Photo of our cruise ship docked in
Curacao
Living in Florida, there were numerous reports about the cruise industry and the shutdowns, with some ships even being left at sea with passengers onboard because no port wanted to take them. Eventually, all docked and passengers disembarked. What happened to the crew after they were
gone?
Massive amounts of food - provisions - are needed for these ships. Many times, Mitchell and I have disembarked and noticed the long lines of semi-trailers waiting to unload food and supplies for the next voyage.
At the beginning of the shutdown, our cruise ship found itself fully loaded with food and supplies but no passengers. So, what's a cruise ship to do? Share it with the staff and crew.
From
what we learned, the ship's crew were upgraded to passenger's cabins. They dined on the food brought on board and were entertained by the staff. In other words, the staff and crew cruised like the rest of us. Thinking it would only be a brief shutdown, they (and we) all quickly discovered that was not how events would play out.
Part #2. What happened to all of the ship's crew when the cruise lines discovered it would be a long time before passengers would be allowed back on board?
How do you transport thousands of crewmembers - from all different corners of the world - home? I'm glad you
asked.
The way the cruise line handled this was ingenious so stay tuned!