'A contaminated prison': Scared, angry passengers are trapped on three cruise ships amid coronavirus

[brooklynite]

Source: Fox 61

BAYONNE, N.J. — Concern over possible coronavirus infection has prompted officials to quarantine 12 passengers aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship arriving Friday morning in Bayonne, New Jersey.

The 12 passengers will be tested by officials from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) after the Anthem of the Seas docks at 6 a.m. The passengers, all Chinese nationals, started exhibiting symptoms aboard the ship, which is returning from the Bahamas.

‘A contaminated prison’
It was supposed to be the holiday of a lifetime.

Instead, American couple Kent and Rebecca Frasure found themselves quarantined on a cruise ship, staring at ambulances lined up on land ready to receive the increasing toll of passengers diagnosed with a deadly virus.

On Friday morning, Rebecca, 35, found out she had tested positive for Wuhan coronavirus and had to leave the ship immediately — alone, as her husband Kent, 42, was still apparently uninfected.

Read more: https://fox61.com/2020/02/07/royal-carribbean-ship-docks-in-new-jersey-with-suspected-coronavirus-patients/amp/

[Leghorn21]

1. Damn, I'm so stooopid, I thought that the passengers on these ships would be treated to

extra-fabulous buffets of lobster and chocolate mousse and maybe half-off (or free) drinks...first run movies...the works, eh

“staring at ambulances lined up”

Boy, I sure am sorry for this corona fkn misery,
damn

[Ghost Dog]

4. Feel some pity for the band

Last edited Fri Feb 7, 2020, 02:17 PM - Edit history (1)

that's no doubt required to play on...

Musicians tend to get to see it all.

[Leghorn21]

11. Oh, of course, Dog!!

***may all escape permanent harm*** , truly

[Ghost Dog]

13. .

[pbmus]

35. ....

[ZenDem]

8. Wow.

Last edited Sat Feb 8, 2020, 08:15 AM - Edit history (1)

That's pretty cold. I feel bad for anyone in their position. But, yeah...they must have money so fuck 'em. I wonder if that 'extra-fabulous buffet' will be served in her hospital room.

Edited response:

So, maybe I misunderstood the post I replied to. I read it again, and can't read it differently, so the poster and I speak in different styles and I still see it as a snide remark against the people stuck on the ship. I must be wrong.

HOWEVER...look at the responses to my post that started with "THAT'S PRETTY COLD". How do you misinterpret that to mean that I want these people to suffer if they happen to have money?

Good Lord...now I remember why I left this place. Fuck...look at the damned 'quotes' around 'extra-fabulous buffet'...that didn't give y'all a fucking hint?

Just in case I forget to add this in the future...these apply to any future posts of mine that require them:

[Leghorn21]

12. Wut

My late parents were totally not rich, but took a cruise to Alaska in 1992 and had a great time...my father, a Depression-era farm boy, went berserk over their gorgeous buffet displays, and most of the pictures he took were of that beautiful buffet!!

[ZenDem]

31. Oh...

...I guess I misunderstood your comment, then. It came across as you were saying that these people should be happy they had the opportunity to eat lobster and watch good movies and stop complaining about having to watch ambulances.

My apologies.

I had a couple of friends that saved up for years to take that same cruise for their delayed honeymoon. They went back several years later and took their two young sons. It made such a huge impression on one of them that he (last I heard) was studying to become a forest ranger.

[CagingRain]

34. lol "totally not rich"

but took a cruise to Alaska... lol
That is rich.

[Floyd R. Turbo]

15. "fuck 'em" eh?

[ZenDem]

30. That's the vibe I got...

...from the post I replied to. I guess I've been gone too long and forgot the sarcasm thingy.

[groundloop]

23. That's a pretty unintelligent response, more of what I'd expect from a trumper.

I'm certain there are more than a few of us here on DU who enjoy going on a cruise as a part of our vacation. It's not nearly as pricey as many imagine it to be, otherwise I wouldn't do it because I'm cheap. For us it's a once per year vacation which we save up for throughout the year.

