'Get us off this ship': Coral Princess passengers frustrated with disembarkation process

Alan and Sharon Podrid's journey on the Coral Princess cruise ship had been a pleasant one from the get-go – but they said a series of failed disembarkations, lack of communication from the cruise line and illness and death onboard due to coronavirus has turned the trip into a nightmare.

"Get us off this ship, so we can get home and let them deal with these sick people," Alan Podrid, 70, of Marietta, Georgia, told USA TODAY over the phone Monday.

The cruise ship is docked at Port Miami after it was turned away at the nearby South Florida port in Fort Lauderdale.

The Podrids have been quarantined in their approximately 180-square-foot room for six days and are thankful they have a balcony. Both feel healthy, with no fevers or coughs or other common symptoms of the novel coronavirus. They pass the time by watching movies and using their phones.

"It's a struggle," Alan Podrid said.

Disembarkation of the Coral Princess at Port Miami began Saturday. Three passengers from the cruise died, including a 71-year-old man who died in a Miami hospital after waiting four hours to be transferred off the ship.

Princess Cruises said 545 guests disembarked Coral Princess Sunday and 139 guests disembarked Monday morning. There are 274 guests remaining on board.

Sunday, passengers set for flights departing for the United Kingdom, Australia and California got off the ship, but the cruise line has said there will be further delays for the rest of those onboard because of policy changes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC recommends those who get off the ship not travel on commercial flights nor should they share transportation with noncruise guests.

Princes Cruises said Monday's disembarkation prioritized those who departed on a chartered flight to Canada, in addition to chauffeured ground transportation for local Florida residents, all of which was arranged by the cruise line.

Additional domestic charter flights are being coordinated and are scheduled to depart Tuesday. All guests requiring shoreside medical care have been disembarked and are being treated at a facility pre-arranged by Princess Cruises.

John Hutton, 71, of Oak Island, North Carolina, said he and his wife, Katy, 64, would like to rent a car, take a private plane — whatever it takes — to disembark, but so far no luck.

Hutton said he had a medical condition that is getting worse since he was unable to get home for scheduled spinal surgery. He said the pain was manageable in one leg when his doctor cleared him to take the cruise. But unable to return home for the surgery slated March 25, he said the pain has spread to his other leg, making walking difficult.

The retired school teachers said they haven't received any definitive word about when they can disembark, but have been disheartened by seeing a "steady parade" of ambulances pulling up, which they fear are removing ill passengers. He said he has made Princess Cruises aware of his medical situation.

There were 1,898 people on the cruise – 1,020 passengers and 878 crew members – before Saturday.

Podrid said the cruise line offloaded the couple's luggage two days ago to disinfect it, and they have been without their belongings since. They were told to keep two changes of clothes. They were instructed to fill out a health questionnaire and hand it in, and they were under the impression they would then receive their luggage and board coaches. That didn't happen.

"We don't know where we stand right now," Podrid said.

Podrid is used to cruising; this was one of about 45 cruises he's taken over the past decade or so.

He said passengers were notified during the sailing that an unusually high number of people went to the medical center with "virus-type respiratory issues." That didn't concern him.

"It's not uncommon for people to get sick on cruises," he said.

Around March 31, he and his wife heard that about a dozen sick passengers were tested for coronavirus, and several crew members tested positive. Then came the news that two passengers had died and that all passengers were to be quarantined in their cabins.

"I didn't feel that the cruise line had been truthful with us. We had left Buenos Aires and had been sailing for a week or 10 days, and then they decided to notify us of possible coronavirus onboard. They kept telling us that everybody was healthy," Podrid said. "When they told us that two people had passed away, everybody was really saddened, surprised and concerned. I don't think people realized how this virus was transmitted, that people could be asymptomatic."

Paul Nahm said his parents Peter, 71, and Grace, 72, of Syosset, New York, were traveling on the ship and started feeling sick around March 26. Both were tested for the virus. Nahm said his father tested positive and his mother awaits her results.

"Dad's condition was really bad," Paul Nahm said. "But they couldn’t properly treat him because there were other serious cases, people who couldn’t breathe.

"They tried to separate my dad and take him to another room even though my mom was sick, too," he said.

Peter Nahm's condition worsened Sunday night, and he had trouble breathing and speaking. The couple went to the medical center on the ship around 8 p.m., and Peter was sent to the hospital about two hours later, his son said. Grace remains on the boat.

Paul Nahm said his dad's condition has been touch-and-go.

"This virus is terrible," he said.

If Podrid had his way, he'd be on his way to Atlanta by car.

"I can get off; I can rent a car; I can drive it up to Atlanta, which is where I live, and I can be out of here," he said.

The mood on the ship is ever-changing, he said.

"People are upbeat, they're hopeful, but they're scared," Podrid said. They can talk to each other via phones in their rooms. Every day, the story from Princess and the captain changes, he said.

"Every day, my hope seems to wane," he said.

Contributing: Chris Woodyard, Rasha Ali and Morgan Hines, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus: Coral Princess passengers frustrated with disembarkation