a step further. Yusila Ramirez of affiliate WFOR in Miami has more.</s>YUSILA RAMIREZ, WFOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been anything but smooth sailing for the past several years for the cruise line industry. The aftermath of 9/11 hit the travel sector pretty hard. The Norwalk virus last November and December put a damper on a number of trips when more than 1500 passengers got sick, thanks to the flu-like virus. Now the concerns over SARS could be a potential problem.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually we were more concerned about the fact that Royal Caribbean had had a problem with like -- some kind of like terrorist threat or something and like a ship. So that's what we were most concerned about. We really haven't even thought about the SARS thing until you mentioned it.</s>RAMIREZ: But while some passengers may not be thinking about it, the folks at Carnival and Royal Caribbean certainly are. So much so, that they both have a new policy in place. Anyone who is from Toronto or has been there recently, has to get a medical screening before going on board. For those concerned passengers, Royal Caribbean has prepared a statement that says, "guests or crew members who have traveled to or through Toronto, Canada within the 14 days prior to their cruise departure will be subject to additional screening, including a temperature check to determine eligibility to sail."</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am glad that they are taking that, for the safety of the other passengers.</s>RAMIREZ: Anyone with a 100.4 degree Fahrenheit temperature or any of the other symptoms related to SARS won't be setting sail. Royal Caribbean and Carnival, two of the largest cruise lines, are already willing to foot the bill to send those travelers back home. The cruise lines were already taking other precautions, similar to the ones that we saw during the Norwalk outbreak, but this one goes a step further.