American couple to be stranded in Australia after cruise ship voyage is cut short due to coronavirus

An elderly couple face a perilous 11,000-mile journey back to the US after their cruise ship announced it was cancelling the return leg of their dream round-the-world trip – and ‘dumping’ them in Australia.

There are no cases of coronavirus on board the Holland America Line Amsterdam however the eight-month ‘grand voyage’ is being scrapped half-way through for safety reasons.

Passengers will be forced off Sunday in Perth and left to make their own way home while the 1,380-capacity vessel sails back to Florida’s Fort Lauderdale with just their luggage and the crew onboard.

Bosses have refused all requests to bring even the most elderly and vulnerable people home saying there is no guarantee the Amsterdam will be allowed to dock for food or medicine on the 30-day return trip.

Among those stranded are Karin Bogliolo, 80, and her wife Judy Rickard, 69, who downsized their San Jose, California, home to pay more than $40,000 for their tickets.

The Holland America Line Amsterdam cruise ship canceled its eight-month ‘grand voyage’ half way through the trip for safety reasons

‘She is trying not to get angry and upset but can you imagine how they felt when the captain comes on to announce, your luggage can come with us to Fort Lauderdale but you have to get off in Australia,’ Karin’s daughter Tamsin Mayhead, 53, told DailyMail.com.

‘Physically I think they will be able to make it home, but at what cost? Right now they do not have the virus, nobody on the ship has.

‘But making them all get off and fly halfway around the world will put them at the highest possible risk of getting it.

‘Right now they are in a protected bubble, actually one of the last places on earth that is virus-free. The safest place for them is on that boat.’

The Amsterdam, operated by Seattle, Washington-based Holland America Line, set off from Port Everglades on January 4, when the Coronavirus pandemic was in its infancy, and was due back May 12.

Since then the travel industry has come grinding to a halt, with voyages suspended or scrapped the world over as it became clear how vulnerable packed ships were to devastating outbreaks.

The Amsterdam had already axed its Asian leg, ruling out stops in China and Japan, but was able to visit Brazil, Argentina, Easter Island, Tonga, New Zealand and even Antarctica – the only continent on earth without a confirmed COVID-19 case.

The $400million boat has been at sea for the past 11 days and will arrive in Fremantle, a suburb of Perth on Australia’s west coast, this weekend where passengers will be ordered off.

Flights are still operating from Perth Airport, starting at $682 for economy seats and making at least two stops en route to Fort Lauderdale, with a minimum travel time of nearly 25 hours.

Karin’s daughter told DailyMail.com, ‘Making them all get off and fly halfway around the world will put them at the highest possible risk of getting [the virus]’ Karin is pictured on board the ship with crew

Tamsin has managed to book seats for former publisher Karin, a British-born mom-of-two, grandmother and great grandmother, and Judy a retired American author, whom her mother married in 2011.

But she fears some of the elderly passengers will be stuck in Australia and may never see loved-ones again.

‘They say they care about these people but is it caring just to dump people who are 90 years of age in a strange country half way around the world?’ asked Tamsin, 53, who lives in Guildford, southeast England.

‘Is it caring to dump people who are disabled or in wheelchairs, as some of these people undoubtedly are?

‘It might take some of these people a week to get home, if they are even in a fit state to take a flight. You wonder if some of them will ever get home.

‘It’s just a nightmare situation and I understand it’s not all about Holland America, countries need to show some compassion so the boat can dock when it needs to and bring everyone home safely.’

Holland America Line, a subsidiary of Miami, Florida-based Carnival, the world’s biggest cruise operator, said it was doing everything it could to help passengers get back to Florida.

‘We are fully aware and understand that some of our guests have concerns about air travel from Australia relative to their age and individual health situations,’ the company said in a statement to DailyMail.com.

‘Our senior medical team both onboard and at our headquarters are fully engaged in reviewing the circumstances of the very small number of guests that may require special assistance with their travel planning, in alignment with the International Transport Association (IATA) fitness standards for air travel.’

There are no cases of coronavirus onboard but the ship will not return to Florida as planned, and instead dock in Perth, Australia, Sunday. Judy is pictured onboard in the Pitcairn Islands n the South Pacific 

The Amsterdam set off from Port Everglades on January 4, when the coronavirus was in its infancy, and was due back in Florida on May 12. Karin is pictured in Antartica 

The luxurious Amsterdam, best known for its multi-million dollar on-board art collection, sails around Alaska in the summer while embarking on round the world trips taking in Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, in winter.

The biggest hurdle for the sprawling vessel is finding nations willing to let it dock to resupply, given the number of countries scrambling to close boarders and shut ports.

‘We have no way of predicting when they will open. The journey is estimated to take at least 30 days and will likely encounter additional challenges along the way with provisioning,’ the statement added.

‘Medical capabilities on the ship are limited and are primarily for stabilizing patients before getting them to the nearest shoreside medical facility for evaluation and treatment.

‘In today’s environment we cannot be assured that we would have the ability to do this or be able to access medical support and life-saving services along the remote route.’

Thousands of Americans have been caught up in the chaos as cruise operators canceled voyages or left them marooned on the high seas because of the pandemic.

They make up around 200 of the 1,400 passengers currently stuck on board the Costa Luminosa and barred from going ashore in the Spanish Canary Islands, where the boat is currently anchored.

Dozens more US citizens are among the 609 people trapped on the Silver Shadow, another cruise ship in isolation off Recife, north-east Brazil.

The boat was returning from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Fort Lauderdale when a 78-year-old Canadian tested positive for COVID-19.