t

stance

And

41

April20, 2020

Carnival’scruiseexecutives

knewearlierthanmostthat

theyhadaCovid-19problem.

Theykeptthepartygoing as

longaspossible

otherpassengersintheship’sBroadway-styletheaterfora

lecture on Clint Eastwood movies. “I’m surprised they’re even

letting this event happen,” he whispered to a nearby friend.

“This is a big crowd.”

Around lunchtime on March 5, the ship’s captain, John

Smith, announced a quarantine over the ship’s public

address system. All 2,422 passengers needed to go to their

cabins to shelter in place. Laurie Miller was in the Da Vinci

dining room eating chocolate peanut butter ice cream. “Oh

my God,” she remembers thinking. “This is real.” Then she

ordered more ice cream.

Other passengers ambled to the ship’s stores and dining

areas, too, to take advantage of the perks while they could.

“Evvverrrybody went to the buffet,” recalls 61-year-old Debbi

Loftus, who was traveling with her parents. “I just thought,

Oh, crap, the ukulele concert is going to be canceled.” Crowds

of elderly guests filed to their cabins through narrow hallways

and down the stairs of the ship’s 17 decks. Sixty-nine-year-old

This

ByAustinCarrand

Chris Palmeri