The cheers of celebration have faded. The waving of roses has ceased. Having finally reached a friendly port willing to accept them after nearly two weeks of uncertainty at sea, hundreds of cruise ship passengers stranded in Cambodia by the new coronavirus outbreak are now simply trying to find a way home.
“It’s a weird feeling to travel and go on a trip and you don’t know when you can come home,” said US citizen Lydia Miller, 55, who is camped out at a hotel in Phnom Penh, waiting to hear how she and her husband might be able to return home.
The MS Westerdam arrived in Cambodia on 13 February, after repeatedly being denied entry to other ports. But the thrill of the moment, has now evaporated for those still facing a logistical nightmare.
Travel options – already limited by the number of airlines serving Cambodia – have been narrowed by a growing list of countries denying entry to passengers from the ship.
“We showed up in a city unexpected and there’s only so many flights a night and we have a lot of people we’re trying to funnel through that system and we’re putting a lot of stress on that system,” said Orlando Ashford, president of the Holland America Line, which operates the Westerdam.
“It’s a math problem: wow many people do you have? How many seats do you have?”
Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those refusing to allow passengers in, making flying to Europe and the Americas difficult. Some airlines, such as Emirates, make a stop in Bangkok before proceeding to hubs such as Dubai, further limiting available flights.
Still, Ashford expressed hope that remaining passengers would be on their way home “in a couple of days”.
The Westerdam, with 2,257 passengers and crew aboard, began letting passengers off on Friday as they found flights home. But that was stopped once news broke that an 83-year-old American woman who had been on the ship and subsequently traveled to Malaysia was found to be carrying the virus. Some 255 passengers and 747 crew members were held on the ship while further testing was conducted.
Cambodia’s ministry of health said on Wednesday that all the tests came back negative and that all passengers were reported to be healthy and fever-free. After that, remaining passengers were allowed off the ship.
Tony Martin-Vegue, whose wife, Christina Kerby, remains in Phnom Penh, began immediately preparing for her return home to California’s Bay Area once she got off the ship. Now he’s not sure when that might happen.
“It’s kind of limbo right now,” he said. “I’m worried about how she’s going to get home.”
Kerby said “jubilation and relief” of reaching land has given way to the realization she doesn’t know when she’ll return home.
“As the days go on I just feel like the probability of getting her home soon seems to be shrinking as the disease spreads and governments are continuing to react to it,” Martin-Vegue said.