Last year I was able to visit Cuba on a cruise (can't do it now thanks to tRump and Bolton). I'd wanted to visit Cuba to see it for myself, and this was the most convenient way to do it. That was a trip I'll never forget, especially because I was able to talk directly to so many friendly and wonderful Cuban people.

Please, just because you don't want to do something don't go being a jackass to others.

[ZenDem]

32. Read the post above.

Seriously, glad to see that the sarcasm is still lost on DU. I must have misunderstood the post I was responding to.

You could possibly stop being a jackass yourself.

[MH1]

41. If it makes you feel a tiny bit better, I got your meaning immediately

I didn't need the sarcasm thingies.

To be fair, you had already edited when I saw your post, but if the only edit was to add the sarcasm emoji, I don't get why so many people are having trouble with it.

I had a similar reaction to the posts before yours ... but I did assume I must be taking them wrong. When I got to yours I figured you just replied with what I was initially thinking.

I had earlier today, on hearing a news report about one of these ships, thought "wow, how awful to go on a cruise and end up trapped on a death ship". Yeah, "death ship" is hopefully overblown, but if I were trapped on one I think I would be feeling that way.

I'm not a fan of the cruise industry so wouldn't likely be in that situation. But I can't blame other people for enjoying life when they don't know the harms some of these things cause. And, if this virus becomes a real epidemic almost all of us are going to be affected by it. So we'd better think charitably towards those who face it first.

[Mz Pip]

26. People who have some money

Are not your enemy. Good lord, what a crass insensitive remark.

Many people save for years to take a trip like this. 🙄

[ZenDem]

33. Jesus christ...

...read my reply above.

[Mz Pip]

40. You edited your post

All that wasn’t there when I responded. 🙄

[cate94]

2. That sounds horrific.

I wouldn’t want to be on any of those ships- even the one w/o the virus.

[secondwind]

3. Cruise ships are awash in SUPERBUGS....

[mwb970]

5. The whole cruise thing is completely unappealing to me.

Everything about it is basically the opposite of how I like to spend vacation time. But to each his own, said the old lady as she kissed the cow. (I have no idea what this means, but my grandmother used to say it all the time.)

[IronLionZion]

7. About the lady kissing the cow

Your grandmother was poking fun at established cliche's and proverbs that fail in certain situations when taken literally. People kiss their pet dogs and cats, so maybe some old lady kisses her cow.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellerism

[mwb970]

14. Nice!

Thanks for the info. As it happens, I am a big fan of Dickens so I should have known about Wellerisms!

[Warpy]

6. Plague ships

were moored out in the harbor as far away from docks as possible. This is not quite as bad.

It's hard not to feel a bit sorry for these folks, cabins are small and cramped. Likely the husband will leave the ship soon, he's most likely going to come down with it. I don't want to think about what those cruise companies are going to have to shell out to decontaminate their ships. We still don't know how long this thing stays intact when it dries out on surfaces.

[NotHardly]

24. saw a posting in Reddit talking about 9 days alive on dry surfaces... so, there's that

[Warpy]

25. Let's hope there is real science behind that and not wisful thinking

Ordinary disinfectants work on hard surfaces. Upholstery will take a little longer, then. Upholstered items will have to be sprayed down and then dried somehow.

This debacle is likely to shut down cruises in Asia, at least until the virus is no longer spreading as quickly. If they're smart about it, they'll retain crew to disinfect the ship instead of laying them off and having to start from the ground up with new crews when this is over.

[IronLionZion]

9. Viruses spread easily on ships and planes

lots of people in close proximity, nowhere to escape to. At least plane flights are relatively shorter.

I've never had any interest in cruises. It's nice to be on dry land.

[LisaM]

10. I had norovirus once, so I will never go on a cruise.

They're just floating germ bombs (and I'm not a germaphobe). I didn't catch norovirus on a cruise, but there's enough incidences of it on cruises to keep me miles away.

That and the fact that they are really, really, really harmful to the environment.

