Relief Efforts – News from Aboard – [03/17/2020]

Live at 5 and CNN, keep us all abreast
Of breaking stories that contend to make us anxious and depressed
Problems with no answers hang on like some chronic cough
And every day some brand new issue, rears its head to piss you off
[…]
Human spirit needs to be, leavened by a little levity
So take those blues and bounce them off the wall
Keep your humour please
‘Cause don’t you know it’s times like these
That laughing matters most of all
~ Bette Midler

It’s no secret that the world is a pretty scary place right now. But at least with this latest update – I do have (tentatively, because everything about this whole mess is tentative until it actually happens in which case it stops being tentative and something else becomes tentative!)…good news.

This afternoon our Captain made an annoucement ship wide updating the guests on the disembarkation expectations for Florida. In that same annoucement, he also stated that no crew would be disembarking the vessel at that time, only passengers. There are a variety of reasons for this, which I don’t fully understand (I think it’s mostly to do with flights?), but what it means is that I definitely, barring some radical change, can’t leave the ship. Even if I wanted to.

A few hours passed, a few more emails were sent. Because at this point we did not know if Amras was going to be included in the list of people who had to disembark. More than anything, we do not want to be separated at this particularly trying time. Especially not with the situation at the border being so fluid. I was almost having nightmares about him getting stuck on one side and me on the other.

So we were incredibly relieved when our manager came up to us at lunch and told us that she had sent a request to Amras’ boss, and to her boss, requesting that Amras be allowed to remain on board with me. Citing the fact that his wife is required to stay on board, and that we truly feared being kept apart at this time, among other things. She received one single word in response:

“Yes”.

You can imagine what a tremendous relief this is for us. As it stands right now, Amras and I will be among the ones staying here onboard until further notice. We will be fed, protected and cared for and amongst friends and colleagues. Now, please bear in mind that this situation is very very fluid. This could all change, we could get another email tomorrow that alters everything. I think, in truth, we won’t really feel secure until we’re sailing away from Florida! But for right now, we are not going to be counting the teeth on this particular gift horse.

In the meantime, I have volunteered to open up the studio computers to assist people with their flights during an extended daily Q&A. It may not be my most favourite thing to do, but I have 5.5 years of librarian experience where I had to do exactly this for a long time at the end of every cruise, the least I can do is step up and pitch in.

The overall vibe on the ship remains positive but strange. Every department is being handled differently and there is still that sense of no one being quite sure what is going on because there is no universal answer.

We still have no idea how long this entire situation is going to last. No one does. The best we can do is keep all our loved ones informed as much as possible.

Brightest of blessings from the high and confusing seas. Please keep being safe and kind.

(the same disclaimers apply as always, I just didn’t want to type them all again)