Welcome Aboard And House Rules

Speaker 0:06

Cruise ships promise relaxation, luxury, and absolutely nothing going wrong. But every year people disappear, accidents happen, and the official explanation somehow never gets simpler. This is Cruise Ship Killer. A podcast where we examine real cruise ship deaths, disappearances, and mishaps, with skepticism, dark humor, and zero interest in becoming a maritime detective. We're not here to accuse. We're here to ask, does any of this actually make sense? Welcome aboard. Hello everyone. Welcome to another edition of Cruise Ship Killer. I'm Geoff.

Speaker 1 0:44

And I'm Kathy.

Speaker 0:44

Hi, Kathy.

Speaker 1 0:45

Hi, Geoff.

Speaker 0:46

Can I say something before we start the show?

Speaker 1 0:49

Absolutely not.

Speaker 0:51

Okay, that's how it starts. So people who are listening, if you don't have a neighbor who's willing to do a podcast with you, you're missing out. Because this is so fun to do. And I have to say, Kathy, you guys don't know who Kathy is, but I do. But at the comfort of a tap with a beer. So you don't know that. But I know Kathy, and Kathy does so much homework on these shows, it is just really fun to watch. And she inspires me to do my homework. But I am not nearly as good as she is. Anyway, okay, Kathy.

Speaker 1 1:27

I feel like I'm spending way too much time on the homework.

Speaker 1:31

Yes, I know. I've heard.

Speaker 1 1:33

Uh okay. So before we talk about this episode, I wanted to say the last episode, episode eight, was on the George Smith Overboard. And we started a little drinking game where we throw out a word, which was honeymoon. And I guess we said the word honeymoon nine times. So for those of you who are playing along, I'm not sure if you made it to the end of the podcast, but you better have the unlimited drink package. True. The drinking word is quarantine. So this week we're gonna talk about the Hantavirus cruise.

Speaker 2:16

Hanta.

Speaker 1 2:17

Hanta. Which Hanta. You know, there's an Norovirus, there's COVID cruises. I never expected we'd be having a Hantavirus cruise.

Speaker 2:27

Did you even look up the word Hanta? The source of the word Hanta? I did not.

Speaker 1 2:32

Oh no.

Speaker 2:33

Okay. You would have thought that one of us would have said, where the heck did Hanta come from?

Speaker 1 2:38

Isn't it a Native American word though?

Speaker 2:41

I don't know.

Speaker 1 2:42

Oh.

Speaker 2:43

It's a good question. But we do know that this virus, you're talking about the the ship that has been affected, right? Yes. In the news. That's what we're going to talk about. Yes. So that boat, that virus is really called the Andes virus. I mean, it's I guess it's a Hantavirus strain. This is called the Andes virus. The Andes edition. It is the Andes edition. Yeah. Because it's it's isolated to Argentina and Chile primarily. That's where it's been showing up. Anyway, okay. You want to talk about the boat? I almost said the boat. Okay, there is a boat on the ship. So technically, I'm right.

Speaker 2 3:23

Sure.

unknown 3:23

Okay.

Expedition Ship And Route Basics

Speaker 3:25

So do you know anything about this boat? You probably ship. You don't. You don't know anything about the ship.

Speaker 1 3:31

I'd say it's smaller, smaller sized one. You know, I've never been on one that small.

Speaker 3:37

It is. It is because this is a oceanwide expeditions, which is a Dutch company, cruise line, right? And they really specialize in these kind of oh, what do you call them? Specialized, what do you want to call it? Come on. Excursions, uh, adventures, you know. This is not an entertainment cruise. You're not gonna casino it and disco it. You know, you're gonna hit the land. It's kind of like drop you off.

Speaker 1 4:05

National Geographic cruise, right?

Speaker 4:07

Mm-hmm.

Speaker 1 4:08

Yeah.

Speaker 4:08

Absolutely. So so it's uh uh a ship that's 353 feet, 170 passengers, 80 cabins. Um they have 57 crew members, uh 13 expedition guides, according to my research, and one doctor. So that's important. One doctor. You know, I don't know the doctor's name.

Speaker 1 4:31

I don't either, but they might want to have 13 doctors after that cruise. And maybe one expedition guide on the next one.

Speaker 4:39

We really need to. I mean, I really wish I had dug in on who the doctor was. Like, was this someone fresh out of medical school? Was this someone who just has been on the boat for a while, ship on a while? Oh wow, okay. Anyway, it's a polar class six, meaning that this ship is designed to break ice. So it's an Antarctic, Arctic expedition kind of kind of ship. Entered service in 2019. And um it's important to note that the ship was not sailing at full capacity during this outbreak.

