Cruise control

“Cruise ship’s maiden voyage delayed after 8 crew test positive” (June 17) misses a key item of interest to Jerusalem Post readers: that the ship identified in the piece, the Odyssey of the Seas, was supposed to have had its inaugural season out of Haifa (and not Fort Lauderdale as stated) starting on June 2.

Royal Caribbean made the plan only for residents of Israel who had the Green Passport or who had recovered from the virus, but with the proviso that all crew members were fully inoculated. The company’s plan, identified later, was that the State of Israel would take care of this, but the Health Ministry declined for some reason.

The cruise ship sailed out of Haifa on May 7 with no vaccinated crew, with the company canceling the entire season in Israel a week later. They disingenuously blamed the cancellations on “the conflict” (rockets from Hamas), forgetting the fact that the ship left Israel before the conflict started, and with no possibility of having the crew vaccinated in time for the ship’s first departure.

Can Israelis be forgiven for having a slight sense of schadenfreude (gloating over the misfortunes of others)? NAME WITHHELD PENDING A CASH REFUND

Ra’anana