We were supposed to go to Hong Kong but due to the Corona Fiasco thing they closed the port so we had to change everything and schedule to go to Manila Philippines https://twitter.com/powlo42/status/1232302283389591554

Then mid cruise we are told that the next ports are not open for cruises anymore, so all of our stops in Cambodia Vietnam and Taiwan are suspended and we have to prepare everything to go to Malaysia and Thailand instead.

Then after preparing and fixing all of those changes, we are told that actually, the cruise is cancelled, and so are the 3 upcoming cruises... meaning 2 months worth of sailing around Asia (Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, China, Singapore, etc...)

Besides the deception of cancelling all of those excitement places, we have 400+ guests to disembark and send home within 12 hours, when they are supposed to stay an extra 10 days onboard

After restless days & sleepless nights of work to arrange all that (mainly the transfers from my side), all guests are sent home early, more or less upset. The main given reason is the uncertainty of the ports upcoming of calls (that may cancel the call on us) and the rising >

> threat of the #CoronaVirus around the area (South East Asia + Japan)

Now the ship is sailing, empty of guests & half full of crew, to Abu Dhabi, where the next “regular cruise” is supposed to start in 2 months. We have like 10+ days sailing, with 1 stop in Malaysia , 1 in Sri Lanka , 2 stops in India (Cochin & Mumbai) and finally the EAU

Nobody knows who will stay onboard during this period, who will go home, and if so when... we are just “enjoying” an empty ship, with an open pool deck, open restaurants, and events almost every night

And here is the update. Forget about all of what was tweeted previously because a lot of things changed. We went to Penang Malaysia , as scheduled. Ok good. We proceeded to Colombo Sri Lanka, as scheduled, but upon arrival the authorities would not let us go out... we just >

> refilled the tank and that was pretty much it. It was strange to see the ship docked, with no gangway (ramp that ppl use to get on & off the ship).
That means that after days and days at sea, we could not even step outside, on actual land.

After Colombo Sri Lanka , we were supposed to go to India . One day in Cochin, 2 days in Mumbai.
What do you think happened? Of course India closed their ports and we were told to stay at sea, to proceed to the United Arab Emirates where our final destination is.

So we keep adding uninterrupted sea days... we are en route to Abu Dhabi, where we will get in 2 days... but now I’m reading the news and it looks like another disappointment

I will update when I know more !

Soooo.... we made it to the UAE we docked, we got cleared and we we able to go out for a day. Was so nice, we went to a mall to refill a little and have some fresh food...

The same night, we were told that we could not go out anymore, that the ship would be “quarantined” until further notice... we can only go in the terminal, at least... I have another month here, and if they don’t let me out in the city at some point I’ll get craycray

The authorities tested our Italian crew members onboard, to COVID-19, and of course all tests came back negative (we have been at sea for so long, no one got even near a virus for months )

However we are still onboard and denied the access out of the terminal... the port authorities are hopeful that we are going to get the green light to be “cleared” again, because the decision is on the Emirati Authorities (not the port authorities)

Now we have news from our company, about the operations in the near future. Following Princess and Vikings, we are suspending all cruises until mid-April

Still the ship needs to keep running so a minimum of crew members are staying, including me. Supposedly until March 30.

We’ve all been tested (they put a huge cotton bud aaaaaall the way inside your nose...) and we are waiting for the results. Depending on the result we might be allowed ashore... I’m honestly loosing it

All results came back negative, obviously, but the Emirati authorities & ship management still don’t want us t go out as the whole world is quarantined. Makes sense.

Tho we are receiving 20% of our salaries so I’m just making sure I accomplish 20% of the job. Meaning not much

Also I don’t know where I’m going next... the company will fly me somewhere when the airport opens... but I don’t know if Brasil will accept me along with my ♡ or if France will accept me, but not ♡
Let’s see what the future holds !

Little update on what’s happening in beautiful Abu Dhabi... our company came up with the idea to group same nationalities in same ships. Since the planes are not going & airports still closed for the most part, they’re gonna ferry major nationalities directly to their countries

My ship, in Abu Dhabi was chosen for the Indian crew. Since I don’t live in India and it would make things harder for me to be in India, I have been, along with my non-Indian piers, transfered to another ship of the same company I work for. And my original ship already set sail >

> to India
The same thing is happening worldwide. My colleagues stuck on ships in the Bahamas and in LA are being transferred to other ships too, in order to do the same operation.

Of course this is a step forward in order to make things move, but let me tell you that this is stressful. You’ve established your “whole” life and habits/friends on 1 ship for months, and all the sudden, with a 24h notice you need to literally pack everything and move to another

I’m happy the operations could be run throughout now that everything is done. But during the process my anxiety reached record heights! This is not only my company’s doing. Royal Caribbean did the same & a few other companies. This is for the good of everyone, but still stressful

Anyways now I am on a bigger ship, in Dubai (we had a 2h van transfer from Abu Dhabi) and I’m still discovering the ways and venues on this vessel.

I’m still waiting for a flight home, whether it’s Brazil or France I don’t know yet,
OR, in case we don’t get flights, the ship MIGHT set sail to South Africa (to drop the South African crew members) and then make its way to Europe, to drop the Europeans and fly the rest home

It’s still too early to confirm that this will happen but it’s one of the ideas that have been floating around recently. In the meantime I wish y’all a great day, from Starbucks (YES WE HAVE A STARBUCKS ONBOARD )
Xoxo from Dubai