Speaker 1 5:12

Oh, I did not know that.

Speaker 5:13

Right. So they this is a 40-day cruise leaving. I'm gonna butcher this name of this town, and all those Argentines are gonna come after me. Ushua? Ushua? Ushua? Ushua? Ushaya? Ushua. Uh that's even that's probably more appropriate. But anyway, departed April 1st. And uh again, 40-day. Basically, the focus was wildlife, seabirds, marine animals, the whole nine yards, right? So uh this was really looking at remote island ecosystems. And all really, this is all excursion-based kinds of activities. So they basically started in Argentina and then would in in this case they ended in the Canary Islands because of the events that unfolded, right? So uh anyway, so these you know, when you take these expeditions, have you you've gone on one before? No, no, no, not this, not this boat or ship. I keep saying I'm gonna say boat till I die, I think.

Speaker 1 6:20

Expedition, or you mean an excursion? Yeah, an excursion.

Speaker 6:23

Okay, yes, I'm sorry, an excursion. I'm so focused on being on an isolated island right now. Okay, go ahead.

Speaker 1 6:29

Yeah, no, I mean I've been on excursions.

unknown 6:33

Right.

Speaker 6:33

Have you ever taken a zodiac on an excursion? No. No, no, no. The worst was when we were on that excursion to uh Cabo in the hull of that boat, and that was a boat, not a ship. Do you remember that?

Speaker 1 6:49

Yeah, those that's when you uh tender at sea and they break the little boats off and take you in and out.

Speaker 6:55

Yeah, and you had enough tequila where you were like, that window's really small. And I'm like, yeah, that's right, hold it.

Speaker 1 7:01

Definitely needed some air up front.

Speaker 7:05

All right, so anyway, so that's the facts of this ship that where this Hantavirus outbreak occurred. So they left. You want to go through the timeline?

Speaker 1 7:16

Sure.

Speaker 7:17

All right.

Deaths, Ports, And Quarantine Timeline

Speaker 1 7:18

So they left April 1st out of Argentina. Uh April 6th, uh 70-year-old Dutch passenger became ill with, I guess, the symptoms fever, headache, gastrointestinal issues, respiratory distress. And then April 11th, the Dutch man dies after his condition progressed to acute respiratory distress. Um April 24th, stops in St. Helena in South Atlantic to offload the deceased passenger. His wife and two uh two other dozen passengers also disembark. And then April 26th, his widow dies after collapsing at a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa. May 2nd, a female German passenger on the cruise dies as health authorities receive a positive hontivirus test from a critically ill British passenger who was evacuated. That British passenger, I believe, is still in the hospital too. Uh May 3rd, ship arrives in Cape Verde. Local authorities restrict passenger disembarkation over infection fears, so they won't let them off the ship. May 4th, the WHO confirms cluster was caused by Andes Hontavirus, a rare strain originating in South America that can spread between humans. May 6th, seriously ill patients, including the ship doctor, who also got out that was airlifted to specialized hospitals in Europe.

Speaker 9:00

So can I stop you there for a minute? Sure. So that what was the date that the ship doctor also came down with symptoms?

Speaker 1 9:09

Well, it says May 6th.

Speaker 9:10

Right, May 6th. So, and that's the ship doctor. So there is a doctor on board named Dr. Steven Kornfeld, an oncologist from Bend, Oregon.

Speaker 1 9:20

Oh, Bend.

Speaker 9:21

Yes. So the ship's doctor goes ill. He steps up to kind of fill the gap. That's impressive.

Speaker 1 9:30

Yes.

Speaker 9:31

I don't know what happened to him, but um he certainly was exposed and then apparently was part of the group that eventually got quarantined.

Speaker 1 9:44

He would have to be, yeah. They all did. Yeah.

Speaker 9:47

Yeah, they all did. All right, go on. Sorry.

Speaker 1 9:48

So May 10th, the ship anchors off Tenerife Spain, uh, where orderly disembarkation and global reparation flights commenced for the remaining travelers. And then mid-May, by the end of the quarantine, the WHO reports seven confirmed cases of the virus across multiple countries, resulting in three deaths. So I know there was 18 Americans that came back to quarantine. And um I think May 31st was the last day that they had to stay uh in that center in Nebraska, and then everybody was given the opportunity to go home and self-quarantine for the rest of the time, which is like 42 days total.

