Table Of Content
For other passengers, the cruise would end on April 7 in Fort Lauderdale, according to guests who spoke to Business Insider. A St. Patrick's Day celebration broke out in the piano lounge of the MS Zaandam, as the Holland America cruise ship drifted along on its uncertain course. The bar's French piano player broke out the handful of Irish tunes he knew offhand while guests clinked glasses of Guinness and shared worries about their loved ones enduring the coronavirus pandemic back at home. Chile had just blocked Zaandam passengers from disembarking, over concerns of a coronavirus outbreak. A mandatory ship-wide temperature-check failed to uncover any signs of fever — a tell-tale symptom of COVID-19. But there are fears that sick, elderly passengers and crew members will be left stranded at sea during a global pandemic, with some on board isolating in small, humid cabins with no natural light or fresh air.
The Silver Shadow is holding passengers in isolation while docked in Brazil
The cruise ship's future remains unclear, and passengers and crew members alike are not sure where or when they will be able to disembark. The situation on board the Zaandam latest instance of the havoc that the COVID-19 outbreak has wrought on the cruise ship industry. Six passengers died after getting caught up in the coronavirus outbreak onboard the Diamond Princess ship in February. A majority of the guests released from the Grand Princess declined to be tested for the disease after a lengthy quarantine. After the Pacific Princess was denied entry at Seychelles and abandoned plans to go to Zanzibar, the cruise liner set sail for Fremantle, Australia.
'Very scary': pleas for safe harbour from stranded cruise ship near Panama
While the Golden Princess has been cleared to set sail for Australia, the remained of its New Zealand itinerary has been canceled, CNN reported. The Coral Princess was due to dock in Buenos Aires on 18 March but is now headed for Florida. So far the cruise ship has only been allowed to disembark passengers from South America; more than a thousand US, Canadian and British citizens, including Bessler’s parents, remain on the ship. The company announced Friday that it plans to offload healthy passengers to the Rotterdam, while keeping ill passengers and those who have been exposed to them aboard the Zaandam.
Watch: 'This is it for me and my children': 3 coronavirus patients share their stories from quarantine
The letter said that the Zaandam crew "had put pressure on the authorities to allow disembarkation within the next two days, however, they are not allowing us to do this without remaining outside the city for at least 14 days." But those with independent travel arrangements were simply advised to "work with your carrier" to book travel from Presidente Carlos Ibanez International Airport for no earlier than 1 p.m on March 16. All guests were offered complimentary transfers from the ship to the airport on a travel plan questionnaire posted in each room. The Zaandam is now anchored off of Valparaiso, Chile, where it is taking on fuel and provisions. A Holland America spokesperson told Business Insider that the ship will set sail again around noon on March 21. "Zaandam is not in quarantine and there are no known or suspected cases of COVID-19 among the 842 guests and 542 crew on board," the spokesperson added.
Stranded Holland America cruise ship where 4 died amid coronavirus outbreak granted Panama Canal passage
Four passengers have died aboard one such vessel, the Holland America cruise ship Zaandam, which has been stranded for days after Chile refused to allow the ship to dock in its original destination of San Antonio on 21 March. And passengers find ways to amuse themselves at sea, like observing the cruise ship's latest delivery of booze. A March 16 letter sent to guests announced that the country had "entered a higher phase of their coronavirus outbreak, and their officials have decided to close all borders by air, land, and sea, as well as their airspace, within the next 48 hours." Like Princess Cruises, Holland America is a subsidiary of cruise industry giant Carnival Corporation. On March 17, the line suspended its global operations for 30 days, citing "port closures and travel restrictions." No Holland America passengers or crew members have tested positive for COVID-19. The Pacific Princess embarked on a 111-day voyage around the world beginning in January.
Watch: How location data can help track and stop the spread of COVID-19
Many on board the Zaandam have only been able to pass messages via Whatsapp or through family members due to poor internet connection. Before passengers are allowed to move to the Rotterdam, which brought supplies and Covid-19 test kits to the stranded boat, travellers are screened for illness but many are not passing the tests. “Cruise ships are often settings for outbreaks of infectious diseases because of their closed environment, contact between travelers from many countries, and crew transfers between ships,” the CDC report concluded.
The Norwegian Jewels is floats in limbo in the Pacific Ocean after being denied docking at two previously scheduled ports. The novel coronavirus has swept the globe, infecting more than 169,000 and claiming the lives of al least 6,500. With alarm about the coronavirus on the rise, the cruise ship industry has been plunged into chaos.
