Passengers that were first adrift at sea on the Grand Princess and are now in quarantine told Travel Weekly they are taking it in stride despite frustrations, even declaring that they will cruise again.
But life in post-cruise quarantine off the ship has been challenging. Suzanne Suwanda was one of the passengers on the Grand Princess, which began disembarkation in Oakland on March 10 after circling the waters off San Francisco Bay for several days after 21 people aboard (19 crew and two guests) tested positive for Covid-19.
Suwanda was among the passengers that disembarked and is now at California's Travis Air Force Base under a mandatory 14-day quarantine along with hundreds of other passengers.
In an interview, she said she is in constant contact with friends, but she is frustrated and depressed with life at Travis, which has been difficult. "There's not a place to go to ask for help," she said.
Suwanda started a Facebook page and continues to communicate with other passengers in her hotel on the base. Still, she will keep traveling, and despite how that cruise turned out and her frustrations at being quarantined, she said she will also cruise again.
Suwanda even has advice for Princess on how it can turn the situation into a win: By creating and promoting a new set of guidelines and protocols that will result from this.
"No one needs to stop cruising, because the standards will be so high and transparent passengers will feel confident," she said.
Serena Dion, a resident of the U.K., was also on the Grand Princess for several days when passengers were confined to their cabins. She recounted life onboard during the initial ship quarantine and praised the crew, which she said were "wonderful."
"They were great and brought us everything we needed," she said.
She said the crew did the best they could to keep passengers occupied, sending her and her traveling companion activity kits with games such as mindbender puzzles.
But for them, having a balcony is what made the difference. The two whiled away time on the balcony drinking wine and swapping information with other passengers, eventually making friends with many of them.
"You want that personal contact," she said.