Couple on Corona cruise

Scott Co. couple placed in Corona cruise quarantine

Rachael Mount | Contributing Writer

One Scottsburg couple’s 15-night paradisaical voyage to the Hawaiian islands turned into an unexpected month-long stay as their cruise ship became an early hotspot in the United States for the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

On Feb. 21, Jan and Ginny Watterson, the grandparents of Scottsburg High School freshman Rachael Mount and parents of SHS staff member Dr. Shannon Mount, were aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship as the ship set sail from San Francisco, Calif. It was destined to sail to the Hawaiian islands and stop in Mexico for a small excursion; however, a cruise ship passenger acquired an unexpected illness that turned it into an isolated, elongated journey.

The Wattersons arrived in the Hawaiian islands on Feb. 26, after five days out at sea, and they explored the beautiful nature of Maui, Honolulu, Kauai, and Hawaii. They departed Hawaii and experienced “real rough seas” with level eight waves. The next day, cruise officials announced that the ship passengers were in quarantine because 26 people on the ship had fallen ill with COVID-19.

To quarantine, the passengers stayed in their cabins and had room service available to replace public dining. The Wattersons’ room was similar to any ordinary cruise ship room, meaning the room was designed for sleeping not as an apartment. They had a small bathroom, hallway, and a room with a king-size bed. Luckily, the couple had a balcony, and they spent most of their time outside watching the helicopters and naval boats bring resources to the ship. They felt blessed with their balcony on the boat.

“The hardest thing was worrying and wondering about those passengers who were trapped in those inner rooms. At least we could see outside from our balcony and walk around a bit.” Ginny Watterson said.

The cruise staff would knock on the door, and they would have to put on their masks to open the door. Their meals would be sitting outside their door on a tray with nobody there. They saw nobody outside the room for six days. If they needed clean towels or bedding, they would put it outside the door. Later, they would hear a knock and fetch the laundry without seeing anyone.

While under quarantine, the Wattersons said they watched TV, ate, read, and did crossword puzzles. They were able to watch new movies that they would otherwise not have been able to. The pair got through the quarantine by dealing with each issue one minute, one hour, and one day at a time.

“I went to the infirmary to get Jan something for seasickness and met a man there whose wife was very ill, but I never saw her face to face,” Ginny Watterson said.

Their four-hour excursion to Mexico was canceled, and they sailed straight to San Francisco. When they got to San Francisco, their boat could not dock — it circled the ocean for three days until the cruise staff decided what to do. They finally docked at Oakland Commercial Port and started to unload the passengers.

“Out of the 26 that we found out definitely had the virus, 24 of them were crew members that had been on the cruise before it, where the virus started. Only two passengers were sick with it,” Jan Watterson said.

The remaining 3,500 people had to be quarantined for an additional 14 days. They got on a government-chartered jet plane and ended up at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. There, they met Scottsburg alumni, Patrick Lincoln, who is graduating from basic training in the spring. Inside of the Air Force base, officials handed Jan Watterson a new Apple phone to stay in contact with the announcements. The couple had a fenced area that they could walk around in and noticed Homeland Security workers guarding the fenced area.

Each passenger from the cruise ship staying at Lackland was asked a series of medical questions before they were allowed a meal to ensure that no virus was being spread. The room was set up like a small apartment, and they had excellent meals such as steak, fried chicken, roast beef, hamburgers, and Texas barbecue, the Wattersons said. However, the officials were very strict about food contamination.

“ Oe day, I reached out to get my wife a Coke, and they slapped my hand, ‘You can’t touch that’,” Jan Watterson said.

The couple had superb medical services and treatment at Lackland. The military staff would make runs to Walmart to get prescriptions, and they would even do their laundry for them.

“It was an interesting experience,” Ginny Watterson said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Homeland Security workers experienced in disaster relief situations in countries, such as going to Puerto Rico in 2019 to help with extreme hurricane injuries.

“They were not acquainted with handling healthy people,” Jan Watterson said.

“We felt like we had no control over what happened, but we just accepted it and went on,” said Ginny Watterson, when asked how the quarantine made her feel.

They both agreed that the flight home from the Air Force base was the worst part of the experience. The Wattersons were forced to “hurry up and wait” because of airplane troubles and affairs. They enjoyed meeting new people from different places and hearing their interesting stories. The couple mentioned that they look forward to taking another cruise, but a short one with other family members.

The Wattersons arrived home safely; however, they were quarantined to their home. They were tested for COVID-19 when they arrived back in Scottsburg, and the tests came back negative.

“It was just an adventure and that’s the way I look at it. It’s just something that happened, nothing to be mad about,” Jan Watterson said.