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Lockdown: Day 61. 
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I work on a cruise ship.https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🚢" title="Ship" aria-label="Emoji: Ship">
I& #39;ve been in quarantine onboard for 61 days. No guests, just crew. No COVID-19 at all.
(Possibly a long, long thread)
I work on a cruise ship.
I& #39;ve been in quarantine onboard for 61 days. No guests, just crew. No COVID-19 at all.
(Possibly a long, long thread)
"Oh wow enjoy it! At least you& #39;re on a cruise ship!"
We haven& #39;t been able to get off the ship for the 61 days that we& #39;ve been onboard.
To me, this cruise ship is as big as your house is for you.
This is my home.
We haven& #39;t been able to get off the ship for the 61 days that we& #39;ve been onboard.
To me, this cruise ship is as big as your house is for you.
This is my home.
This is where I work? where I eat, where I sleep, where I hang out, where I exercise, where I love, where I cry, where I laugh.
There& #39;s about 800 crew onboard.
You& #39;re never alone.
The company& #39;s tried to send us home but there& #39;s a lot of complications with that.
There& #39;s about 800 crew onboard.
You& #39;re never alone.
The company& #39;s tried to send us home but there& #39;s a lot of complications with that.
It& #39;s not companies putting "excuses" to not send us home.
In some cases, like with my company, they& #39;re trying to repatriate us, but it doesn& #39;t depend on just them.
There& #39;s the CDC, there& #39;s our own countries& #39; restrictions.
In some cases, like with my company, they& #39;re trying to repatriate us, but it doesn& #39;t depend on just them.
There& #39;s the CDC, there& #39;s our own countries& #39; restrictions.
In other cases, yes, the companies don& #39;t want to invest their cash in sending their crew home.
I& #39;m blessed to be working for such a great company. They have always (since the first day I started working here five years ago) taken care of us.
No lie. They have and they still do.
I& #39;m blessed to be working for such a great company. They have always (since the first day I started working here five years ago) taken care of us.
No lie. They have and they still do.
Now going back to the "you& #39;re never alone"...
To some, this may be good. A lot of people like hanging out with lots of other people and I understand. It& #39;s their way of coping.
In some other cases, it& #39;s not that "cool".
To some, this may be good. A lot of people like hanging out with lots of other people and I understand. It& #39;s their way of coping.
In some other cases, it& #39;s not that "cool".
When you& #39;re sad, everyone knows you& #39;re sad.
When you& #39;re happy, everyone knows you& #39;re happy.
If something& #39;s bothered you and you reacted to it, rest assured that it& #39;ll be a topic of discussion during dinner for a few crew.
It happens and it will always happen.
When you& #39;re happy, everyone knows you& #39;re happy.
If something& #39;s bothered you and you reacted to it, rest assured that it& #39;ll be a topic of discussion during dinner for a few crew.
It happens and it will always happen.
There& #39;s rumours.
Crew talk about who someone& #39;s going out with, if they got in trouble at work or too drunk, if they& #39;re walking around with a RBF...
A cruise ship is a very small town.
If you& #39;re so chill that nobody knows anything about you, they will make something up.
Crew talk about who someone& #39;s going out with, if they got in trouble at work or too drunk, if they& #39;re walking around with a RBF...
A cruise ship is a very small town.
If you& #39;re so chill that nobody knows anything about you, they will make something up.
And during quarantine it gets even harder.
You& #39;re away from your family, friends and loved ones.
You& #39;ve probably been onboard for 5 or 6 months.
The conditions at home are scary at the moment.
Your contract is expiring soon (or has expired already).
You& #39;re away from your family, friends and loved ones.
You& #39;ve probably been onboard for 5 or 6 months.
The conditions at home are scary at the moment.
Your contract is expiring soon (or has expired already).
Some people in some companies are still under contract and still getting paid. Some others aren& #39;t.
They were "let go".
So they& #39;re not getting any money, and they& #39;re trapped on a cruise ship.
No money.
No family.
No friends.
Away from home.
They were "let go".
So they& #39;re not getting any money, and they& #39;re trapped on a cruise ship.
No money.
No family.
No friends.
Away from home.
Imagine how those people feel.
Doing nothing 24/7.
Nothing but thinking.
Yeah, you can read.
Yeah, you can watch movies.
Yeah, you can try to get a tan and even go to the ship& #39;s pool (if you& #39;re lucky and they& #39;re still open!).
But what if...
Doing nothing 24/7.
Nothing but thinking.
Yeah, you can read.
Yeah, you can watch movies.
Yeah, you can try to get a tan and even go to the ship& #39;s pool (if you& #39;re lucky and they& #39;re still open!).
But what if...
What if you don& #39;t enjoy any of that?
What if you& #39;ve been onboard for such a long time that you& #39;re bored of doing all that?
What if you simply just miss your family and want to be with them?
What if you& #39;ve been onboard for such a long time that you& #39;re bored of doing all that?
What if you simply just miss your family and want to be with them?
We can& #39;t go.
We can& #39;t go home because of the strict regulations the CDC has.
