David Kirkham and his wife, Norma, are clearly glass-half-full people.
When the Metchosin residents were told on March 22 that they would be confined to their room aboard the cruise ship MS Zaandam for an undetermined amount of time 鈥� the result of a COVID-19 outbreak that killed four passengers on board the Holland America vessel 鈥� they took the bleak news in stride.
鈥淭housands upon thousands of people have it worse off than we do,鈥� Kirkham said Monday, as the couple headed for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on a new ship, the MS Rotterdam, after being transferred Sunday afternoon. 鈥淲hat we have is a giant inconvenience with some uncertainty tacked on to it. We will get home. We can ride this out.鈥�
The two joined about 800 symptom-free fellow passengers on the Rotterdam, while about 450 passengers and crew remained with the MS Zaandam, including their travelling partners, a couple from Sooke, Kirkham said.
Looking back on their journey, the couple had high praise for the crew of the MS Zaandam, which had been anchored on the west side of the Panama Canal since mid-March after reporting nearly 200 passengers and crew were exhibiting flu-like symptoms.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so easy to complain,鈥� Kirkham said. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to remember, the crew is separated from their families. It鈥檚 not just us. You have to think about others who are doing the best they can under these circumstances.鈥�
Passengers from Nanaimo were also among the 248 Canadians on board the MS聽Zaandam, but Kirkham said he was not aware of their whereabouts.
A spokeswoman for Global Affairs sa国际传媒 said Monday no COVID-19 cases have been confirmed among Canadian citizens who were on the MS Zaandam. However, the department has not said how it plans to repatriate the Canadians on board the ships.
The Kirkhams have been ship-bound since March 14. Authorities in South America had initially refused entry to the MS Zaandam, worried that the 2,520聽passengers and crew aboard the vessel posed a significant health risk. Both the MS Rotterdam and MS Zaandam passed through the Panama Canal on Sunday on the way to Fort Lauderdale 鈥� the original landing spot on a month-long vacation for the Kirkhams.
Kirkham said he will have more time to reflect on their highly publicized trip once they return to Metchosin.
鈥淲e are annoyed with some of the social media out there. It鈥檚 a little bit over the top. All it takes is a little bit of extra effort to send a note of appreciation, which we do on our food order, or tell someone on staff that they are doing a good job. The whole world is facing this. It鈥檚 not just the Kirkhams aboard the Rotterdam.鈥�
Holland America, the company that operates the MS Zaandam and MS Rotterdam, said in a statement it is 鈥渟till finalizing the details for where and when鈥� the 2,520 passengers and crew aboard both ships will disembark.
The ships are a few days away from Florida, where the Zaandam was originally scheduled to dock in early April, it said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday he does not want sick passengers to be treated in his state, stressing hospital beds need to be saved for residents and not 鈥渇oreign nationals.鈥�
DeSantis said he wants the cruise line to arrange to have medical personnel dispatched to the ship instead, noting South Florida already has a high and growing number of COVID-19 infections.
The Zaandam left Buenos Aires in Argentina on March 7, before the federal government warned Canadians to stay away from cruise ships. Its passengers have not been on land since they were ashore in Punta Arenas, Chile, on March聽14, Holland America said.
Every port on the Zaandam鈥檚 route shut its doors, including Panama, which would not allow the ship passage through the Panama Canal until sa国际传媒 helped to broker a deal over the weekend.
鈥� With The Canadian Press
