Travel in the Time of COVID-19

There was Love in the Time of Cholera – now we have travel (or attempting to) in the time of COVID-19.

Watching this coronavirus wreak havoc on the world from a cruise ship has been a surreal experience. In January, the news came out of China about the virus, and by late January our cruise itinerary changed to eliminate China – disappointing a lot of folks on board who had planned to climb the great wall. They added 2 stops in Japan and one in Vietnam.

Then, in February, as the virus continued to spread throughout Asia and into Europe, more things changed. But onboard, we continued along in our bubble. Traveling to Tahiti, with an overnight in Papeete, our biggest irritation was the rainy season downpours. Then on February 10th- the night before we were to be in Tonga (which was Feb. 12, we missed the 11th since we crossed the date line), the “bing-bong” (bells preceding an announcement over the intercom) stated we all had to fill out health forms and turn them in within a few hours. We did so, but instead of waking in Tonga, another “bing-bong” announced the Tongan Government had shut its ports to cruise ships. We were on our way to Fiji. Fiji also required a health card, which gave us some concern, but their government was satisfied we had not been anywhere with an outbreak, so enjoyed 2 beautiful days in port.

All was as it should have been in New Zealand and Australia. A couple of days after we left Sydney, Australia, they announced a case, and one preceded us in Darwin (March 5th), but neither city was experiencing an outbreak at the time. Then on to Bali, Indonesia – where we filled out health forms and had to do health checks before disembarking – a quick temperature check for all passengers. The Balinese health officials on board cleared us and we loaded into tenders, only to be held up at the port while Balinese security waited for confirmation of the clearance. We bobbed along in the tender in the little bay, watching a disgusting amount of garbage (and a floating dead pig) for 45 minutes until the tender with the officials and the “papers” arrived. After this we had a great day in Bali (March 9th).

Two days later officials came aboard before Lombok (also part of Indonesia), and required a repeat of temperature checks – no problem – check and off the boat. Another lovely day. When we returned to the boat, the “bing-bong” announced we would be staying overnight in Lombok since we would not be able to stop in Surabaya, Indonesia, as planned. We made the best of it by going to the waterfalls we had not been able to go to the day before, down the narrow roads in our car hire for the day – thoroughly annoying our drivers because we wanted to go places much further apart than most – costing a lot in gas. The passengers who walked to the villages a few miles from the port said almost everyone was friendly, but a few locals yelled “coronavirus” at them. COVID-19 had become associated with westerners more than Asians, and we were beginning to see the anxiety among locals. In a way, you can’t blame them, since this area of the world had been decimated by diseases brought in by westerners over the centuries. Then on our way to Semarang on Java, Indonesia.

Friday, March 13th, the health officials arrived on board with the pilot boat requiring temperature checks of all crew and passengers before we could enter the port. After all 1600 of us were checked, the officials loaded back on the pilot boat (already over 3 hours after the time we were supposed to dock) and returned to shore to give us the all clear. We docked four hours after we were supposed to – derailing the planned excursions to the Borobudur Temple – which is the largest Buddhist monument in the world. People who have been there describe spending days wandering the temple grounds, those on the excursion would now be there for an hour. In addition, they docked us next to a cannery – which smelled like sewage as the fish guts were flushed from the building back to the sea. There was a free shuttle into town to the western style shopping mall. The top level had many local dishes. John and I ate gado-gado, lumpia, tea and lamb satay for just over $10US. Unfortunately, we missed the big pharmacy on the first floor where I was going to try to pick up a few supplies, I figured I could grab them in Jakarta the next day. We did find a cool little grocery store where the owner spoke English well and literally gave us a tour of her store. Once back on board – “bing-bong” – we would not be leaving for Jakarta, we would be staying docked (by the cannery) until morning and a “further announcement would be made”.

The boat started sailing – somewhere – slowly (we normally sail between 12 and 15 knots, we were going less than 5) just after dawn. NO announcement. Finally, around 9 AM, came the “bing-bong”. We were heading back to Tilbury, England. Australian and New Zealand passengers could sign up to be transferred to the Vasco de Gama, with whom we would rendez-vous on March 18th, and European passengers from that ship would be brought aboard the Columbus.

Throughout the outbreak thus far, we continued our normal day camp, joking about the Mystery Tour. This announcement finally intruded on our Holiday bubble that what was going on in the world, affecting all of our loved ones, was very real and not some movie or disaster based TV show we could ignore. Those on board who need medications have given a list to the ships doctor who is doing what he can. Those that take medications they can’t get ask me for advice, and I help figure out a way to stretch meds until we can return to England on April 13th (many people had planned to get off in Hong Kong or Singapore – which would have been around March 23rd, so did not have the extra 3 weeks of pills). We now watch the news with more attention as each country tries to get a handle on the virus, how each area isolates and works out “safe social distances”. We have been lucky, there have been no cases on either the Columbus nor on the Vasco de Gama, making us safer than our friends and family back home.

With just over 1000 passengers, the Columbus likely had one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day gatherings on the planet. We sang, we drank, we danced and drank some more. A good, classic St. Patty’s Day, followed by the classic day-after hangover. Not a great thing when at 6AM the tenders lowered (there’s a high pitched whine when the tenders lower along the pulleys and wires) and the 7AM “bing-bong” calling for each of the transferring passengers to go down for their health checks prior to boarding their assigned tender. A lot of us stood on the Promenade while we watched our Aussie and Kiwi friends board a tender and sail to the Vasco de Gama. The ships stayed well off shore – Phuket barely even visible in the distant mist. We stayed at anchor until just after noon on the 19th getting supplies, including medications, from Thailand.

Due to the very slow internet (and since they are now offering the internet free on board – meaning a lot more users and even slower), I cannot post any photos.