First 6 Days of Daily Life on a Quarantined Ship

Have you ever booked a trip with the thought in mind that I might not make it home when I expect? Usually we might plan for a delay in our airplane arrivals. I don’t know about you, but I only plan one day for any delays and then it is back to life as normal! Well imagine you take a 16 day cruise starting and ending in Tokyo with stops in Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan. On the day you are expecting to dock and disembark, you are told that there was a case of Coronavirus found on the ship. Instead of disembarking, you are quarantined to your room while they do health checks of all 3700 passengers and crew members. After these checks, 10 more cases have been found. It is settled that your cruise ship is being quarantined for 14 days in Yokohama Bay, Japan. Not only is the ship quarantined, but all the passengers are required to stay in their rooms. All food will be brought to them. Can you imagine that? Well, we here at Alpha Omega Family Adventures, are getting an inside scoop on this as we have six family members aboard this ship.

Stay tuned for a blog post about avoiding cabin fever in situations like this, but for now, let’s experience the first 6 days of this quarantine as my Mom experienced it!

Day 0: Finding out about the Quarantine

At 6:30 am the captain made a general announcement that we had docked and the Japanese Health officials had been busy through the night. He also said he would be making another announcement in a while. His voice sounded ominous. We were supposed to be disembarking and catching our flight home, so I was concerned about taking a shower, doing my makeup, and finishing my packing. At 8:00 am, the captain made the announcement that we would be quarantined for a minimum of 14 days and confined to our cabins. We were stunned. Of course our first thoughts were about missing our flights, rescheduling our flights, we almost out of toothpaste, can I do laundry. The gravity of our reality was days away.

So now we were just waiting. As the minutes ticked by, we started getting hungry. Our minds were whirling with questions. Finally at noon, there is a knock at the door. The dining room staff is bringing us food. It looks like the chef was making what he could from what he had. But it is food. A sandwich and fruit will fill us up.

Then we wait again. A crew member brings around bottled water. Room service isn’t answering. Front desk isn’t answering. This is frustrating but the crew must be frantic figuring out how to make this happen. We haven’t heard from the captain since this morning.

Bob called to tell me he has figured out how to make phone calls back home through WiFi, which we now have available. He helps me get my phone set up. This will come in handy because I have four medical appointments set up for next week. We talk a bit more. He describes what has happened at his end of the hall and I tell him about our day. It reminds me of the children’s book, (two sides of an elephant).

Our afternoon passes slowly yet quickly. I unpack our suitcases since we’ll be living here two weeks. No point in rummaging around in our suitcases. About 3 o’clock, lunch arrives. Another sandwich. This time it’s ham and cheese on fresh baked rolls. The kitchen must have gotten busy immediately. We also have some tortilla chips and macaroni salad. More time wondering what’s going to happen.

More time talking to Bob. Sommer calls. We compare what’s been happening. We got a delivery of two 2-liter water bottles.

Looking for ideas to fill our days. Please keep them clean. 😉

So how’s your day going?

This is how ours has been.

Day 1: Settling in for the long haul

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Yesterday was chaotic and unnerving, but it kept our minds busy and the day passed rather quickly. By early evening, I think the captain and crew were getting it together. We pulled up anchor and set out to sea to make water and do “marine maneuvers,” whatever they are. Dinner was served around 6:30 and the captain began working on getting additional medications for those of us who would need more (of our already prescribed medications) for this extended adventure.

This morning we were served breakfast at 7 am, with the coffee cart coming by soon after. We also received a menu card for lunch and dinner. The selections were limited but at least now we get to choose.

Y’all are probably getting more news about this than we are, so please share with us.

A great big thank you to my friends who have volunteered creative ideas to keep our minds busy. They are much appreciated. Keep ‘em coming!

It seems the captain and crew are pulling it together nicely. Some routine in our day should calm spirits. However, without the chaos, we’ll have more time to think about our situation. Please keep all of us – the
healthy-but-stuck as well as the sick and the crew, in your thoughts and prayers.

Day 2: Fresh Air Walkabouts Started

Good news and bad news today

The Japanese Health Authorities cleared the ship to allow walkabouts on the open deck as long as we wear masks and gloves, maintain one meter between passengers, and don’t congregate in large groups. Interior cabin passengers one or two decks at a time for a 90-minute period are released under the watchful eye of Japanese Health employees. Two groups have gone out so far.

The food delivery is improving daily. It is not elegant or buffet choices, but it is balanced and tasty. We get three squares a day and dessert for lunch and dinner. Breakfast is the same for everyone, but we do get a choice of three different meals for lunch and dinner. Alcohol is available to order.

Life on board is not horrible. We have news from four different cable channels. We also have on-demand movies and TV as well as music channels. We brought books to read and Princess provided playing cards, crossword puzzles, and sudoku puzzles for us. We think the worst part is the confinement, especially in our interior cabin.

