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Anacortes couple back after spending nearly a month at sea

ANACORTES, Wash. — An Anacortes couple is finally back home after spending nearly a month at sea, caught up in the global pandemic.

“It feels absolutely amazing. You don’t realize how much it means to be home until you can’t get there,” said Elaine York.

Elaine and her husband David York were on the Coral Princess cruise ship. They left from Santiago, Chile, on March 5 – three days before the State Department issued a warning against cruise travel.

“It was our 46th wedding anniversary and this was our dream cruise. It was the longest one we’d ever done. Booked more than a year ago, saved for it. It was a big deal to go around the horn,” Elaine explained.

They were traveling with friends, reveling in the beauty of the open seas. But their dream turned into a nightmare. They learned some people on the ship were sick from coronavirus. Passengers were told to self-isolate in their rooms.

“We had to wait until whoever put the food by the door or the clean linens or whatever was left. And then, with masks, we’d open the door, bring it in and after that we could remove the masks,” Elaine added.

Stressed and worried for their own health, they got even more bad news.

“One morning we were woken up by the captain announcing that in the night two passengers had passed away,” David said.

The cruise was supposed to end March 19, in Buenos Aires. But the ship was left without a port. Country after country denied them. They were stranded until finally late Saturday night -- the Coral Princess docked in Miami.

From their room, they watched as ambulances treated sick passengers. And then learned, a third person died.

“To hear that your fellow passengers have passed away is just devastating. Both of us broke down in tears. It’s hard even now,” Elaine said.

They caught a charter flight back home on Tuesday.

They were greeted by a welcome sign and a much different reality than the one they left before their vacation. But with deep gratitude for their health and for each other.

“We’ll wash our hands a lot more. We’ll cherish our loved ones a lot more also,” Elaine said.

Though the Yorks are home, there are still some people stuck on the Coral Princess. The cruise line says it’s hoping to get them on a few international and domestic charter flights on Thursday.

The Yorks will spend the next 14 days in self quarantine