Speaker 10:31

So this is interesting, right? 40-day cruise. They leave April 1st. Several, I don't know how many passengers, but many of the passengers that have already been spending time in Argentina.

Speaker 1 10:48

Yes.

Speaker 10:49

They so they're all coming from different countries. How many countries?

Speaker 1 10:53

I think 23. 23 different countries.

Speaker 10:56

No kidding. So they all get on, and the incubation period for the Andes virus is like two to four weeks, from what I understand.

Speaker 1 11:07

Yes, and then I think the beginning stage is like three to ten days. So I think that's why the couple that died first, that's about right when even when they started feeling ill when they got on.

Speaker 11:20

Right, and one of the passengers after that gentleman passed, had stated that they were consoling the widow, who eventually got ill and died. And they were all giving her hugs and whole nine yards. So they're on this petri dish, and it's talk about an experiment. So there's two things. So this gets so what you're saying, May 2nd, who's notified? World Health Organization, who is notified? Or they re they report positively that there's been an outbreak occurring on this boat. Ship. Jeez, man. I'm gonna say boat, I swear to God. I'm gonna say boat. If that's the word of the day, you people are drunk. You're already drunk. Yeah. You can stop listening with that. I can't be the word of the day. Yeah, just ignore what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 12:12

Drink responsibly. Yes. Pick a different word.

Speaker 12:14

Yes, if you're listening this while you're driving to work, not. Anyway, so so they're so they report on May 2nd. You said that people left the ship.

unknown 12:28

I caught myself.

Speaker 12:29

Left the ship before that happened, before they knew that there was an outbreak. And there was like a good number of passengers. There were 88 total passengers that started this cruise. A chunk of them left, right?

Speaker 1 12:44

Yeah, two dozen got off.

Speaker 12:47

So now they're so now, so here are the who the who gets when that, oh my gosh, there's an outbreak of this Hanta virus. A virus that is transmitted uh human to human. It's rare, it does happen. It's known. When you heard this story, did you think immediately about COVID? Were you thinking like, oh crap, here we go again?

Speaker 1 13:11

A little since we since we were on the ship.

Speaker 13:17

Since you're still wearing your mask? No. Is that not? Oh, okay. I just thought you were just practicing.

Speaker 1 13:22

We had just gotten off our ship when the whole COVID thing started. You know, that's a whole different story.

Speaker 13:28

Yeah. The fleeing down the gangway. Yeah, the COVID run. That was the first COVID. I think we were the first COVID run.

Speaker 1 13:36

Maybe.

Speaker 13:36

All right, anyway.

Speaker 1 13:37

Maybe.

Speaker 13:38

So you did think about it though.

Andes Hantavirus Transmission Fears

Speaker 1 13:40

Yes.

Speaker 13:40

I think everybody did. I think that's why it made such such big news. Is that the immediate jump to conclusion was, oh my gosh, here we go again. Now we have now we're in the southwest. So you remember, I don't even know what strain of the hontavirus it is in the southwest here, but in the Four Corners region of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado, there was a hontavirus outbreak in '93. Bull in that one. I it was in the 90s, I know that. Yeah. And there was a big scare because that was suddenly getting transmitted. So maybe people don't understand how the hontavirus or this virus actually moves about, but it's moved about through rodents. So if it's, you know, for the rodents kind of the reservoir, the carrier of that, and um, you know, in its droppings, you can spread by somebody sweeping a floor and kicks up the stuff that gets into your lungs and it's off to the races. And then once you become infected with it, it's hard to detect that you have it. The sooner you detect it, the better, because what it goes after is it suddenly attacks the blood vessels and makes the blood vessels essentially really permeable, leaky. And as soon as it gets into the lungs, those capillaries in the lungs start to leak, and guess what? You've got fluid in the lungs. So it's a that's where the what is it, the um oh the sur what is it, the death rate or uh survival rate, 25%, 20 to 25, 50, 40 percent, I think, survival rate, something like that.

Speaker 1 15:27

Yeah, it's probably low because it's it's it's horrible.

Speaker 15:29

Yeah, it's horrible. And and apparently you there's always nothing you can do. It's not like you can get a COVID shot for it or anything like that. You know, there's just supportive care. So it's really, really horrible. So this happens, they leave some people left who suddenly realize uh-oh.

