Rough seas

This Christmas, Michael and Ann Smith are grateful to be alive. They tell Samantha Trenoweth about a spontaneous birthday cruise that steered them perilously close to death by COVID-19.

- Samantha Trenoweth

When Michael and Ann Smith boarded the Ruby Princess on March 8 this year, they didn’t have a care in the world. They were joining two of their dearest friends for 11 idyllic days at sea. For Mike, it would be a welcome respite from his hectic career as a children’s psychiatric nurse in Perth, as well as a celebration of his 60th birthday.

They’d booked the cruise as a birthday treat. “We’d had a wonderful holiday with Princess Cruises once before – a Canada-Alaska tour – so we felt comfortable travelling with them again,” Ann tells The Weekly.

In the weeks before they sailed, she says, “there were very few COVID cases in Australia or New Zealand. If the cruise had been going to Europe, we would have cancelled, but we felt safe here. And we thought Princess Cruises would take precautions … They’d asked us to declare our health conditions, so they knew Mike had a heart complaint.” In fact, he’d had three previous heart attacks. “Then, leading up to the cruise, they emailed telling us that, if we had a cold or a cough, we could not come ... So it gave me a sense of security. I didn’t think they’d put our lives in jeopardy.”

As promised, the cruise was a lot of fun, with wonderful company and breathtaking New Zealand scenery. When the ship docked back in Sydney on March 19, COVID restrictions were in place and passengers were instructed to quarantine at home for 14 days. But again, the Smiths weren’t particularly concerned. They flew back to Perth and arranged for family to stock up their cupboards with groceries. They’d been happily married for 32 years, so a couple of weeks together at home wouldn’t be too trying.