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www.thevillagenews.co.za
29 April 2020
Cruise of a lifetime upended by Coronavirus outbreak Writer Hedda Mittner What was supposed to have been a pleasure cruise turned into a deadly voyage for an 86-year-old Hermanus resident, who was quarantined on a cruise liner for several weeks after an outbreak of COVID-19 among its passengers and crew members left them stranded at sea. In a scenario that sounds more like the implausible plot of a nightmarish sci-fi movie, Dorothy Jones not only managed to keep her wits about her, but was finally able to make her way to her son in Ireland, where she has once more been stranded for weeks and still has no idea how or when she will be able to return home. Dorothy’s (mis)adventures started when she booked a ticket on the MS Zaandam, one of Holland America’s luxury cruise liners, for a 31-day trip around South America that started in Buenos Aires on 7 March. According to Dorothy’s son, Barry, who also lives in Hermanus, his mom is a fit and healthy octogenarian and a seasoned traveller. “My wife, Debbie and I had discussed joining my mom on this trip but in the end we didn’t go – fortunately, as it turns out!” Setting off on her own, Dorothy flew from Cape Town to Buenos Aires via London on the same day that the first case of COVID-19 in South Africa was confirmed. At the time no one realised how the spread was about to escalate and engulf the world. The Zaandam departed as planned and the itinerary included stops in Montevideo, Uruguay and the Falkland Islands. “From there we sailed around the southernmost tip of South America and were looking
forward to our next stop at Punta Arenas, near Cape Horn, where we were to spend two days,” says Dorothy. However, only four days into the cruise, on 11 March, the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a pandemic and a ‘no-sail’ order was issued for all cruise ships.
have a few crossword books to keep my mind occupied, but we had no reading material, very limited TV channels – ironically, one of the films that was screened was 'Titanic' – and no form of exercise. All this time I was dying for a cup of tea!” Dorothy recalls.
“The first leg of the Zaandam cruise would have ended in San Antonio, Chile, but I had booked two back-to-back cruises and the second one would have continued on to Florida and concluded there on 7 April. We were advised by the captain that the second leg had to be cancelled and we were all to disembark at the San Antonio port and organise our own flights back home. My son, Barry managed to book me on a flight leaving the following day, but before I could get on it, the Chilean government locked down all the airports. That’s when we were told to all stay on board.”
As the days dragged on for the more than 400 passengers and about 600 crew members, some of whom were seriously ill, frantic arrangements were being made for the Zaandam’s sister ship, the MS Rotterdam, to come to the aid of the stricken vessel. While en route from Mexico to bring the Zaandam much-needed medical supplies and equipment, the news broke that four elderly passengers had already died (at the time they had not been diagnosed and it was later confirmed that three of them had died from COVID-19).
Worst of all, people on the ship were starting to get sick. At first it was mainly crew members who were affected, but within days several passengers also developed symptoms. For those already trapped on the ship, the situation became even direr. “We were placed under quarantine and told to remain in our cabins. We were not allowed to have any contact with other guests or staff until further notice,” says Dorothy. Now unable to dock at any scheduled South American ports, the Zaandam’s captain continued to sail north, destination unknown. “We were completely isolated for two weeks while the ship was out at sea. Food was dropped off outside the cabin door and empty trays left outside for collection. I was grateful to
The Rotterdam’s assignment now included picking up passengers who were well and symptom-free, in order to prevent the disease from spreading further. The rendezvous happened off the coast of Ecuador. “We were packed into the Zaandam’s life rafts and made the choppy ride across to the Rotterdam, where we were once again placed under quarantine in our cabins,” says Dorothy. The sick guests and crew members, and those they had been in close contact with, stayed behind on the Zaandam, with the medical supplies they had received, including COVID-19 testing kits. Dorothy recalls that they languished at sea for another few days while the cruise line company negotiated with Panamanian authorities, including the Ministry of Health, to allow both ships passage through the Panama Canal so that they could continue on to Florida. Special permission for the transit was finally given “for humanitarian reasons” and Dorothy says they had to pass through the canal at night when there were no other ships in the area. The next step was getting authorisation from a body of local authorities to dock in Florida, which the Governor of the state at first refused. “It was only after President Donald Trump intervened, because there were so many American passengers on the ships, that we were allowed to dock at Fort Lauderdale on 2 April,” says Dorothy. Healthy passengers were given permission to disembark, while 14 critically ill passengers and crew members were evacuated to local hospitals (one crew member later died). Those with non-life-threatening symptoms had to remain on the ships in isolation – 90 guests and 143 crew members on board the Zaandam, and 17 passengers on the Rotterdam who had also become infected.
The ill-fated MS Zaandam (left, in the background) and its sister ship, MS Rotterdam, off the coast of Ecuador. PHOTO: Getty Images INSERT (RIGHT): While quarantined at sea, passengers on board the MS Zaandam sent out pleas for help. PHOTO: Reuters
Dorothy Jones with her husband, Ron, shortly before he passed away two years ago. Dorothy is a keen traveller who went on several cruises around the world with Ron. PHOTO: Supplied Although she was back on dry land, Dorothy was still far from home and flights were hastily organised to repatriate over 1 000 passengers. “After a full medical check-up, I was bussed – under police escort – to the airport along with some fellow passengers. Arriving at the airport after a four-hour trip, I discovered that I had been booked on a flight to Frankfurt instead of London, as requested. My luggage had to be retrieved and it was another four-hour trip back to the ship – total mayhem!” The next day Dorothy went through the same exercise again and finally boarded a flight to London, another eight-hour journey. “When I arrived at Heathrow I was unable to fly home on my return ticket as South Africa was in total lockdown. My only other choice was to fly on to Dublin, where my other son, Neal and his wife, Jolinda live. It meant another costly air ticket and another three-hour wait, but I was very relieved to be met at the airport by Neal at 23:00 that night. The final hurdle was trying to get a taxi, to no avail, so we made our way home by bus. There was a beautiful glass of red wine waiting for me, which I so appreciated after three days of travelling!” With strict orders to self-isolate for another 14 days, Dorothy yet again found herself quarantined, this time in Neal and Jolinda’s apartment, prompting Barry to remark that “my mother has been in quarantine for, like, forever!” Desperate to return home to Hermanus, Dorothy has been trying to get on a repatriation flight to South Africa, but says they are “scarcer than hen’s teeth” – not to mention prohibitively expensive. “Many of the South Africans still stranded overseas are simply unable to cover the cost of coming home. Fortunately the SA Embassy in Dublin have been very helpful and I’m currently waiting for a direct flight to Cape Town. The others all fly to Johannesburg, where I would once again – you’ve guessed it – have to be quarantined for 14 days before being allowed to return to Hermanus. And after two months in continuous quarantine… here’s hoping!”
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