A Norwegian Cruise Line ship that arrived in New Orleans Sunday with at least 17 passengers and crew members infected with COVID-19 – one of them identified as possibly the omicron variant – set sail on a new itinerary the same day after increasing on-ship protocols, including requiring guests to be tested twice during the western Caribbean cruise. Guests were also given an option to have their trip refunded.

As for returning passengers, all 3,200 aboard the affected cruise ship, the Norwegian Breakaway, were also subject to testing before disembarking in New Orleans.

On Tuesday the case count had risen to 17, and Norwegian said all were asymptomatic. The possible omicron case was traced to a South African crew member who was immediately isolated.

The ship had departed New Orleans on Nov. 28 and made stops in Belize, Honduras, and Mexico. NCL notes that regular protocols require all guests and crew to be fully vaccinated.

On Sunday, an NCL statement said it was taking the matter “extremely seriously,” adding, “We are testing all individuals on Norwegian Breakaway prior to disembarkation, as well as providing post-exposure and quarantine public health guidance by the (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Any guests who have tested positive for COVID-19 will travel by personal vehicle to their personal residence or self-isolate in accommodations provided by the company.”

Some disembarking passengers told a local TV station in New Orleans that they were notified about the positive cases on the ship, while others said they had no idea about the outbreak until being asked about it by a reporter.

“We didn’t hear of this until we kind of heard you talking a second ago,” said Don Canole, a passenger from North Carolina. “It would have been nice to have known. We would have taken maybe a few more precautions.”

Passengers said they were tested for COVID-19 exposure on Saturday before disembarking Sunday. The cruise line also reportedly gave passengers take-home rapid tests as they left the ship.

The company said no changes to scheduled future sailings on the Norwegian Breakaway are currently planned, and the ship departed again as scheduled on Sunday evening.

Cruise ships were an early source of outbreaks last year at the start of the coronavirus pandemic as some ships were rejected at ports and passengers were forced into quarantine. The CDC issued a no-sail order in March 2020, prompting a standstill that ended last June as cruise ships began to leave US ports with new health and safety requirements.

A CDC report says that 1,359 COVID cases have been reported on US cruises from the end of June through Oct. 21.