The cruise that wasn't and the Corona virus that is

Today we should have been travelling through Iceland’s unique landscapes but, instead, I’ve been looking at empty shelves in my local Sainsbury’s…

The coronavirus alerts were beginning to be felt as I left home last Thursday morning. In fact, the previous evening, on advice from someone well-informed, my Camera Club had determined that there would be no meetings until further notice. We reckoned that would take us at least until the end of April… now it’s looking as though it’ll be quite a lot longer than that.

Parking, luggage drop off and embarkation were easy and by about 2.30 we were happily ensconced in our comfortable cabin after a relaxed lunch in good company with a couple from the Lake District.

We were supposed to sail on the 3pm tide but didn’t. There was an announcement saying we would sail at 11pm and that we should prepare for the emergency drill. We did and it was done by about 5pm.

We were both really shattered: I had had very few hours sleep and was ready to collapse so we didn’t go to the restaurant for dinner but the buffet: relaxed and easy. Good food.

The shows that evening introduced the various performers, speakers and crafters and immediately after we made for the cabin and slept. But before sleep came another announcement – delayed until ‘the late’ tide on Friday.

Breakfast in bed meant a leisurely start to the day . A friend asked if we had a good view so I sent a photo:

After that we went to sample the activities and speakers and then it was lunchtime again – twenty four hours had flown by . It was slightly disconcerting that there was no announcement yet – but they’d said late tide so we didn’t think too much about it.

However, by 2.15 the statement was made: we were asked to disembark at our convenience as the cruise ( like all the others in the company’s programme) was being ‘curtailed’. By 3.30 we were off the ship and making our way home…. We’d actually had a very relaxing and enjoyable 24 hours and fully expect to have enjoyed the days ahead. I had taken very few photos but I remembered one from the previous evening:

which, combined with the morning porthole view gives a reasonable impression of our time aboard:

The decision to drive straight home and not to indulge in a couple of nights enjoying Dorset was quick and easy once we felt the rising panic to get off the ship. And even more so as we have listened to the news since getting home.

On my first trip to the local Waitrose on Saturday I felt a certain amount of deja vu – thinking back to SARS in China in 2003. I was working in Beijing and the shelves were empty. So Sainsbury’s this afternoon did not strike fear in me:

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It simply made me ask why there is a perceived need to stockpile when others also want to eat?