— excerpt from Seattle Times —
Meanwhile, somewhere off the coast of Thailand, Lydia and John Miller of Orcas Island have been walking 10 miles a day around the deck of the Holland America Westerdam, which was refused entry to five ports because of concerns about the coronavirus — even though no onboard cases have been confirmed.
The Millers — who own Pebble Cove Farm, an inn and animal sanctuary — left Singapore Jan. 16 on the cruise line’s “30 Day Far East Discovery Tour,” which was scheduled for stops in Vietnam, Cambodia, Taiwan, Japan, the Phillipines, South Korea and China. They imagined night markets and Buddhist temples, riding in tuk tuks and eating all kinds of new foods.
Even better, the cruise promised “very few sea days,” Lydia Miller said in an interview.
Ten days into the trip, concerns about the coronavirus started to rise when the disembarkation point of Shanghai was changed to Yokohama, Japan.
“Everyone was speculating, sharing rumors, articles read online and news from family and friends,” Lydia Miller said. “Unbeknownst to us, we had entered Dr. Seuss’ ‘The Waiting Place.’ “
In Hong Kong, 1,254 passengers finishing their trip got off and 768 new passengers got on. Hong Kong was designated as a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Watch Level 1, which required only that passengers were up-to-date on all recommended vaccines.
The Millers spent that first day off the boat, exploring Hong Kong, which did not seem affected by the virus — although many people wore masks and there were long lines outside pharmacies to buy more.
Once back on board, they learned there wouldn’t be a second day in Hong Kong, and that the ship was headed to Manila, in the Philippines. But the ship was refused because of concerns about the coronavirus.
The ship was scheduled to have two days in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, but those, too, were canceled when the government there wouldn’t let passengers disembark. The boat sat at the dock for hours.
“We left Kaohsiung that afternoon,” Lydia Miller said, “unaware that it would be our last stop.”
Since then, the ship has been denied entry to ports in Japan and in Bangkok, Thailand, even though there have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus on board. On Wednesday morning, Holland America tweeted that the ship was finally heading for Cambodia, where it has gained approval to let passengers disembark.
“The ship is not in quarantine and we have no reason to believe there are any cases of coronavirus on board the ship,” Holland America spokesperson Sally Andrews said in an earlier statement. “We know this is confusing for our guests and their families and we greatly appreciate their patience.”
Patience is an understatement, Lydia Miller said.
“We are floating on a luxury prison camp,” Miller said.
But the Millers are making the best of it, she said, and are feeling “very thankful” not to be quarantined to their cabin.
“There is definitely a feeling of camaraderie among the passengers,” Lydia Miller said. “We’re all in the same boat, literally.“
