Walt Disney puts off Disney Dream cruise, five crew positive for coronavirus

Walt Disney Co postponed its first test cruise since the onset of the global coronavirus pandemic after coronavirus tests provided inconsistent results for five crew members, the company said on Monday, Reuters reports.

Several cruise lines have planned to resume voyages from the United States after many months.

Last weekend, Royal Caribbean Group's Celebrity Edge became the first vessel from a major operator to sail from a U.S. port.

The Disney Dream had been scheduled to set sail on Tuesday.

A Disney Cruise Line spokesperson said routine testing came back with positive results for five of nearly 600 crew members.

All of the five were asymptomatic, had been vaccinated and had tested negative "several times before," the spokesperson said.

They were tested the day after the positive result, by the same lab, and found to be negative, the spokesperson said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention treats the results as positive, which prompted the cancellation of the test cruise, Disney said.

The company did not say when a new sailing would be scheduled.

Royal Caribbean executive Michael Bayley last week said two unvaccinated teenagers had tested positive on its Adventure of the Seas ship, adding that 92 percent of guests were fully vaccinated.