Ruhi Çenet was surprised when cruise-ship life carried on as usual aboard the MV Hondius, even after the captain announced the first passenger’s death.
The Turkish travel vlogger had boarded the ship in Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 1 to do a story about one of its stops, Tristan da Cunha, the remote archipelago in the South Atlantic.
It started out as an idyllic trip, with 59 crew attending to the 88 passengers, most of them amateur birdwatchers aged 60 and over, Çenet, who is 35, told Agence France-Presse in an interview.
But things turned strange the morning of April 12, when the ship’s captain announced that a passenger had died.
The 70-year-old Dutch man passed away the day before, the captain can be seen telling passengers in a video Çenet shot.
“I am told by the doctor that we are not infectious,” the captain says in the footage, little realizing that the ship’s British doctor would himself be in serious condition weeks later.
“He said it was due to natural causes,” Çenet recalled in an interview by video link.
“They didn’t even consider the possibility of having such a contagious disease,” he added.
“They didn’t take the problem seriously enough.”
‘Worst-case scenario’
Three of the ship’s passengers have now died, including the first victim’s wife and a German woman.
The World Health Organization says at least five others from the ship have definitely or probably been infected with hantavirus, a rare, potentially deadly respiratory disease.
Çenet said he was startled to see that “everyday life continued” on the ship after the captain’s announcement. His videos show elderly passengers mingling around the buffet table.
“We again kept eating all together… and we didn’t wear any masks,” he said.
To be safe, he and his cameraman decided to self-isolate, he told AFP.
“We didn’t know there was a virus, but we just took precautions,” he said.
A few days later, the ship anchored off Tristan da Cunha for the day.
Cenet remains haunted by that stop, fearing a “worst-case scenario,” he said.
“I wish we did not land there after the first casualty, because along with us, there were a hundred more passengers, and they were interacting with the islanders,” he said.
“This is one of my regrets, because the island is the most remote one, and they don’t have enough medical centers, enough doctors.”
$10,000 trip
Çenet disembarked from the ship in the British overseas territory of Saint Helena on April 24, along with about 20 other passengers.
The next day, he boarded a flight to South Africa.
It was the same one carrying the wife of the first victim.
She died the next day.
“She was in a wheelchair… Her head was down. Apparently, the illness started getting to her,” Çenet said.
He remembered how after her husband’s death, many passengers on the ship had gathered around her to console her.
From South Africa, Çenet and his cameraman returned to İstanbul.
“When we got to Turkey, we were told that as long as we don’t show any symptoms, at this point we don’t have to be quarantined,” he said.
“We are trying to isolate ourselves as much as we can.”
The Hondius, which has been in quarantine off Cape Verde, left its anchorage there on Wednesday for Spain’s Canary Islands.
An acquaintance still on board told Çenet the passengers were now isolated in their cabins and wearing masks.
“I think these kinds of ships should have some sort of a lab or necessary equipment” in case of outbreaks, said Çenet, adding that passengers had paid around $10,000 each for the cruise.
“I think these kinds of amenities are needed,” he said.
“One doctor wasn’t enough.”
© Agence France-Presse