PHOENIX — Thousands of workers remain on cruise ships weeks after passengers returned home, and trips were canceled worldwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is slowly approving some American workers’ ability to get off these ships, but one dancer from Arizona says she sees no end in sight.
22-year-old Makenna Madden is a dancer onboard the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas, which has been floating off the shore of Barbados for weeks. She’s worked on cruise ships for nearly three years, but when the CDC issued the first “No Sail Order” on March 14, Madden never expected to continue sailing for the next 50 days.
“It’s crazy, I feel trapped,” Madden told 12 News during a video chat from the ship, adding that the ship itself feels like a “glorified prison.”
Madden has moved to a passenger stateroom with her boyfriend and fellow crew member, Nick Lees of England.
The two described the 50 days they’ve stayed on the ship after passengers disembarked in Miami – describing rapid policy changes that seemed nonsensical.
“When we first let the guests off, it was pretty relaxed. And we had a pool party,” Lees said.
Just days later, the ship placed all crew on isolation. They said that lasted 15 days.
Madden said the crew was also provided masks – but they’ve had to use the same cloth mask for a month.
The two say neither of them have been tested for the coronavirus, and say they’ve been told no one onboard has tested positive.
“We’ve been a clean ship but have been treated as a ship with the virus onboard,” Lees said.
“I know it’s a shock to everyone on the ship… but it could have been handled a lot better.”
The CDC suspended passenger operations in March and continued the suspension in April – but have strict stipulations for crew disembarking and repatriation to their home countries.
In an “attestation” dated April 23, 2020, the CDC requires that cruise lines agree to a litany of protections for crew members and the public, and that failure to abide by the rules could result in fines or even imprisonment for cruise line executives.
The rules include attesting that disembarking crew members:
- will not stay overnight in a hotel before the flight or at any point until they reach their final destination
- will not use public transportation (including taxis or ride-share services) to get to the airport/charter flight
- will not enter the public airport terminal
- will not take commercial aircraft after an initial charter flight
- will not have a transportation layover exceeding 8 hours
- will have no interaction with the public during their travel home or to their new duty station (e.g., rental car companies, restaurants, other public areas, etc.)
Read the CDC policies here: Cruise Ship Crew Member Disembarkations
Still, the CDC reports that they have approved more than 4,000 crew members to disembark industry-wide since April 15 – but only 16 workers onboard Royal Caribbean ships. None from Freedom of the Seas.
“People can’t get off the ship,” Madden said.
Royal Caribbean International has not responded to 12 News’ requests for comment, but in a memo to staff on May 3, Michael Bayley, the president and CEO, laid out a plan for moving crew members to different ships and getting crew members home.
In part, the memo assured the U.S. crew off the coast of Barbados “you should be home no later than May 14.”
The letter also stated more than 9,000 crew members have been able to return home already from around the world, including 398 Americans. However, on April 15, the memo says, the U.S. halted disembarkation for crew members.
“Over the past several days, we have discussed our concern with the CDC on the criminal penalties associated with guaranteeing future events that we had little to no control over,” The memo stated in part. “However, we have decided that the importance of getting you home is so great that we will sign these documents as they are written today to help get you off the ships.”
Still, Madden and Lees said, they’ve learned not to get too excited.
“Nothing was ever set in stone. The thing that we’ve learned is don’t get your hopes up. Don’t get excited,” Lees said.
“This is the fourth time they said that we were going to be sent home,” Madden said. “It’s very frightening.”
“All these crew members are what makes the company what it is,” Madden said. “We are the ones that deliver the best vacation to all the people who come on the ship. They just don’t take that into account.”