Cruise ships may have bid farewell to its guests, but on some cruise ships, many crew staff wait with bated breath to travel back home. Every year crew staff leave their families and home towns to travel the vast ocean for months on end.
On onboard cruise ships, they spend their time making sure guests are enjoying their experience. Now, many hope to get repatriation flights back home amid the global coronavirus pandemic. Princess Cruises staff member, MaShawn Morton, told CNN Travel that he hopes the crew is not forgotten.
"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.”
Youth director on Holland America's MS Oosterdam Melinda Mann told Inside Edition that she was on the cruise ship for more than 50 days. This made her become “fed up” she attempted to disembark but was stopped by security.
Her efforts did not work as security stopped her. She told the publication that it felt like a ghost town being onboard.
“The lights are turned off, furniture is covered with sheets to keep off the dust and restaurants are roped off. I spend 21 hours a day in my cabin.
"I'm allowed out for three 30-minute meal breaks and, generally, an hour of fresh air or so. I spend most of my day in my cabin,” she said.