The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

It could be that once in a lifetime chance to get away that you spent a lifetime planning or at the very least thought about. Now it is on the presuppose of the trip actually taking place and the excitement of this once in a lifetime opportunity is part of the actual memory that will stay with you for the rest of your life.

Maybe it's an all-inclusive vacation getaway to a Caribbean or Mexican resort that you take each year or maybe it's a summer excursion for Mom, Dad and the kids to get away for a few weeks during the summer, but in any regard the looking forward to, the planning of, and the shear excitement leading up to the trip is very much a part of the memory as the actual trip itself.

In some cases, things go wrong, luggage gets lost, weather is little dreary or maybe you don't get to do everything that you would hope to do. For the most part though these trips are exactly what you had hoped they would be. On rare occasions an unforeseen circumstance such as an illness or an accident may occur. Maybe cancellations lead to the trip being something far less than memorable.

These are the same anticipations and wonder that Frank and Bettie Barber had earlier this year when they had planned a 15-day Princess Cruise Line trip to Hawaii and Mexico aboard the Grand Princess. The Barbers had spent some time planning and thinking about the cruise and when the time came the first eight days went off without a hitch. The happy couple was able to do the bulk of what they were really looking forward too. Halfway through it was a very good trip.

From that point on though, their experience and their vacation became something that was previously unheard of but becoming more and more common these days amid the unrest that we are facing right now. The Princess Cruise Line that they were on became the focal point and beginning of the constant coverage Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic that we are all ultimately too familiar with right now. The Barber's ship was featured nightly on the news floating off the coast of San Francisco awaiting an opportunity to dock and unload the passengers.

After more than a week off the coast of California the Barbers and their ship finally received permission to dock in Oakland, California and eventually after a couple days in quarantine the Barbers were flown to an airbase in Georgia where they spent another two weeks in quarantine enduring Covid-19 testing procedures and isolation.

Finally, after nearly a month away from their ranch back in Montana they were finally able to return home. The following is their recollection of their experience and being at the forefront of the current situation that we're all dealing with right now. What the Barber's went through is not only a first, but something that we can all learn from in the way they handled it.

Original Plan

Frank and Bettie left their ranch 40 miles south of Chinook, MT on the February 19, 2020 and flew to San Francisco on February 20. The excited couple boarded 'The Grand Princess' cruise liner on the afternoon of February 21. They set sail for four days at sea, heading for Hawaii and stopped in Maui, Oahu and two ports on the big island of Hawaii. Their long-anticipated trip was going as planned through Hawaii.

The Barber's cruise was scheduled as a 15-day excursion and the first eight days went as planned. "We snorkeled, we had a luau, Frank and I went to a volcano peak. We did everything we had wanted to do," commented Bettie.

They then left Hawaii and set sail for Ensenada. Mexico for a 1/2-day port visit. The second day out the passengers and crew were notified by the Captain, through the ships speaker system in their cabin that a passenger on a previous cruise was in the hospital in San Francisco after testing positive for the Corona virus and that the ship was being ordered back to San Francisco.

The Barbers, along with the rest of those on board, remained on the ship while in port for a few more days as officials tried to locate a spot for them to be quarantined. In all the Barbers were confined to their cabin for eight additional days. On March 11, they were able to depart the ship and headed for Dobbins Air Force Base, just outside of Atlanta, GA to begin their quarantine. Passengers in their group arrived the morning of March 12th, which marked their first official day of quarantine.

Not all passengers disembarked at the same, foreign nationals first, then California residents second, and then the Barbers group. While still on the ship the Mayor of Oakland gave Princess Cruise Lines 72 hours to get out of port and Frank and Bettie got a little worried then. The Barbers didn't mind being quarantined but they didn't want to go back out to sea. When they were finally able set foot on land after being allowed to disembark the ship, they were overjoyed. "When they let us off, I did do a little happy dance," said a very excited Betty!

"Princess Cruise Lines comped our cruise, airfare, all the tours in Hawaii that we already took. Anything we bought in the gift shops plus every penny we spent. In addition, they gave us a free cruise that has to be booked by March of 2021. They did everything possible to keep us entertained through the closed-circuit TV on the ship, brought us games or things to do while we were in our room," stated Betty. "The food on the ship was superb and they constantly fed us and made sure we had lots of fresh and beverages of kinds. Overall princess cruise lines went over the top in making sure we were taking care of. They went well beyond anything that could have been expected, even when we went to Georgia, they sent us all care packages that included a variety of nice gifts."

Things were hectic upon arrival in Georgia. The base was expected to get 250 passengers and ended up with 500. "The first few days were really confusing, it wasn't their fault trying to meet everyone's needs but after maybe 4-5 days they got it down to such a great routine, taking temperatures, delivering meals, packages and really looking after everyone," said Betty. The couple was quarantined in the barracks with Candi Hamilton, their niece and had a kitchenette, two bedrooms, large bathroom area with a shower and tub. Meals were in boxes, wrapped in plastic. "Awesome meals, past & meatballs, Chicken Cordon Blue, sausage and eggs, great pasta wraps roast beef and potatoes plus lots of chicken and rice. Wraps would be so thick you could only eat half. hot breakfast fruit everything and everything you could think of," commented Frank.

The air base in Georgia is surrounded by public housing and some young lady took the time to handwrite more than 150 notes of encouragement and belief and hope that everything was going to be OK for all of those in quarantine and that was so special for the Barbers to witness.

Frank and Betty Barber set sail for Hawaii back in February aboard the Prince Cruise liner 'Grand Princess'. In search of once in a lifetime memories of Hawaii and Mexico on this 15 day cruise, they were full of wonder and excitement. They certainly got those 'once in a lifetime' memories, just not the ones they were expecting. After spending the first eight days of their cruise sailing and experiencing Hawaii, Frank and Betty spent the following 29 days experiencing the beginning of the current Covid-19 Corona virus Pandemic that we are all too familiar with now, quarantined on board the ship, Oakland, CA and in Georgia before returning home in March.

"The whole time we were in Georgia we were being taken care of by disaster relief personnel, some that didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to their families before they left. They were giving of themselves to take care of us, so we have nothing to complain about. Some passengers that didn't get their luggage right away were visited by Princess Cruise with credit cards and went to stores to purchase necessary items, including, whatever they needed, they took care of," said Betty. As far as dealing with the whole ordeal, "It was a piece of cake to deal with, people are like oh my god that had to be so hard. No, Princess was amazing, they did everything for us they refereed to me as Queen Elizabeth, as that is my legal name," Betty said with a laugh.

"That was Georgia. We were fenced in, but it was beautiful, it was springtime, there was a 6-7 foot chain link fence around four separated sections. We were able to get out of our rooms and get some fresh air, but we did have to remain six feet away and were only able to be with people in our section. People would get to talking and sometimes the 6' was difficult but for the most part we managed," stated Frank.

"Every day at 4 p.m. there was a teleconference between Princess Cruise Lines and the HHS (Health & Human Services), and if you had any questions you could call in and get them answered. For the most part people were really good with their questions, but there was one guy that called in that made me want to choke him, my gosh I wanted to crawl through the phone and choke him," said Betty.

The weary couple left Georgia on March 26 and headed for home. Frank and Bettie arrived in Great Falls at 9:00 p.m. and drove home to the ranch south of Chinook on March 27 putting an end to the 37-day saga.

"Waking up in our own place the next morning was just sweet what a blessing. We like to travel, and coming home is always so sweet, it's like re-rooting yourself. Prior to this trip, the longest Frank and Bettie had been away from the ranch was maybe two weeks so this was extraordinary!