Central Florida couple is stuck on board sick ship waiting to dock

Windermere, Fla. — For Jim and Colleen Wing, a two-week cruise aboard the Holland America Zaandam was supposed to be a special trip.

“It was supposed to be a birthday celebration of my stepmother Colleen, and it’s turned into a nightmare,” said Nate Wing, Jim Wing’s son, from his home in Windermere.

Jim Wing is 77 years old, has a heart condition and has been sick from what he believes to be COVID-19.

“It’s really tough. My father’s been really sick, and they happen to be in an inside stateroom, too,” Nate said.

His family’s cruise ship was turned away in Chile, and was nearly kept from passing through the Panama Canal. Four people aboard have died and all passengers have been quarantined.

Holland America said a second ship,  Rotterdam,  took on nearly 1,400 people who appear to be healthy from its sister ship, leaving 450 guests and 602 crew members on the Zaandam.

More than 190 say they are sick and two are said to be in need of emergency assistance, there are about 300 U.S. citizens are on both ships combined.

Jim and Colleen live in Mount Dora. The cruise ship is looking to dock Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, but there is uncertainty if the ship will even be allowed to come in.

On Tuesday, Gov. Ron. DeSantis expressed concern about stress on local health care resources, saying, “I think these are mostly foreign nationals that would use resources we need for Floridians.”

Nate has started a petition that he said will hopefully lead the governor or Broward County officials to make the call to allow the ship in so he can see his parents get home, and so his father can get the medical attention he needs.

“These are real people, real lives, not just them, but everyone on that boat," Nate said.

William Burke, chief maritime officer for Carnival, which owns Holland America, told Broward County Commissioners “we are coming to the place of last resort,” and that his staff had worked through the night on a docking plan.

The meeting ended Tuesday without a decision as the cruise line continues to work out the details to dock the ship taking all the precautions advised by the CDC and other agencies.

Carnival said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday that it has about 6,000 passengers on ships that are still at sea, and the company expects to have them disembarked by the end of April.