I do feel sorry for anyone who's trapped in any situation, though.

[blueinredohio]

29. That's why I've never had a desire to go on a cruise. All the horror stories.

[The Mouth]

16. God help anyone who ever tries to quarantine me.

I would much sooner die, and take anyone in the way with me, than ever be contained anywhere. I freak out at any kind of locked door and am completely, violently phobic about being restrained. I once *literally* yanked the whole mechanism out of a door before I knew what I was doing (I barely even remember it, I was only 16) when I somehow was locked in a room. The only question would be how much carnage I caused before they killed me.

My utter, nightmare scenario.

[Blues Heron]

19. They will restrain you

It's that serious. You won't have a choice in the matter.

[The Mouth]

20. No, they will have to kill me

Imagine a highly arachnophobic person. Now dump a big box of spiders on them.

Must avoid cruises going forward.

[ripcord]

38. What if you did develop cornavirus?

What kind of person would be so irresponsible as to possibly infect and maybe kill others out of selfishness?

[SWBTATTReg]

17. And even worse is yet to come...what will they go through in cleaning up the ships afterwards? ...

I can imagine everything being wiped down, disinfected, etc. by thousands of hazard-suited workers (x 3 ships so far)...If 3 ships are impacted now, some of my friends who literally travel on cruise ship to cruise ship (they don't have a home but live on ships year round (I know, go figure) are saying that more than likely, more than 3 ships are infected).

[dewsgirl]

28. Oh yeah, several.

[jeffreyi]

18. Talk about a petri dish...nt

[James48]

21. The latest-

27 Chinese passengers screened, 23 released.

4 sent for further evaluation and formal testing.

Local health calling it "low risk" .

They are releasing all the passenger to go home now.

this according to the Mayor of Bayonne. NJ.

https://twitter.com/DavisForBayonne

[James48]

22. Royal Caribbean to bar Chinese, Hong Kong and Macau passport holders

Cruise lines say- not welcome.


Coronavirus leads Royal Caribbean to bar Chinese, Hong Kong and Macau passport holders
Anyone with a passport from one of those three regions, regardless of when they were last there, won't be allowed to board the cruise ships.

By Elisha Fieldstadt
Royal Caribbean on Friday barred all travelers holding Chinese, Hong Kong or Macau passports from boarding its ships due to concerns over coronavirus.

The ban applies to anyone holding one of those three types of passports regardless of when the person was last in their home regions, the company said in a statement.

Additionally, regardless of nationality, any guest or crew member who has traveled to mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau, or been in contact with someone who has, less than 15 days before boarding won't be allowed to board the company's ships.

more:
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/royal-caribbean-cruise-passengers-n-j-screened-coronavirus-4-taken-n1132266

[GP6971]

27. The restrictions are going industry wide

Link: https://cruising.org/

[muriel_volestrangler]

36. Coronavirus: Thousands on cruise ship allowed to disembark after tests

Thousands of people stuck on a cruise ship in Hong Kong for five days have been allowed to disembark after tests for coronavirus came back negative.

Some 3,600 passengers and crew on the World Dream ship were quarantined amid fears some staff could have contracted the virus on a previous voyage.
...
The World Dream was put in quarantine on Wednesday after it emerged that three passengers who had sailed on a previous voyage were later found to have contracted the virus.

Chief port health officer Leng Yiu-Hong said all crew members - some 1,800 people - had tested negative for coronavirus, and that everyone would be allowed to disembark without the need to self-quarantine after leaving.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-51433079

[WestLosAngelesGal]

37. I haven't been on cruises because I already get seasick

Friends who cruise several times a year have been telling me how much fun I have been missing by not cruising, however, I noticed they always get sick within 2 weeks of returning home from a cruise. Coincidence, perhaps?

[question everything]

39. These are horrible stories. One reported that they had to stay in their cabins for 23 hrs a day

One hour outside like, really, a solitary confinement.

And many, of course, have inside cabins with no windows.

Others are running out of needed medications.