We can& #39;t go home because of the cost of a chartered flight. Or because there& #39;s too many of us.
Or because our country doesn& #39;t think we& #39;re at risk and we don& #39;t qualify for their repatriation programs.
We can& #39;t go home because of the strict regulations the CDC has.
We can& #39;t go home because of the cost of a chartered flight. Or because there& #39;s too many of us.
Or because our country doesn& #39;t think we& #39;re at risk and we don& #39;t qualify for their repatriation programs.
Today, I was talking to someone from my country and how I would like to finally be able to go home.
I& #39;m thankful I& #39;m still on contract, but I go on vacation in two weeks, which means I won& #39;t receive any kind of pay any more.
I& #39;m safe here yeah, I& #39;m healthy.
I& #39;m thankful I& #39;m still on contract, but I go on vacation in two weeks, which means I won& #39;t receive any kind of pay any more.
I& #39;m safe here yeah, I& #39;m healthy.
But at the same time you know what?
My boyfriend was repatriated to his home country.
I& #39;ve been onboard since January.
I miss my family and friends.
I miss home.
My boyfriend was repatriated to his home country.
I& #39;ve been onboard since January.
I miss my family and friends.
I miss home.
I& #39;m not gonna get any money for the remainder of my time onboard - I& #39;ll be on vacation.
The longer it takes me to go home, the longer it& #39;ll be for me to come back to work once the cruise industry reopens.
I wanna be home, make sure my dad is OK. Take care of him and my gran.
The longer it takes me to go home, the longer it& #39;ll be for me to come back to work once the cruise industry reopens.
I wanna be home, make sure my dad is OK. Take care of him and my gran.
Do you know what this fellow citizen told me when I expressed that?
"I& #39;m fine here. Why would I want to go home for anyway? I don& #39;t care."
I smiled and just said "You know what, you& #39;re right. We all have our own priorities set in life "
"I& #39;m fine here. Why would I want to go home for anyway? I don& #39;t care."
I smiled and just said "You know what, you& #39;re right. We all have our own priorities set in life "
It saddened me.
It made me sad that she doesn& #39;t want to be home with her family.
I felt sad for her because how bad of a life or family do you have that you don& #39;t want to spend time with them?
I felt sadder because maybe it& #39;s none of the above and it& #39;s simply selfishness.
It made me sad that she doesn& #39;t want to be home with her family.
I felt sad for her because how bad of a life or family do you have that you don& #39;t want to spend time with them?
I felt sadder because maybe it& #39;s none of the above and it& #39;s simply selfishness.
Why are people so selfish?
It& #39;s that kind of mindset that makes people go out and have meals out or go shopping even when the lockdown is in effect.
It& #39;s people like that who don& #39;t follow a simple rule who will keep spreading the virus.
It& #39;s that kind of mindset that makes people go out and have meals out or go shopping even when the lockdown is in effect.
It& #39;s people like that who don& #39;t follow a simple rule who will keep spreading the virus.
It& #39;s because of that kind of people that there& #39;s been so many deaths, so many fines, so many people who got the virus.
This should be a time to go deep within ourselves.
We& #39;re given a unique opportunity by the Universe to reflect on our ways.
This should be a time to go deep within ourselves.
We& #39;re given a unique opportunity by the Universe to reflect on our ways.
The Universe is giving us a chance to go inward to heal, to better ourselves, to become better humans.
We& #39;re helping the Earth heal.
Let& #39;s keep doing it.
We& #39;re helping the Earth heal.
Let& #39;s keep doing it.
Or let& #39;s start doing it, actually.
If you& #39;re home, enjoy being home.
Enjoy being with your family.
Enjoy the little routines you guys have.
Enjoy the silence. Enjoy the chats.
Because you can have all that.
We can& #39;t.
All you& #39;re living now is what we live every single day of our crew member life.
But alone.
Enjoy being with your family.
Enjoy the little routines you guys have.
Enjoy the silence. Enjoy the chats.
Because you can have all that.
We can& #39;t.
All you& #39;re living now is what we live every single day of our crew member life.
But alone.
You miss your friends, you miss giving your grandchildren a hug, you& #39;re in lockdown with your partner...
I miss my friends.
I miss hugging my gran.
I miss my boyfriend.
I miss my dad and my brother and my niece and my sister in law.
My cousin is pregnant. I& #39;ll miss that too.
I miss my friends.
I miss hugging my gran.
I miss my boyfriend.
I miss my dad and my brother and my niece and my sister in law.
My cousin is pregnant. I& #39;ll miss that too.
Everything you miss is what we miss once we set foot on a cruise ship.
And you& #39;ve only missed it for what, a month? Two?
I& #39;ve been onboard since January.
I& #39;ve been doing this job for 5 years, only being home 2 months a year.
Yeah I chose this job and I don& #39;t regret it.
And you& #39;ve only missed it for what, a month? Two?
I& #39;ve been onboard since January.
I& #39;ve been doing this job for 5 years, only being home 2 months a year.
Yeah I chose this job and I don& #39;t regret it.
