LETHBRIDGE, ALTA. -- Evan Herbert of Lethbridge is among 54 Canadians aboard the Emerald Princess cruise ship, waiting for the Canadian government to bring them home. “We are confined to our cabin for 22 hours of the day.”
Crew members are the only ones still aboard the ship, which is currently off the coast of Florida. Passengers were removed March 15, and returned to their home countries. The crew is under isolation to meet Centre for Disease Control standards that allow the cruise ship access ports to fuel and pick up provisions.
Herbert said crew are confined to their 200 square foot cabins with the exception of breakfast, lunch and dinner, when they are allowed 30 minutes for each meal. There are no chairs in the dining room so they have to stand while eating.
Herbert signed a 9-month contract with Holland America Cruise Line last July, and was working as a retail manager on the Nieuw Statendam when the worldwide lockdown went into effect in March. Passengers were removed from the ship March 15, but crew members have not yet been allowed to leave the vessel.
“His feet have not been on the ground for more than 50 days,” said Herbert’s mother Linda, from her home in Fairmont Hot Springs, B.C. “It’s distressing to know that there are all these crew that have been in their rooms for over 30 days, very much in isolation from each other.”
Linda said she appreciates the work being done by Global Affairs Canada, whch has been trying to organize a rescue, but she is also concerned that there doesn’t seem to be a coordinated government effort to bring the crew members home. “There are bottlenecks," she said.
Recently, Herbert, along with other Canadian and American crew members, were transferred to another cruise ship, the Emerald Princess, so it would be more efficient to arrange transportation to their home countries.
A charter was organized for May 5, to have the crew debark at Nassau, Bahamas, but the ship was turned away by local authorities.
Evan expressed his frustration on Facebook, posting “We must not forget Canada is one of the countries that has barred cruise ships from docking in their ports.”
He said what’s happening to cruise line employees is the unintended consequence of the emergency order that was put in place at the beginning of the pandemic. “It was a reasonable order at that time, however, that should not prevent Canadian crew members from repatriating into the country.”
Evan and his mother both say it’s frustrating that governments are starting to reopen the economy, and relax restrictions, while the cruise ship crews remain stranded at sea. “There has been no COVID aboard the Emerald Princess ever,” said Linda, “so it would be nice if they could acknowledge that and let these Canadians and Americans come home.”
There is a possibility the Emerald Princess will be allowed to dock in Florida May 9, but Evan pointed out they heard the same thing before they got to the Bahamas.
Still Evan said he is cautiously optimistic ““I would not be 100 per cent convinced that it’s a go until that morning, when I am rolling my suitcase down the ramp.”