Speaker 1 15:45

Yeah, they gotta track down these people now wherever they went. But also, the uh you know, the British man I talked about, he's still he's still in the hospital, pretty sick, and then there was an a French passenger lady who's also still in critical condition in Paris somewhere, but uh when she docked and got off, I guess the European disease control you know division was there, and she, you know, wasn't feeling well, and they told her, no, your symptoms you know are not contavirus symptoms, so it's probably stress and anxiety of being on this ship. Um and so she she's she's in the hospital now and she does have it. And so since they told her that wasn't it, they've uh tracked 22 contacts tied to her since she got sick because you know she was like, Oh, I don't have it, so she I guess was around people.

Speaker 16:48

So my understanding is that like this is known human-human transmission for this particular virus. It's known, this is not news. But what I've understood is that the biggest concern was has this thing changed and suddenly become a lot better at moving from human to human? That was the big alarm bell. And I guess having it happen on this little floating incubator was a challenge in and of itself because everybody's come from all sorts of different countries, right? And then we dumped people off. Now we've got a real problem, right? Because now they're all scattered about. And if this thing has changed and it suddenly is transmittable very effectively, like COVID, uh oh, here we go again.

Speaker 1 17:36

Right.

Speaker 17:37

So I think there's some truth to the fear.

Speaker 1 17:39

I think I read, you know, coughing, sneezing, bodily fluids, so yeah. Coughing and sneezing, then you're done for it.

Speaker 17:48

That's how it's gonna I I you know, I was on a plane on one of my trips, and uh yeah, I ended up having a hack attack, you know, coughing like crazy. I I immediately, the first cough that came out of my mouth was thinking, oh great. Everyone within actually the whole every passenger in this plane is thinking, who is hacking up a lung right now? And does this person have the next version of COVID? Yeah. Right? Yeah. I mean, that you can't be a human on the planet now when you cough, go, oh, great, I just made five people in the room nervous.

Speaker 1 18:24

Yeah. Yeah, experience that after COVID, right?

Speaker 18:28

So the and the challenge for this one was how do you figure out who patient zero is? Like I know that they everybody immediately thinks, oh, the guy that died first is definitely the one. He but that's not true, right?

Speaker 1 18:44

We don't know for sure.

Speaker 18:46

They don't know. No one knows, right?

Speaker 1 18:48

No, and I they're not I think also they're not gonna be able to ever figure out where it originated from. I mean, they were going with that couple before they were in Chile, they were in other places before they got on, so I don't think they're gonna be able to say who really originated it and where it originated from before they got on

Landfill Rumor And Who Brought It

Speaker 1 19:13

the ship.

Speaker 19:13

Okay, but you gotta talk about there's some garbage landfill.

Speaker 1 19:18

Oh yeah.

unknown 19:19

Yes.

Speaker 1 19:24

Right, right.

Speaker 19:26

Uh you gotta give us details.

Speaker 1 19:28

So they initially were saying, oh, we think it's came from a landfill in Ushaya, you know, which is in Tierra del Fuego, where a lot of bird watchers go. Um, and now there's there's pushback on that because there's never been a recorded Hanta virus uh case in Tierra del Fuego. So the two deceased passengers that they thought might have come from, you know, they were on jungle tours in Uruguay, Chile before Argentina. But the bird watching, it this is like a big bird watching place. I was shocked, and it's you know presented as oh, a bucket list destination. And I was like, the landfill?

Speaker 20:13

The landfill?

Speaker 1 20:15

So uh yeah.

Speaker 20:16

So Do they have like did you did you look actually look this up as if you were gonna go to this landfill?

Speaker 1 20:23

I looked it up.

Speaker 20:24

You know, like do they have like little perches where people bird watchers are like encouraged to sit and watch?

Speaker 1 20:29

I saw photos, it's it's huge, it's gated, you gotta stand on the road outside and look in. But you know, the birds are flying around and it's there's trash everywhere.

Speaker 20:40

So it's a smorgasbord.

Speaker 1 20:42

Yeah, so I was I was just thinking, okay, well, I want to know what the uh description was on this little pre-excursion for bird watching that drew people in. Oh so I kind of wrote one.

Speaker 20:56

Oh, you wrote one?

Speaker 1 20:57

I wrote one. I was like, you know, okay, what did what did this say? You know, like join us for this half-day excursion to Ushaya, where we will stop at a famous landfill for bird watching. This exposed waste site attracts the following popular birds. The white-throated Cara Cara, the black-chested buzzard eagle, the Andean condor. Although the landfill is gated and we will not be trekking through garbage, clothespins for your nose may be purchased on the tour bus for three Argentine pesos, as well as a birding t-shirt that says, I don't always stop to look at birds, but when I do, it's at the Ushuaia landfill.