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Now for the bad news. We got word this morning that 41 more people from our ship have tested positive. You can Google Diamond Princess for other stories, but here is a recent link.

I’m going to try to post updates daily, if you’d like to follow along. Perhaps one of you or your friends have a direct line to President Trump. Please ask him to send an airplane to evacuate the 400+ Americans on board. We’d be glad to quarantine at home. 😂

Day 3: Just Another Day

This quarantine is certainly an adventure. 😷. Hopefully, a once in a lifetime adventure. 😊 But it’s an even bigger adventure for Dan (Mom’s husband). It is beginning to be apparent that he will celebrate his birthday aboard this ship during the quarantine.

We have access to WiFi calling on MY phone and plenty of time to chat, if you’d like to. Best part is it’s free if you turn on your WiFi calling, too. All you have to do is dial my phone number. We are on Tokyo time, which is 17 hours ahead of California, 16 ahead of Phoenix, 15 ahead of Texas, and 14 ahead of North Carolina. Of course, you knew that, didn’t you, Matthew (Dan’s son). 😚

Being locked in this cabin with me for 14 days is pretty special. Right? 😍 I’ve procured some beer for Dan. 🍻 And I’ll order him a delicious dinner. 🥢 🥟🍚🍤🥬. But let’s be honest. I’m rather limited on what I can do to celebrate his big day. 🎉 Help a girl out here. Send him an email, or post on his Facebook page, or best of all, give him a call! I know he’ll be home. 🥳

Day 4: Thermometers Delivered

Oh my goodness, it has been a busy, busy day! Who knew one could be so busy when you can’t leave your room.

Our interior cabin is small, quiet, and dark unless you turn the lights on. When you sink into the feather mattress topper and pillows, our little home becomes a cocoon. We’ve been sleeping well. So well we were awakened with a knock on the door for breakfast delivery.

Breakfast was interesting. We received four foil bags and two glasses of juice. My first thought was, “Surely they didn’t go to McDonald’s for 2700 people.” Inside one bag was an egg, bacon, and tomato sandwich. In the other was a blueberry muffin and two croissants. So different from yesterday.

This morning I have some housekeeping to do before I sit down with my iPad. First, I cleaned up the dishes and put them outside. I also need to do a little laundry. Fortunately I have one baggie of laundry soap left. It’s slow going because the sink is so small. I fill the sink and put my things in.

In the next couple hours, my laundry must wait. A dear friend from California called, the captain made his morning announcement, Dan called Matt, our friends from Arizona called, my brother called (who is also on the ship), another announcement from the captain releasing another group for a walkabout, my niece called, and then lunch was delivered.

Lunch was sooo yummy! Roasted chicken with rice and veggies, and seafood gratin, coleslaw, egg salad, steamed veggies, rice, and chocolate mousse.

Between more announcements, I finished my laundry. Thermometers were delivered to each cabin. We are to monitor our temps and turn ourselves in if it reaches 37.5C, or 99.1F. So now we have masks, gloves, and thermometers.

Bob (Mom’s brother) & Cindy and Sommer (Cindy’s daughter) & Steve we’re allowed to go out on deck today. Even though they have balconies, it was great to get out and stretch their legs.

We will be celebrating Dan’s birthday aboard this cruise ship during our quarantine days. 🎉 Bob and Cindy had a six-pack of Sapporo delivered via room service for him. Today was a sunny day (watching the bridge cam) with a beautiful sunset.

Dinner starts with a Thai beef salad. Quite an appetizer – almost a half pound of delicious beef. We quickly moved onto cioppino-style seafood stew and beef goulash with strawberry cake for dessert.

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Perhaps I’ll read tonight.

Day 5: Special Day

Happy birthday, Dan!! So many birthday greetings and phone calls from our friends and families. Thank you all for the outpouring of love! Nope, no one sent Dan a birthday cake flown in by drone, but at least he enjoyed the Sapporo beer that Bob and Cindy scored for him. 🍻 Dan, I’m so sorry you spent your birthday in captivity, but on the bright side, now you have a new campfire story. 😁 To celebrate your birthday next year, we need to do something special…..maybe a cruise???

We spent the last 24 hours at sea, making water. We docked again at 8 am. What a gorgeous day! Yes, we really do watch the bridge cam. We even got a glimpse of the elusive Mt. Fuji while our neighbor across the hall had their door open as breakfast was being served! Then Cindy posted a picture of Mt. Fuji taken from their balcony.

Breakfast was hard-boiled eggs, fruit, rolls, blueberry muffin, juice, and a delicious strawberry Newton. We were still eating when the captain announced the first walkabout. Thinking we probably not get to go out today, we took our time doing the dishes and getting dressed. I spent some time tidying up. Our little home is so small everything must be in its place.

