Felpham couple confined to cabin aboard virus-stricken cruise ship in South America

Grandparents Mary and Ed Hite booked themselves onto the two-week trip after spotting a newspaper advert last year, and said: “It was an expensive but tremendously exciting holiday to look forward to.”

They boarded the Coral Princess cruise ship on March 5 in Santiago, Chile, and spent the next few days at sea heading south – exploring towns along the way and admiring glaciers.

Mrs Hite said: “All was well at first. The ship and crew were very good in every way. We had a great time.”

But before long the pandemic was declared and, following a final excursion onto land at the Falkland Islands, passengers were told they would be heading straight to the nearest port to disembark.

However, as country after country denied access for the ship, days later they were still on board.

The pair packed their suitcases ready to leave three times – but in each instance the plan changed at the last minute.

Despite the uncertainty, Mrs Hite – a painter – said they were still able to enjoy being at sea at first.

“Unlike people at home in lockdown, we still had the run of the ship,” she said.

However that soon changed when they were informed of suspected virus cases on the ship.

“The whole atmosphere changed,” Mrs Hite said. “We were very anxious.”

From April 1, passengers were confined to their cabins, with meals delivered to their door.

Mrs Hite said the experience was ‘pretty emotional’, but praised the staff onboard who ‘couldn’t have been more helpful’ and provided everyone with free Wi-Fi, so that the couple could contact their four sons.

Tragically, they discovered that two other passengers who had become infected with the coronavirus had died.

After five days without leaving their rooms, the ship finally docked at Miami and on April 5, a sheet of paper was slipped under their door confirming that they would be flying home that night.

From their cabin balcony that day, they watched as ambulances pulled up alongside the ship and patients were carried off. “It was really frightening,” Mrs Hite said.

That evening, they boarded a Government chartered 747 Boeing plane and arrived home in Heathrow the next day, which Mrs Hite said was a ‘huge relief’.

Their two-week trip at sea had turned into five – but despite their ordeal, the pair said they would not be put off going on a cruise again sometime in the future.

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