Speaker 21:43

Great. Now they're gonna be selling t-shirts.

Speaker 1 21:46

They should.

Speaker 21:47

They should take advantage of this. This is a freebie for this is this is from me to you.

Speaker 1 21:53

And even if I guess you're just looking at binoculars to say you saw the bird, but a photographer, I mean, you gotta have a pretty Big zoom to just get the bird because otherwise I saw a photo. It's a landfill. There's birds, blocks of birds flying and trash, you know, trash in the air. And I'm like, what an awesome photo for you to bring back from your vacation. You know?

Speaker 22:15

See, you gotta be committed. So that that and that's the thing I think about this particular incident occurring on this particular ship. Okay. Just close your eyes and imagine the passengers on the five-day Mexican crew uh Mexican cruise out of Los Angeles. Think of those passengers. And juxtapose that image with the passengers that take this Antarctic remote island excursion.

Speaker 1 22:46

No, different crowd.

Speaker 22:47

Totally. That's what I'm saying. Yeah. So here this outbreak occurs with these people that are basically told, hey, if you're gonna come on this ship, be prepared. You have to be able to walk like three miles barefoot across lava rock in order to join us on our excursions. This is like serious. So the people that were on the on the ship, these weren't people out for casino and and and disco, like I said earlier.

Speaker 1 23:14

No, you you'd have a shipful of Ned Ryersons from Groundhog Day on that, Cruise.

Speaker 23:21

And you showed me a picture from the the ship, the actual ship.

Speaker 1 23:24

Yes.

Speaker 23:25

There is a library.

Speaker 1 23:26

Yes.

Speaker 23:26

I mean it looks like right out of Harry Potter. There's there is a library, you know. Everybody that's stuck on the ship, and we're all looking, watching the news, going, oh, those poor people floating around. Well, they're just sitting in the library, you know.

unknown 23:40

Yeah.

Speaker 23:41

Commiserating and wondering what to do. Right? Yeah. But this is a hardy group. You gotta you gotta wonder, like if this had happened on a carnival in the middle of the Gulf. Gulf of America, sorry. In the middle of Gulf of America. Can you imagine? Right? I think people would be jumping off the boat. I think we would have so much material because there's so many bodies flying off the boat to swim to shore, thinking they can make it. You're nodding your head, you're not saying anything. But you're am I right or what?

Speaker 1 24:17

There'd be some panic.

Speaker 24:19

There would be, right?

Speaker 1 24:20

Yeah.

Speaker 24:20

Yeah, no. So these people were hardy people. So one of the things that I was really impressed with was the fact that the crew, and maybe it's because it's a small ship, right? You get to know people really quickly when all hell breaks loose, right? If it's a small enough group, you really can get tight. So apparently the the the passengers, no one's complaining about these, the crew. They they're like, no, they everybody's stepped up. I think you're feeling like you're one one and the same. Crew, passenger, it doesn't matter. At this point, there's a blurring of the lines. Wouldn't you agree?

Speaker 1 24:55

Yes.

Speaker 24:56

Yeah, I mean, I I didn't I didn't see any I haven't seen anything negative. Now, you gotta tell me. So they this this ship is now out and about, back in business.

Speaker 1 25:11

Not yet. Soon. Oh the ship, uh, yeah. I think we joked about, you know, are they gonna take it out to

Would You Sail After An Outbreak

Speaker 1 25:20

the open sea and blow it up? And the answer to that is no. So the ship has been sanitized and gone through a multi-deep cleaning uh through contactors who wore hazmat suits using hydrogen peroxide in high-temp steam. They targeted ventilation and air handling systems, wiped down all the exterior and interior decks, did a rodent inspection. It's completely rodent-free. And now it's been cleared for another voyage on June 13th. I want to know who the hell's going on this cruise because And is there a discount? Right? Like, here's a discount. Wouldn't there be a discount? This is the inaugural disinfected South American cruise for only 29,000.

Speaker 26:11

But I think it's the all new.

Speaker 1 26:14

Yes.

Speaker 26:14

I think you that's where you use the all new.

Speaker 1 26:17

They they they literally missed two voyages and now they're they're gonna head out again. And I I'm gonna I'm gonna keep track of it because who wants to be the first group on this ship the first time it goes out after this? Like, I want to know if anybody's gonna get sick on this one.

