YOKOHAMA, Japan – Quarantined for two weeks on a cruise ship ravaged by coronavirus, the Britons on board have only one option: keep calm and carry on. David Abel and his wife Sally are still smiling, for now. Their friends Alan and Wendy Steele are going “stir crazy” trapped in their cabin – although they say they are not worried about catching the deadly illness. Still, this was not how the Steeles planned to spend their honeymoon. Many of the 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew members on the Diamond Princess are struggling to keep their spirits up, after the luxury liner was quarantined off the Japanese coast Wednesday, with passengers forbidden to leave their cabins. Last Saturday, a man from Hong Kong who had spent five days aboard the ship was confirmed as having contracted coronavirus. On Wednesday, with the ship docked at the port of Yokohama, Japan’s Health Ministry said nine other passengers and one Filipino crew member had tested positive. The nine passengers who tested positive – two Australians, three from Japan, three from Hong Kong, and one American – have been transferred to hospitals, but none is in serious condition, said Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato. They were among 31 people deemed at high risk who were initially examined for the virus, while samples from 242 other people are still being tested. For those left on board, there is nothing to do but sit in their cabins, wait for meals to be delivered, watch television or a choose from a limited selection of movies on demand. Those lucky enough to have a balcony can at least sit in the sun, look at the ocean and talk to their neighbors. Abel said his greatest sympathy is with those confined to the inside cabins. “Can you imagine? It would be liked being locked in a wardrobe, wouldn’t it?” he said. “No fresh air. No natural light. It really must be a living hell for them.” Other passengers tweeting from the ship or talking to Japanese media reflected the anxiety on board. “Still shocked and scared. But better precautions. Have faith in the crews and captain,” tweeted Yardley Wong, who describes herself as a Christian entrepreneur from Hong Kong. Life on board had been winding down on Tuesday as medical staff went through the boat interviewing and testing passengers, with the casino closed and evening’s main entertainment show canceled. But guests still gathered for dinner, and smaller events continued where passengers mingled, hours before the captain ordered all passengers to go to their cabins and stay there. A person with the Twitter handle @daxa_tw and tweeting in Japanese has been posting videos and photos of life on board. “As for myself, I am going to assume that I have already been infected,” he tweeted. In a direct message, he said he feared the number of infected people could grow significantly “because this is a cruise whose main purpose is socializing.” Calls to room service go unanswered as crew members struggle to deliver basic meals. That means passengers cannot get an alcoholic drink. Breakfast for many arrived about 11 a.m. – a problem for Abel, who has diabetes and needs to eat regularly to maintain his blood sugar levels. Passengers had received just one cup of coffee by early afternoon. On orders of Japan’s Health Ministry, they have been told they are not allowed to smoke, a problem for Wendy Steele, a 51-year-old nurse from Wolverhampton in Britain. For lunch, they were sent stale bread with ham, he said, a far cry from the meals that had been offered throughout the cruise.

“We’re basically being treated like we’re prisoners and criminals at the moment; that’s how we feel,” he said. “There’s nothing coming down the tannoy telling us when we’re going to be released onto the ship,” he added, referring to the public address system.

Negin Kamali, a public relations officer for Princess Cruise Lines, which is owned by British-American cruise operator Carnival, said the onboard guest experience team was working on developing “in-cabin activities and entertainment,” adding that the passengers will be allowed to leave the boat after 14 days. Nick Note: It sounds like the Bounty to me. With Captain Blythe, the only thing missing is the bread fruit. I am told their are 2 cruise ships under quarantine and two others being monitored. As you know i hate the flying virus filled  test tubes called jetliners. And i have never been in favor of the floating barf barges. ALL have issues with to many damn people in confined spaces with bacteria laden recirculated air..