We’ve got our sea legs back! Couple who were trapped off Japan on the Diamond Princess after testing positive at the start of the pandemic reveal they’ve booked FIVE more cruise holidays
- David, 75, and Sally Abel, 72, were forced to stay quarantined in their rooms for two weeks on the Diamond Princess last year after virus struck the cruise liner
- Were eventually treated for Covid at a Japanese hospital before flying home
- A year on, they say the solitary confinement ‘hasn’t put them off at all’ and they’ve already booked five more holidays
- Neither Sally or David have had the vaccine yet though, despite David suffering a stroke in September 2020
A British couple who ended up having the ultimate holiday nightmare after they were locked in their room for two weeks on board a cruise ship in the Far East at the start of the pandemic say they ‘can’t wait’ to get back on board another liner.
David and Sally Abel, from Northamptonshire, hit the headlines as some of the first Britons to catch Covid, after it spread quickly among the 700 passengers on board the Diamond Princess, on which they were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary at the time.
The couple were eventually treated in a Japanese hospital, which they told the media at the time was ‘prison-like’ due to the strict measures to contain the spread, before they recovered and were allowed to travel back to Britain.
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We can’t wait to get back on the high seas! David, 75, and Sally Abel, 72, from Northamptonshire were forced to stay quarantined in their rooms for two weeks on the Diamond Princess last year after the virus struck the liner – but say they’ve booked five more cruise holidays for this year and next
The Diamond Princess, which David and Sally were on, was locked down for more than two weeks off the coast of Japan in February 2020, with 700 passengers confined to their rooms
However, one year on, the couple are determined to get find their sea legs again, with their first trip – of five they say they’ve booked – set to be to northern Europe and Russia to the see the Northern Lights.
Speaking to ITV News, David, 75, said they were busy planning future holidays despite him suffering from a stroke in September last year – and neither of them yet having the vaccine.
He said: ‘We have to plan for the future. We’ve got five cruises booked already.’
He added: ‘In April, we were supposed to be flying to Canada, but I don’t think that will happen… we’ve got five booked between 2021 and March 2022.’
The couple haven’t been put off despite being confined to their rooms for two weeks when the outbreak hit the Diamond Princess on February 4th while sailing close to Japan.
The couple kept the British media updated on their locked down cruise ship experience and subsequent hospital stay via photos and videos.
British cruise ship passenger David Abel and his wife Sally (pictured in their cabin on the Diamond Princess in February 2020) tested positive for coronavirus and had to be treated at a hospital in Japan
David Abel, pictured following his cruise ship nightmare, told ITV news the couple’s first stop would be a trip to northern Europe and Russia
Sally, pictured during her stay in a Japanese hospital, said she loves cruises and ‘it hasn’t put us off at all’
A total of 705 of the ship’s 3,711 passengers and crew were found to be infected during the lockdown, sparking severe criticism of how Japanese authorities had handled the case.
Passengers were confined to their cabins on board the ship in what scientists described as an ideal breeding ground for the virus, with tourists also voicing concerns about the conditions on board.
The UK government eventually chartered a flight to airlift 32 people home from the cruise ship, but dozens of Britons remained in Japan.