A couple that was stuck on a cruise ship for two weeks at the start of the pandemic – and contracted Covid-19 – are not letting the past stop them from enjoying life as it approaches normalcy.
It was around this time last year that Andrea and Rob Anderson disembarked the MS Zaandam after nearly two weeks quarantined in their cabin. Both of them became infected with the coronavirus aboard the cruise ship but they were still considered the lucky ones – four people died.
Yet the Andersons have already booked another cruise, this time to Alaska.
‘We like to travel. We like to experiences new places,’ Andrea told WLWT. ‘We meet such interesting people and we’re ready to go.’
Her husband shared a similar mentality.
‘We were the very last passengers off a Holland America ship when the pandemic started, and we’ll be the very first ones on, on July 24th,’ said Rob.
The Andersons are fully vaccinated, which ‘has really been the key in getting us to this point,’ Rob added.
Andrea admitted that despite being vaccinated, they remain a bit hesitant, but the new cruise ship protocols have put them more at ease.
‘They’re only booking it at 50%, and there are no interior or ocean view rooms. That was one problem we had,’ Andrea said. ‘We had an ocean view, so we had that one half hour of fresh air in 12 days.’
The cruise ship now requires all guests to have a balcony.
For extra protection, the Andersons plan to pack hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes.
The Andersons had not left southwest Ohio in nine months. They are making up for the time in quarantine by booking not only the Alaska cruise, but also reserving a cruise to Antarctica for next year.
‘I think it basically comes down to the safest thing you can do is cower in your basement for the rest of your life,’ Rob said. ‘But that’s not how we want to live.’
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