A passenger on board a cruise ship refused entry to Chile has described the mood on the Celebrity Eclipse as "great".
Marc O'Connor and his wife Paula are among 20 Irish passengers on the cruise ship that was due to disembark last weekend.
However, the ship was refused permission to dock after a passenger on board a separate cruise ship was diagnosed with Covid-19.
Mr O'Connor was at pains to say that nobody on board the Celebrity Eclipse was unwell or showing signs of the virus.
He added that passengers were able to move freely about the ship and praised the crew for their unflagging cheer. A number of crew are also Irish.
After being turned away from San Antonio port, the Celebrity Eclipse is now at Valparaiso where it is refueling and getting provisions before it has to travel onward to San Diego, after 65 Chilean passengers were allowed to disembark.
Mr O’Connor said the ship now has a full load of fuel and food provisions are being delivered by barge.
He said passengers were told they would need about 140 crates of food for the onward journey, which will take until Thursday morning to deliver and unload.
The 9,000km journey (c.5000 nautical miles) will take around ten days to complete so it is essential the ship is well stocked, as several countries en route have said they will not allow it to dock.
Despite the fact that most people on board the ship thought they were only going on a two-week holiday, which is turning into a month away from home, Mr O’Connor said that everyone is in great form. He stressed that nobody on the ship has Covid-19.
Of his wife, Paula, who has been diagnosed with cancer, he said she’s "doing great".
Mrs O’Connor was advised by her oncologist to enjoy the 'once-in-a-lifetime’ trip, before returning home to begin treatment next month.
After the ten-day journey to San Diego, the O’Connors have been told that Celebrity Cruises has chartered a plane back to a European airport, from where they will be able to fly home.
Speaking about the wider pandemic, Mr O’Connor said that it might take some time, but "we’re all going to get through this".
In a statement last Friday, Cruise Lines International Association, the world’s largest trade industry association, said it would be "voluntarily and temporarily suspending cruise ship operations from US ports of call for 30 days as public health officials and the US Government continue to address Covid-19".
Despite the fact that the vast majority of CLIA members have announced a full or partial suspension of their services, many ships are still at sea, and attempting to get back to shore.
Those operators are currently trying to get passengers on board their cruise ships home.
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