After much careful planning, Kent Frazer, 42, and his
wife Rebecca, 35, were finally off to Japan. Kent worked for Intel and Rebecca
for a health insurance company. Getting a whole week off is not easy in the
USA. A combination of saved comp offs, working weekends and managing bosses had
allowed them a 15 day luxury cruise around Asia. The cruise brochure called the
Diamond Princess ‘a precious gemstone
on the seas of the world, where day or night, it’s always an adventure.’
The flight to
Tokyo to board the cruise from Yokohama was a small price to pay for the sight
that awaited them. The couple boarded on 20 Jan. The brochure was not lying. This
was a giant ship, the length of three football fields. It had swimming pools, a
track with laps for runners, a small golf course, the Churchill lounge full of
leather chairs for cigar smokers, hot tubs, nightclubs, bars, a cinema theatre;
Japanese, Chinese, American and Italian restaurants, crèches that allowed young
parents some private time, game centers for children, concerts, comedians,
magicians, casinos and art auctions. No matter what your age or family status
was, you were in awe of the choice available. It was a shame some hours needed
to be wasted in sleep. Live music played all the time. Eating was a special
pleasure. Food was available twenty-four hours. The grand buffet included many
French sounding dishes topped by Crème
Brûlée that
the American couple tasted for the first time.
On
25 Jan. when the ship landed at Hong Kong, Kent noticed a few passengers embarking
the ship in masks. There was some talk of a virus in China. But here, on the
ship, they were safe. The mask wearers soon left their masks unworn in the
festive atmosphere on the ship. You take cruise ships to be among people. The Diamond Princess had a crew of 1045 -
all young, and 2666 passengers, many of them pensioners. Kent and Rebecca were
at ease with both groups. On any single day, each of them shook hundreds of
hands.
In
three days time we will be back in Oregon, said Rebecca to Kent, sighing. The
cruise had been exceptional. The ship had visited Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan,
and on 3 February was heading back for Yokohama. The couple was drinking to the
sunset on the upper deck, when on the intercom, they heard the captain’s voice:
“Please be advised. Please be advised that we have been notified by the Hong
Kong public-health authorities that a Hong Kong resident who travelled with us
for five days, and disembarked in Hong Kong on Jan. 25th, has tested
positive for Corona virus on Feb 1st, six days after leaving the
vessel.”
Kent
and Rebecca looked at each other, and raised eyebrows. Why is the captain
bothering to tell us this? (To be continued…)
Ravi
Awaiting anxiously
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