Speaker 26:36

I know exactly who's going. I absolutely know exactly who's going. These are the same people that come into the pub that say, I'm not letting any terrorists stop me from getting on a plane. I'm not letting any virus stop me from getting on my expedition to an unknown island.

Speaker 1 26:56

Who who and who are these people?

Speaker 26:59

I don't know, but I I've seen them. They've come in. They they they'll get a coming in this pub? They'll get a pint and have a sip and then leave. And they just run out the door. As soon as they detect that their ilk is not here. No, it's just a theory. No, seriously, I I I mean the I don't know. I that's why I'm saying I think there has to be like a promo.

Speaker 1 27:21

Well, there has to be.

Speaker 27:23

Do you think there's like a big banner that says we're back? The guy back.

Speaker 1 27:26

The guy, you know, you see on the street corners flipping the sign. This deal won't last long. Hurry up. Yes, that's right. I don't know.

Speaker 27:34

That's right. One voyage, one voyage and we're done. We're we're good. Yeah, we're good to go.

Speaker 1 27:38

So I so yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna follow this because I I I want to see if anybody gets sick. And I'd love to know. I don't know if they'll if they're able to find out how many people are actually gonna go on this voyage this time. It's gotta be less people than the last time when it wasn't packed.

Speaker 27:57

I think it's gonna be packed.

Speaker 1 27:58

Oh Lord, really?

Speaker 27:59

I do. Because of the just such the positive reviews about the crew, and uh again, it's a trend line. What could possibly go wrong now?

Speaker 1 28:12

Uh a lot.

Speaker 28:13

Like like what? Like a rogue wave?

Speaker 1 28:16

No, you know, and how do you know these cleaners? Uh you know? First off, people have made, you have maids, you know, some are really good, some are not. You know, which which cleaning crew did you get on this show?

Speaker 28:28

Well, I yeah, I actually wanted that too, because this has gone through two cleanings and now the Dutch have given it a green light.

Speaker 1 28:34

Right.

Speaker 28:35

You can go back. Right? And it's thorough cleaning. I just kind of think about when I clean my house, somebody comes over and goes, Oh man, did you just clean? How'd you know? It smells so nice. Do you think the Dutch authorities went on the boat and go, Oh, it smells nice? Yeah, I think it's good to go. How do you know? How do you know it was a good job? And what does anybody know that?

Speaker 1 28:57

You don't. And what about okay, what about this? Because this was about people catching it before they got on the cruise. So, is there gonna be some questions for all the passengers? Where have you been? Did you been on nature tours through the jungle? Have you been to the landfill bird watching? Is there gonna be some questions?

Speaker 29:20

They ask that now when you go to the doctor. Have you been out of the country? And you're like, none of your business. No, it is my business. You know, as they got the temperature gun to your head.

Speaker 1 29:31

But it isn't even out of the country, it's leaving, you know, Ushuaia. So if you've been on some nature tours through the jungle like the other people, and isn't that where they got it? They brought it on from somewhere. So that's interesting.

Speaker 29:46

I don't know. It's it's it's an interesting story. It's an interesting story. It it's actually, I think, a blessing that it occurred on a on a ship that's so small.

Speaker 1 29:57

Yes.

Speaker 29:58

I think that seriously, like if it had occurred on a carnival, I'm not joking, in the Gulf of America, it would have been mayhem. You have to wonder, right? Do you remember during COVID, there was a ship and it got stuck. I want to say it was in Northern California.

Speaker 1 30:16

Oh, yeah, San Francisco.

Speaker 30:18

You remember?

Speaker 1 30:18

Yeah. A man died on there.

Speaker 30:20

And they didn't know what to do.

Speaker 1 30:21

Right.

Speaker 30:21

It would well, that was the impression you got. Like, great, there's this gigantic city in the on the water sitting in the middle near San Francisco, and we don't know what to do with them because we don't know what's happening on land. That was the impression that I got. Like, we don't know what's going on here, so you people stay right there because we don't need a new problem.

Speaker 1 30:38

Right. Yeah, uh older man died on that first.

Speaker 30:42

All right, now I have to ask this. So if you're on any of those boat ships in that scenario, what are you doing? How are you handling it? Like, what's your what what's your what's your immediate thing to do?

Speaker 1 30:55

I want to get off.

