Some crew stranded at sea have allegedly resorted to suicide. This follows the death of a 39-year-old Ukrainian woman who jumped from the Regal Princess outside the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, The Guardian reported.
Another Hungarian shore excursion assistant manager for Carnival Breeze was also found dead in his cabin, reported Crews Center. The 29-year-old did not seem distraught, according to fellow crew members.
One told the publication: “Hungarian crew member onboard the Carnival Breeze, unfortunately, has committed suicide. Depression is striking hard to us on board after a long period of time in isolation on the ships.” (sic).
Another said: “His sail and sign in card was checked and was last used on Wednesday. That was the last time he was seen and that somebody talked with him, and he seemed to be normal. Just the regular quarantine conversations.” (sic).
As some cruise ships cannot disembark and many cabin crew members stuck in small cabins for days, concerns of staff mental health wellbeing have surfaced.
Last week, IOL Travel reported that many hope to get repatriation flights back home amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
Princess Cruises staff member, MaShawn Morton, told CNN Travel: "I'm hoping we don't get forgotten about, to be honest. It seems like nobody cares what's happening to us out here."
He said that it was a stressful period. The information has been changing literally hour by hour, day by day. Not knowing what's happening has been very stressful.” (sic). According to The Guardian, Royal Caribbean revealed that it had an employee assistance programme that crew can contact 24 hours a day.
Carnival Corporation told the publication that it provided a complimentary employee assistance programme that offers services like counselling for staff.
Meanwhile, Cape Town photographer Armand Hough captured a shot of the MS Volendam which arrived in Cape Town.
Hough posted on his Instagram: “The MS Volendam arrives in Cape Town. There has been several cruise liners seen entertaining and leaving the harbor in Cape Town in recent days. At this point the ships are only refueling and stocking supplies for the next leg of their journey.
"Three South African crew members have disembarked and will remain in quarantine for at least two weeks. Many cruise ships are currently sailing the seven seas in the process of repatriating its crew members from all corners of the world. I couldn't find any stats on the situation but I can only imagine the cost of getting these souls to safety.” (sic).
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A post shared by Armand Hough(@thehumansnarrative) on May 13, 2020 at 10:10pm PDT