But the pandemic has even led to the un-mooring of outbreak-free cruise ships, where no indications of an outbreak have been detected so far. The story of passengers on board the Holland America ship give a glimpse into what it's like to be trapped on an aimless "mystery cruise" during an international pandemic. As of Thursday, the Guardian had identified five ships in the Americas that were unable to unload nearly 6,000 passengers. At least three other ships were having trouble off the coast of Australia, including one which sought urgent medical attention for an outbreak of respiratory illness.
Cruise Ship Passengers Stranded on African Island. What Happened? - TODAY
Cruise Ship Passengers Stranded on African Island. What Happened?.
Posted: Tue, 02 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
The Guardian was also contacted by an NHS doctor whose mother and aunt are on the Zaandam, who was scared her loved ones were being left “stranded at sea” while she cared for people back in the UK. “People are being screened on the basis of a medical questionnaire and if anyone has had a cough, cold, fever, runny nose, breathing problems, headaches or sore throat within the last 10 days, then they fail the medical. Lots of people are bound to have had non related coughs, colds, etc., during this time, so many are failing the medical,” one woman on board explained.
The cruise liner was scheduled to dock in French Polynesia, Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia. But after being turned away, the ship is headed to American Samoa to refuel, the Guardian reported. "The ship is in quarantine off the port of Castro. The British citizen is in good condition but has tested positive for coronavirus," said Manalich. The Brazilian state of Pernambuco's health secretariat decided on Thursday to keep the ship — with its 318 passengers and 291 crew members — in isolation in the capital of Recife, the agency said in a statement. The MS Braemar was briefly stranded 25 miles South West of Freeport, an area in the Bahamas, after being denied entry at several ports in the Caribbean.
Australian couple stranded by Norwegian Cruise Lines describe 'worst experience of our lives' - New York Post
Australian couple stranded by Norwegian Cruise Lines describe 'worst experience of our lives'.
Posted: Wed, 03 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Holland America said this week it had dispatched support in the form of another cruise ship, the Rotterdam, carrying 611 extra staff, supplies and coronavirus test kits to meet up with the stricken ship. Transport minister Kazuyoshi Akaba later went further and said Japan had asked the cruise ship not to call at the country's ports. However, cruise operator Holland America said last night that 'the ship is not in quarantine and there are no known cases of coronavirus on board'. Now aboard a cruise with no end in sight, Chuck said that the mood on the ship is relatively calm. With the ship heading north, he expressed concerns for passengers not from the United States, like the citizens of Britain, Australia, Canada, and France he met onboard.
From there the ship will head north, and Holland America Line is currently working on finalizing the details for the best place for guests to disembark as soon as possible and return home. Complimentary internet and phone service has been provided for all guests to communicate with their families. "We were allowed to dock at a commercial port for fuel, food, and water but no one could get on or off. Their workers and ours wore masks and stayed apart," Hayden told CNN. The British Foreign Office said they are doing “all they can” to help citizens on board and are in close contact with the cruise operator and authorities in the region. But when contacted by the Guardian, Broward County authorities in Florida said it had not yet received a formal request for docking from Holland America, nor has a plan been worked out with the federal and state health officials.
In a statement on Friday, Holland America Line said that once healthy passengers had been moved to the Rotterdam, the company planned to sail both cruise ships to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, keeping all passengers in isolation on both ships. More than 2,000 people are marooned at sea after four countries denied entry to a cruise ship over coronavirus fears - despite the crew's insistence that there are no virus cases on board. Olsen announced this morning that the cruise was setting sail for Cuba, where guests will be "repatriated back to the UK by air," a statement from the company read. Once all of its cruise ships return home, all of its ocean cruise operations will be suspended until May 23. The Zaandam is carrying hundreds of American, Canadian, Australian and British passengers, and is currently off the coast of Ecuador and seeking permission to dock in Florida. Ports around the globe are turning cruise ships away en masse amid the coronavirus pandemic, leaving thousands of passengers stranded even as some make desperate pleas for help while sickness spreads aboard.
Japanese leader Shinzo Abe yesterday said his country would not allow foreign passengers to disembark, saying there were suspected virus patients on board. Zaandam is not in quarantine and there are no known or suspected cases of COVID-19 among the 1,243 guests and 586 crew on board. Since Sunday evening, the passengers have been ordered to remain in their cabins for the remainder of the journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment