March 15th, 2020 Day 71 of 128

It’s been another roller coaster of a day. Do we pack, do we book flights, do we book a hotel in Fremantle before they are all booked up…? There are two ship supposed to arrive in Fremantle before us on prematurely ended cruises as well. Such a stressful time. Phone calls to Holland America corporate office, our travel agency and the front desk all tell us to “wait till we are told what to do”. Continuous lessons in waiting, I do not want, but maybe I needed. So at noon the captain announced they are working on resolutions for the passengers and that by this evening we should have some clarification on what the company has decided. Do we have to get off, are they taking us back to Florida, are we going to be quarantined…so many unknowns and piles of speculations by the guests onboard. So we resumed life as possible, we went to crocheting where they told us we have five days to finish any projects we are working on, and then to Sunday brunch. It has become one of our favorite days on the ship. Tiny food, tiny portions, two for one mimosas and lots of variety. And then the next bomb of the week was dropped. Australia’s Prime Minister announced that they are no longer allowing any cruise ships into their ports. So as things stand at this very moment, they cancelled our port of call in Darwin tomorrow. There is supposedly a call with corporate representatives and Australian officials sometime this evening and we will learn of those results tomorrow. I believe they are still trying to ascertain if we can still disembark in Fremantle or not. There are no so many airlines that have cancelled flights to and from Australia; I am prayerful that that does not happen. We have been at sea for three days now, no one is sick on this ship (that we know of), so many passengers are elderly and can not fly for health reasons, and we are so worried about not being let off on U.S. soil, be it Hawaii, Florida or California. We really hope Holland America just decides it is in our best interest to just allow us to sail home, to anywhere in the U.S. I believe it would take a minimum of 14 days to get there, which I would pray would equate to any quarantine required and we could arrive and disembark. So much not known and so many changes in such a short period of time. It is wearing on our nerves, our patience and our peace of mind. I ask you to continue to pray for us as we try so hard to dwell on being in a healthy place where all our basic necessities are being met, which is so much more then many in the states. We are incredibly blessed in this global chaos, as we are safe and healthy. I pray for the girls to understand the alternative reality they are living and to appreciate what we have right here. You are all in our continued prayers and thoughts. We are halfway around the world and missing friends and families immensely. I am with you in spirit and encouraging you all to keep your chins up from across the miles. We got this!! Be kind to on another. To be continued…Love and Hugs, Debra