At noon, the captain announced that our deck would be going outside. What??!! Dan and I hurriedly changed clothes, grabbed our jackets and cameras, and headed out. The policy changed yesterday. We no longer have to wear gloves. The ship has stationed a crew member at each door with a Purell hand sanitizer they are holding and we must use it before going out.

Outside, it is a beautiful sunny day, about 40 degrees. We are able to see Mt. Fuji from the deck. I guess most people were surprised Iike we were because the deck is empty except for about seven people. We took some pictures and started walking. After a few laps, a group of jet skiers came into the harbor, pulled alongside our ship, and treated us to an exhibition of jet ski maneuvers. They were waving up at us. As they motored back and forth, one of the passengers fell off and had to be picked up by one of their own. Their totally unexpected show was a great change of pace for us. Time to come back in. Dan looks puzzled and asks me if I have my room key. I pat my pockets. Umm, no. Do you? Nope. Gosh, we were so surprised and excited to go outside, we locked ourselves out of our cabin. Dan asked the Purell crew member if she could have someone let us in. She asked the room steward “stationed” just inside the hall. He was kind enough to let us in.

The Japanese people are very friendly and kind. They’ve been coming out on their jet skis to entertain us and come by on boats holding encouraging signs, like “Hang in there” and “We’re with you”.

We were back just in time to take off our jackets and lunch was at our door. Timing is everything! Today I’m really hungry. Must be the fresh air. Lunch starts with fried wonton with a sweet marinara sauce. 🥟 Not what we’d be satisfied with in a restaurant but, man, did it taste good. It’s so different than what we’ve had lately. Then we had fish with a tropical salsa and chili con carne over rice, finishing with a chocolate eclair.

Our afternoon was rather mundane – TV, stretching, reading the little newspaper Princess printed for us – until Bob called. He too has been squirreling food away and has secured mayonnaise and pickles. Bob made egg salad out of his supplies in his makeshift kitchen. He is so creative!

It’s time for dinner. Smoked turkey salad, beef stir fry with rice, shrimp stir fry with vegetables and rice, roll, and Black Forest cake (not pictured).

There is a newly created FB page only for quarantined Diamond Princess passengers. Now I am a member and have even more information about the goings-on.

Thank you all for your encouragement and kind words about our adventure and my posts. I cannot tell you how important you are in helping me keep a positive outlook. I’m glad you’re with us on our journey.

Day 6: Still here

Well, we got off to a rocky start this morning. After being awakened by our breakfast delivery yesterday, Dan asked me to set the alarm on my phone. I set it for 6:30 am. Dan went to sleep and I started to work on this report. Then I started receiving texts and FB messages from some of y’all, which I love! As happens at home, I was up until 2-ish. While I was in a deep sleep, my phone made some noise and I reached over to silence it. It was very difficult for me to get up but I did. Normally Dan wakes up with a gentle touch, but today I really had to work at it. Waking was difficult for him as well. But we were both up, brushed our teeth, and got dressed for our “big” day ahead. Breakfast should be here any time. Check!

While straightening up his nightstand, Dan noticed his watch had stopped. I checked the time on my phone. 4:45. Wait, what??? That can’t be right. Well, it is and we’re wide awake. Now what?

We tried to lay down but no luck. At least we were awake when breakfast arrived. 🥴 After we ate, we tried to take a nap. Not too much later, one of our friends called, waking us up. But we were glad for the chance to talk to them.

We made another attempt at a nap but the captain began making announcements. Okay, we give up. No nap for us today.

The knocks on our door continue. My, my, my, we’re popular. 😂 The crew brought us new face masks. Wait until you see them! They also delivered our three meals as well as coffee and water. But, hey, what else do we have to do?

Our captain made the announcement that 70 more passengers tested positive for corona virus and would be taken from the to a hospital. I have to admit, that news hit me hard. I don’t know why, but it did. That is the first time I really felt disheartened. I had a little talk with myself and am better now.

We weren’t able to get out today so I don’t have many pictures to share.

I’m including pictures of our meals. You can enlarge each them to read the description.

Hoping you are all doing well. Thanks for joining us on this adventure!

As you can see, keeping their minds positive and healthy is as important as keeping their physical bodies healthy. According to the current information, they should be able to disembark on February 19th, if all goes smoothly. The current number infected from just the cruise ship is 174, the second largest concentration of Coronavirus outside of China. Passengers on board are asking every to contact the White House, senators, representatives in our behalf – hoping that they can at least be rescued and finish out their quarantine on US soil.

We have also learned something new! Apparently they can receive packages, so we have ordered a few comfort items from Amazon Japan to have it sent to them.

Keep your prayers and positive thoughts coming for my family and everyone else on board this prison of a cruise ship! We keep everyone updated through the Facebook page – if you aren’t a follower, go here.