Stuck on Cruise Ships During Pandemic, Crews Beg to Go Home

Stuck on Cruise Ships During Pandemic, Crews Beg to Go Home
The cruise ship Ruby Princess floats in the waters of Manila Bay, Philippines on May 7, 2020. Ezra Acayan/Getty Images
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MIAMI—Carolina Vásquez lost track of days and nights, unable to see the sunlight while stuck for two weeks in a windowless cruise ship cabin as a fever took hold of her body.

On the worst night of her encounter with COVID-19, the Chilean woman, a line cook on the Greg Mortimer ship, summoned the strength to take a cold shower fearing the worst: losing consciousness while isolated from others.