A third Princess cruise ship kept at sea pending virus tests

Thousands of passengers on a third Princess Cruises ship are being kept on board while crew members get tested for COVID-19.

The Caribbean Princess, on a 10-day trip to the Panama Canal, was scheduled to dock in Grand Cayman on Monday.

But the alifornia-based cruise line said it will keep passengers and crew from disembarking, and instead will pick up test kits after notifying the CDC that two crew members had transferred from a Princess ship in California where a guest had tested positive for COVID-19.

These crew members being tested are currently "asymptomatic" and are remaining alone in their rooms out of an abundance of caution" as the ship returns to Fort Lauderdale, the company statement said.

The ship is under a no sail order from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which will require it to remain at anchor off the coast of Florida until further notice, the statement said. It was originally scheduled to return to Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday.

The Regal Princess underwent a similar process, spending most of a day sailing up and down the Florida coast, before finally pulling into Port Everglades late Sunday.

Its passengers finally disembarked after two crew members tested negative for the coronavirus. Those crew members also lacked symptoms, but had come from the Grand Princess in California, where at least 21 people tested positive.

Also Sunday, the US State Department advised against travel on cruise ships, particularly for travelers with underlying health conditions.

The advisory said the CDC has noted an "increased risk of infection of COVID-19 in a cruise ship environment."