The Last Cruise

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

Before we know the consequences of COVID-19 and the many losses incurred by the virus, the cruise ship Diamond Princess became the first big outbreak spot outside of China. And in The Last Cruise, utilizing the footage of guests and crew from the ship, we get that glimpse into the beginning of what would become the pandemic. While now we have more of an understanding of the virus and have access to ways to prevent spread and infection, the Diamond Princess was living in a reality that they weren’t sure when they would be able to go home or avoid getting COVID-19 themselves.

As the passengers and crew members share the beginning of their journey on The Diamond Princess from Yokohama, Japan, there was a sense of fun and adventure. By January 20, 2020, only four confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the world existed. Mark and Jerri Jorgensen, who ran their own in-patient addiction treatment center, wanted to travel and live in the present. Kent and Rebecca Frasure were on their eleventh cruise and even got engaged on a cruise ship. Dede Samsul Fuad was a newly employed dishwasher whose childhood dream was to see the world. Maruja Daya was a pastry chef who was a single mother raising two young children; this money would help sustain her household. We get to know each of these names and their stories, along with others like performer Luke Hefner and couple Cheryl and Paul Molesky. Unbeknownst to them, the worst was only yet to come.

By January 25^th, the United States had its first confirmed case. It wasn’t until February 3^rd, the final night of the cruise, that the captain announced that a Hong Kong resident who had been on the ship for five days had tested positive for the virus. The fun stopped not too long after that announcement as passengers and crew now lived in a new reality. With the boat docked in Yokohama to quarantine, we keep watching to see the numbers rise in confirmed cases as occupants are confined to their rooms and get creative with ways to stay upbeat and busy. The crew continues to work around the clock to deliver meals and service to the passengers, but with less enthusiasm as they too worry about their fate on the ship. The Diamond Princess, which was once a place of joy and celebration, now resembles something out of “The Walking Dead.” Eventually, everyone on the ship will get to disembark, but not without consequence. By the end over 712 people are confirmed COVID-19 cases and fourteen of them result in death.

The story that director Hannah Olson shares with us is a common one during the times at the beginning of the pandemic: uncertainly and fear. And the fear only seems to grow as the passengers and crew share their stories and their own videos from quarantine. Kent Frasure’s recollection of hearing the staff cover the vent on the door to their cabin with paper and duct tape to prevent airborne transmission was unnerving. Eventually, his wife Rebecca was forced to go to the hospital after a positive COVID test, leaving Kent alone in the room with a broken foot and his wheelchair.

Yet the stories from the passengers weren’t the biggest part of the story. The crew that now had to keep the ship running suffered from the virus themselves. Crew members scared to tell anyone that they started feeling sick now infected other crew members that bunked with them. Their footage of an eerily empty ship, coupled with showing how to tell the rooms that had COVID-19 infections, painted a less than pleasant portrait for viewers. In trying to prevent spread amongst guests, the crew’s plight was not brought to light—until now. On March 1^st the last people to be evacuated from the cruise ship were crew members from Indonesia. Even watching that U.S. citizens on the plane that would take them home was a bit of a relief—until they notice that they were on a plane with COVID positive passengers being quarantined behind plastic curtains. In studying what happened on The Diamond Princess, scientists were able to start determining how the virus spread and this, ultimately, led to the guidelines many of us must adhere to today.

The Last Cruise depicts what felt like the end of an era, yet there’s hope. After Jerri Jorgensen was home safe and retelling her story to the camera, she was enthusiastic about getting on her next cruise in May. And while we all know how 2020 ultimately went in the way of cruising around the world, once the tourism industry comes back full force there will be people ready to take their next cruise. The Last Cruise airs March 30^th on HBO.