Speaker 30:56

Well, I okay. Okay. But like, are you like just locking yourself in the room and not moving? Oh yeah. Are you pestering the crew? Are you pestering the crew asking a lot of questions? You're not going to the buffet?

Speaker 1 31:11

Oh god, no.

Speaker 31:12

But you're asking for the buffet delivered. I would I'd be like, can you bring me a plate? Just they got food. I mean, yeah. They got they were treated well.

Speaker 1 31:22

Yeah. I think I'd be uh out on my balcony where the fresh air is, you know.

Speaker 31:29

I think I'd be asking a lot of questions, but I wouldn't be mad.

Speaker 1 31:33

Well, you can't get mad, it's not their fault.

Speaker 31:35

No, I think some people would. I think some people would like view this as an inconvenience. Like, can't you figure this out, people? Why am I sitting here?

Speaker 1 31:43

Can't we just go to the next stop? Like when someone dies? Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 31:46

Can't we just get off at the next place? Can't you just let me go?

Speaker 1 31:49

Let's keep going. I'm okay.

Speaker 31:51

There's lifeboats. Can't I just get on one of those?

unknown 31:54

Right?

Speaker 31:55

I guarantee there's got to be people that said that. Not on this one. On this ship, I think everybody was had their stuff together.

Speaker 2 32:01

Yeah.

Speaker 32:02

I I think they had the I think they had the Hutzbah to stick to it.

Speaker 2 32:06

Yeah.

Speaker 32:06

But again, that Carnival line, you guarantee, I guarantee people are like, no, we're taking the lifeboat.

Speaker 1 32:11

Well, I don't care what you say, Captain Steve. We're taking the boat. You'd have a lot of drunk people on the carnival line, too. So they'd be like, I think we I think we can make it. It's not that far. You know, that's a good question.

Speaker 32:22

Do you think like Carnival would re would revoke your unlimited drink package the moment something like that hell broke loose?

Speaker 1 32:30

Yes.

Speaker 32:30

I think so. Yes. I think it'd be like, nope, you're in your room. Nope. It's it's water for you, sister.

Speaker 1 32:35

Yeah. So before you get to your ship reviews.

Google Reviews And Next Week Fights

Speaker 32:40

Oh, because we do have Google reviews.

Speaker 1 32:42

Right.

Speaker 32:42

People have posted Google reviews. I know this is remarkable.

Speaker 1 32:45

Before you get to your pre and post reviews.

Speaker 32:50

I don't have pre-reviews.

Speaker 1 32:52

You just have post.

Speaker 32:53

Yeah, I just got the reviews from people that actually were on the boat.

Speaker 1 32:56

Oh, you didn't write your own review?

Speaker 32:58

No.

Speaker 1 32:59

As if you were a passenger and crew is great, but no. No. Okay.

Speaker 33:03

And just like I said, you can smell a clean ship, but you can't smell one right now. Anyway, go ahead. Okay, go.

Speaker 1 33:11

I was just gonna say that uh, you know, after the new people get on for this next cruise, I I want them to go to the ship library first.

Speaker 2 33:24

Oh.

Speaker 1 33:24

And if they see the following games in there, they are to disembark immediately. So if the ship library still has the any ship.

Speaker 33:34

So if I get on any boat and I go to the game room.

Speaker 1 33:36

No, this one.

Speaker 33:37

Oh, just this one. This one. Oh.

Speaker 1 33:39

Okay, so Sorry. Operation, Risk, Trouble, and the Game of Life Hantavirus edition.

Speaker 33:51

Oh, the hantavirus edition.

Speaker 1 33:54

You should just get off right there.

Speaker 33:57

Oh, that's yeah. Yeah. That would be a dead giveaway. But so you want to hear the Google reviews? Yeah. Yeah, they came in. So somebody five out of five stars, surprised. I'm I mean, I'm kind of surprised, not too surprised. But they said, I booked a bird watching expedition and accidentally became part of the largest Andes virus outbreak investigation in modern history. This level of immersion is difficult to find in today's travel market. I told you, these people are tough.

Speaker 2 34:26

Wow.

Speaker 34:27

These people are tough. So someone they just kind of averaged a rating, which I thought was funny. Three stars. I was like, okay. Five stars for wildlife, four stars for food, one star for becoming a case study. So that was that was and then somebody five stars says amazing, fantastic voyage, saw Antarctica, King Penguins, albatrosses, and representatives from the World Health Organization. Not many cruises offer that level of service.

Speaker 2 34:56

Wow.

