Cruise Ship Crew Member Recounts Tale of Being Stuck Aboard Ships for 8 Weeks

Tens of thousands of cruise ship crew members around the world continue to be stuck aboard cruise vessels, some of them having been on the ships for up to 8 weeks. In their frustration, many have reached out to local news stations in order to express their discontent with being essentially trapped aboard the ships and unable to go home. 

CBS46.com spoke to one such crew member, Florida resident Taylor Grimes, who was able to communicate through his mother’s cell phone. Grimes says that he is currently living in an Italian port. “No day is fun, but some days are better than others and then some days are just the absolute worst,” Grimes said.

Grimes’ mother says that he has been tested eight times for coronavirus, with varying results. “His test results have been positive, positive, negative, positive, negative, positive,” she said. In order to come home, Grimes has to test negative two times in a row. As of the time of the report, Grimes was waiting for two back-to-back tests, but after the varying results, Grimes’ mother says she does not trust the tests. 

Grimes’ father says he is worried about his son’s mental health as well as his physical health. He is growing out his beard until Taylor is able to come home. 

Taylor Grimes’ story is shared by up to 70,000 crew members trapped on cruise ships across the globe. His story illustrates the frustrating ordeal thousands of these workers are undergoing during the process of trying to go home.