Michigan Family Headed Home After Cruise Ship Quarantine

Almost 1,500 passengers and more than 800 crew members have been stuck on a cruise ship in the Pacific Ocean after not being allowed ashore at the majority of their scheduled stops. Though no cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed onboard, many officials at the ports feared the spread of the disease nonetheless.

The Muth family from Onsted, Michigan is among those passengers. Steve Muth said the service has been great, but they’re happy to be headed home after two weeks of being on the ship.

“Once we get back, I'm going to request that we, at least certainly myself, my wife's a nurse, she'll request as well, that we get an official coronavirus test, just to make sure there's no issues," he said. "I want to make sure that there's absolutely no problem with us being out in public.”

Muth told Michigan Public Radio's Stateside Friday that his family’s experience has changed his perspective on how serious the coronavirus is, and the international response to it.

“This is, obviously, a very exceptional situation," he said. "You know from a health perspective, the seriousness of it, what should be the protocol moving forward? I've got some real concerns with countries basically saying we're not going to let you come off the boat because you may have sick people.”

He was particularly surprised that Japan, a longtime ally of the United States, and Guam, a U.S. territory, wouldn’t let passengers come ashore.

The experience won't deter him from taking advantage of the full refund and the free cruise Holland America has promised passengers to make up for the experience, Muth said.

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