Eddy O’Brien, a sound engineer, was stuck in a cruise ship for 130 days. Eddy was working for Royal Caribbean International when the global pandemic began. Over 3,000 passengers were sent back to their home country on March 18th. Unfortunately, cabin crews were not allowed to disembark but instead were quarantined in the cruise ship in the Philippines.
The travel restrictions in a foreign country delayed Eddy’s return to his home land. Cabin crews in the Royal Caribbean tested positive on March 29th and eight more on June 22nd. This affected Eddy’s mental health especially when the only person he interacted with was the person who delivered their food.
After the second outbreak, the cruise ship handed a curfew for the crews. They were stuck in their room from 11 pm to 7 am. The social distance rule suddenly became mandatory on the cruise ship. On July 20th, he finally landed home and safe in Manchester Airport.
Eddy mentioned in BBC News that his priorities were “shoes off, feet up, maybe have a bath and just relax.” So, one can just imagine how relieved he was when he finally reached home.