LITTLE ROCK, Ark — Benton resident Laura Grimes says her parents were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. They were spending a month cruising around South America.
Two weeks into their trip, they started to realize something was very wrong.
"So they were stuck around March 14th off the coast of Chile," said Grimes.
"They were trying to negotiate for supplies. They were trying to negotiate for fuel. They were trying to negotiate for more food. That's about when the passengers started getting sick."
Hundreds are said to have flu-like symptoms, at least 2 passengers have tested positive for COVID-19, and 4 have died on the boat.
This past weekend, the ship could not even come into the Panama Canal.
The tides changed early Monday morning when the ship was finally given access to pass through on the conditions that no one from the boat step foot on Panamanian soil.
"It's horrible. It's horrible. Not knowing when they'll come home. Not knowing how they'll get home. No country will allow the boat into its harbor," said Grimes.
Right now, the boat is off the coast of Florida. The state's governor doesn't want to boat to dock, because he says they don't have enough supplies and resources to help more people infected with the coronavirus.
March 31st was supposed to be the couple's final destination, but now they are waiting to see when they will be able to get back on dry land.
"Hopefully somebody will let this cruise ship dock. They can't stay on this boat forever. They really want to come home," said Grimes.