Kiwis stuck on Coral Princess

An elderly couple and 17 other Kiwis are stranded on a cruise ship in Florida after the US Government banned all domestic flights.

Ken and Christine Hubbard, from Whanga¯ rei, Northland, both aged in their 70s, are stuck on board the Coral Princes, in Port Miami, with passengers who’ve tested positive for coronavirus.

‘‘They’re feeling like it’s a life or death situation now and it’s like being stuck in prison,’’ the Hubbards’ son, Mark told Stuff.

‘‘There’s so much sickness in that area and they can only do so much to protect themselves.’’

The cruise ship has been docked in Miami since April 4 where most of the passengers were able to disembark and head home safely, Mark Hubbard said.

However, 17 Kiwis and a number of Canadians have been left on the ship with the passengers who are still recovering from coronavirus because they can’t get flights home.

The Hubbards were booked on an Air NZ flight to New Zealand from Los Angeles on April 7, but they were told on Monday they would not be disembarking the ship and getting on a flight from Florida to LA.

However, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced there would be no travel for cruise passengers via commercial flights and no non-shared air or ground transportation with noncruise guests.

The ship was previously turned away from three Central

American ports before reaching Florida, and the Hubbards have been at sea for 21 days without leaving the ship.

The Hubbards’ children in New Zealand have been working around the clock to try to get answers from the Government here and in the United States, in a desperate bid to get their parents home. ‘‘The hard thing is we’ve been told they’re coming home ... it’s a rollercoaster of celebrating and then hardly sleeping and feeling totally powerless [knowing they can’t get home],’’ Mark said.

Ken is completely reliant on a heart pacemaker and is running out of his blood pressure pills, while Christine has severe asthma, Mark said. ‘‘They’ve been medically cleared and were about to get on the bus to get to the Miami airport for a connecting flight,’’ Mark said.

He said this was the second time they were issued a ticket to leave, only to not see it happen, and then watched 14 people rushed to hospital over two days.