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Passengers on Grand Princess cruise ship stuck in limbo as coronavirus tests done
- The cruise ship will remain off the California coast until passengers and crew complaining of flu-like symptoms can be tested for coronavirus
- Like the Diamond Princess, which was quarantined off Japan last month, the Grand Princess is owned by a unit of cruise operator Carnival Corp
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First, the food buffet was shut down as gloved staff scurried about wiping every surface in sight. Then the ocean liner’s gym, bar, casino and boutiques were closed, with passengers urged to keep to themselves. Finally, they were confined to their staterooms.
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Once the captain announced their vessel may be tainted with coronavirus, Grand Princess cruise ship guests like Kathleen Reid were left with little to do but contemplate the prospect of extended isolation at sea, or worse.
“My first reaction was, ‘Oh, crap. We’re going to be quarantined, and maybe get sick’,” said Reid, 67, a retiree from Granbury, Texas. “We don’t know what’s happening, so we’re just kind of in limbo, waiting.”
Reid, who spoke to Reuters by mobile phone on Thursday, was one of some 2,300 passengers stuck with about 1,100 crew members aboard the Grand Princess, idled off the coast of California in the United States, a day after the ship was denied entry to its home port in San Francisco.
Like the Diamond Princess, the liner held in quarantine off Japan last month, the Grand Princess is owned by a unit of Carnival Corp, the world’s largest cruise operator.
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