SPOKANE, Wash. – A similar feeling to March 2020 has been creeping in, with cruises in particular being hit hard by the pandemic. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is warning travelers to avoid cruises as the highly transmissible Omicron variant continues to spread.
The CDC recommendation came too late for Jack and Cyndi Donahue, who had planned their tropical trip through Viking Cruises. The Donahue’s say they are fully vaccinated and boosted, and at the time they booked the trip vaccinations across the board were trending up. As a result COVID was trending down.
But as the trip got closer and Omicron emerged as a highly transmissible variant, the Donahue’s said they did have second guesses. The couple tried to cancel, but they said they would lose all the money they put in for what was supposed to be a dream trip. So, Jack and Cyndi embarked on what would turn out to be an unforgettable trip. Unforgettable, because Jack tested positive for COVID on their second day.
“I wasn’t worried about my physical health. I was worried about my mental health,” Jack Donahue said.
Donahue was sequestered to the COVID ward on the ship where he would have to isolate for 10 days without his wife. Cyndi Donahue tested negative for COVID and was free to do all the fun things the couple had planned on doing together.
“But I didn’t,” Cyndi Donahue said. “Because I was scared, even the room service people would bring me my meal, every meal I ate in the cabin because I was scared of getting it [COVID].”
To make things more frustrating for the Donahue’s, they said the CDC isolation guidelines changed during the trip, adding to the confusion as to how long Jack needed to quarantine, and whether he would even be able to get off the boat in time for their flight home.
“It was really scary for him when he got off, he just kind of left the room because no one stopped him,” Cyndi said.
Every step of the way the Donahue’s said they weren’t sure if they would be able to make it home, or if Jack would be stuck in Puerto Rico facing more isolation. In the end, the couple made it back safely, and Jack’s doing just fine.
Donahue like so many others who have been vaccinated and boosted, was asymptomatic the whole time, which only added to the frustration for Jack.