Speaker 34:58

These are real. And then four stars, somebody gave it four stars, hit every emotion. I was like, what are you talking about? We visited Antarctica, South Georgia, Tristan Dacuna, St. Helena, and several stages of grief.

Speaker 1 35:12

Oh my god.

Speaker 35:14

Are you kidding me? And then somebody five stars. The unborn entertainment was excellent. What entertainment? Highlights included daily speculation regarding incubation periods and trying to determine whether every cough was meaningful. Jeez. But I can understand that since I was talking about the whole coughing on the on the plane thing. I can get that. But somebody, somebody gave it a one star.

Speaker 1 35:40

Did you make this up?

Speaker 35:41

No, hold on a minute. Somebody gave it a one star. And they just said, ugh, the cruise line claimed we would visit some of the most remote places on earth. They neglected to mention that every uh eventually nobody on earth wanted them to visit. It's true. I mean, that's accurate. So all these are, you know, I mean, this is Google reviews, right?

Speaker 1 36:02

Is one of those your inaccessible island?

Speaker 36:06

It's probably, yeah.

Speaker 1 36:07

Inaccessible island.

Speaker 36:08

Yeah, you gotta wonder. I mean, is anyone on the inaccessible island? Did you know there was an inaccessible island?

Speaker 1 36:14

Not until you brought it up.

Speaker 36:15

Anyway, all right, so what so the next what are we doing on the next on the next show?

Speaker 1 36:19

Fights.

Speaker 36:21

Did you just say you want what? Fights. Oh.

Speaker 1 36:24

Ship fights on ships. Fights on ships. Yeah.

Speaker 36:27

Do you know that fights on ships happen more often than than you than you would think? Would you think that they would?

Speaker 1 36:36

I don't know because I you know I see them on the news every once in a while, but I've never seen one.

Speaker 36:42

I haven't either.

Speaker 1 36:43

But i I think it depends on the other.

Speaker 36:45

Well in my in my cabin I have, but that's oh sorry, that's a whole that was never mind. That was an argument. Anyway. Uh we're calling it an argument.

Speaker 1 36:53

It it depends on, you know, the cruise line. I think uh you have better chances on other cruise lines. And like I said, Princess, no. We're all in bed by 10. No, that's true. So it's not gonna happen a lot there.

Speaker 37:07

Carnival?

Speaker 1 37:08

Carnival, I hear a lot on the news about Carnival.

Speaker 37:10

Yeah.

Speaker 1 37:11

And and some I told you some person who who witnessed one was like, this is like the Walmart of the cruise. See? Yeah.

Speaker 37:22

And talk about the talk about the worst place to have a fight. Right?

Speaker 1 37:26

Yeah.

Speaker 37:28

Because even if you're like a in a drunken brawl and you don't remember the fight, the next day everybody does remember you.

Speaker 1 37:35

Yes.

Speaker 37:36

So you're in the buffet line or whatever.

Speaker 1 37:38

And they're, you know, somebody has uh videoed you and you're on YouTube.

Speaker 37:43

Right.

Speaker 1 37:43

Before you wake up in the morning, you are all over the place.

Speaker 37:47

If you were an employer and one of your employees, you you saw one of your employees like having an out on a fight on a cruise, how would you handle that? Oh boy. I guess it depends on what your company is.

Speaker 1 38:04

Yeah.

Speaker 38:04

If you're like a really known brand company.

Speaker 1 38:07

And what your position in the company is. Right. Yeah. The higher up you are.

Speaker 38:12

Here's the irony. If you're a politician and that happened to you, you can get away with it.

Speaker 2 38:16

Yeah.

Speaker 38:17

Right? I mean, seriously. But if you're, you know, the the VP of Mattel toys, you're probably in trouble. Crazy. Alright, so fights. Next show, sweet. Yeah. That'll be fun. It will be. Maybe a guest?

Speaker 1 38:36

Maybe.

Speaker 38:38

Teaser. Okay. Alright, thanks.

Speaker 1 38:40

Alright, anchors away.

Speaker 38:42

Anchors away. That's it for this episode of Cruise Ship Killer. If you enjoyed the show, please subscribe, rate, and review, or don't. But statistically, the people who disappeared never do either. CSK is hosted by Kathy Pearce and Geoff Smith, produced by Kristen Smith and David Pearce. Research by our Cruise Line Internal Researcher page log line. Additional editing and sound design by Cal Deckland. Sources for today's episode are linked in the show notes because shockingly we did not make all of this up.