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Review: ‘Cabin Fever’ captures the horror of COVID cruise

This cover image released by Doubleday shows “Cabin Fever: The Harrowing Journey of a Cruise Ship at the Dawn of a Pandemic” by Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin. (Doubleday via AP)

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“Cabin Fever: The Harrowing Journey of a Cruise Ship at the Dawn of a Pandemic” by Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin (Doubleday)

Imagine stepping off a dock in Buenos Aires in early March 2020 to board a ship with 1,242 fellow passengers and 586 crew members for a cruise around the tip of South America. You’ve heard about a virus making people sick in China and Italy and Spain, but it’s thousands of miles away. The prospect of touring the Falkland Islands, climbing Machu Picchu, and getting up close to a penguin colony in Chile far outweigh whatever dread you feel about global news.

That’s the starting point for a new nonfiction book called “Cabin Fever” by investigative journalists Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin. They tell the story chronologically, starting March 6, 2020, just two days before the Holland America cruise ship the MS Zaandam leaves port in Argentina. Days later the World Health Organization formally classifies COVID-19 as a pandemic and for the next 25 days, the Zaandam is adrift in international waters, denied safe harbor in every port as COVID breaks out across the world. It’s not until April 2, 2020, that the ship finally docks in Port Everglades, Florida, with three bodies in its morgue and hundreds of other sick passengers on board.

The book opens with a cast of characters — brief bios of the people on board who the journalists talked to to reconstruct the narrative. In addition to Dutch Captain Ane Smit and a few of his fellow officers, there’s a pair of retirees from Missouri hoping to cross Machu Picchu off their bucket list, two men from Nashville celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, and the manager of the ship’s massive laundry operation, Wiwit Widarto, who has spent 30 years working on cruise ships to provide for his family back home in Indonesia.

Over the course of the book’s 250 pages we learn their stories, with a focus on their experience aboard the Zaandam. Smith and Franklin eschew the Bob Woodward approach, writing in the omniscient third-person, not trying to recreate dialogue. Each dispatch is dated and time-stamped as we read about the characters’ journey from “everything’s going to be all right out here in our adult playground on the ocean” to knocks on doors as trays of food are dropped outside cabins by crew members wearing hazmat suits. The result reads like the longest newspaper story ever written mixed with the requisite dramatic flourishes required to keep readers turning pages. “One additional traveler was aboard the ship,” ends chapter one. “The crew was unaware of its presence. It was never cataloged or ordered and had not purchased a ticket. This stowaway, likely hiding in the lungs of a passenger or perhaps a crew member, was microscopic in size yet capable of overwhelming this gargantuan ship.”

The Zaandam’s journey, of course, was well covered by the media. It was one of more than 100 cruise ships at sea when COVID broke out. Thanks to social media and wi-fi, passengers shared their misery in real time. But putting it all together in a format like this gives it the proper context. It’s easy in hindsight to think it wasn’t that bad. At least six Zaandam passengers ultimately died, but the death toll in the U.S. alone has now exceeded one million people. Smith and Franklin’s riveting recount of the cruise take readers back to a time I’m sure many of them would like to forget — when fear trumped everything and nobody knew what the future looked like. It’s an impressive example of narrative journalism. Perhaps too soon for some, but a worthy addition to the historical record.

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Review: 'Cabin Fever’ captures the horror of COVID cruise

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“Cabin Fever: The Harrowing Journey of a Cruise Ship at the Dawn of a Pandemic” by Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin (Doubleday)

Imagine stepping off a dock in Buenos Aires in early March 2020 to board a ship with 1,242 fellow passengers and 586 crew members for a cruise around the tip of South America. You’ve heard about a virus making people sick in China and Italy and Spain, but it’s thousands of miles away. The prospect of touring the Falkland Islands, climbing Machu Picchu, and getting up close to a penguin colony in Chile far outweigh whatever dread you feel about global news.

That’s the starting point for a new nonfiction book called “Cabin Fever” by investigative journalists Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin. They tell the story chronologically, starting March 6, 2020, just two days before the Holland America cruise ship the MS Zaandam leaves port in Argentina. Days later the World Health Organization formally classifies COVID-19 as a pandemic and for the next 25 days, the Zaandam is adrift in international waters, denied safe harbor in every port as COVID breaks out across the world. It’s not until April 2, 2020, that the ship finally docks in Port Everglades, Florida, with three bodies in its morgue and hundreds of other sick passengers on board.

The book opens with a cast of characters — brief bios of the people on board who the journalists talked to to reconstruct the narrative. In addition to Dutch Captain Ane Smit and a few of his fellow officers, there’s a pair of retirees from Missouri hoping to cross Machu Picchu off their bucket list, two men from Nashville celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, and the manager of the ship’s massive laundry operation, Wiwit Widarto, who has spent 30 years working on cruise ships to provide for his family back home in Indonesia.

Over the course of the book’s 250 pages we learn their stories, with a focus on their experience aboard the Zaandam. Smith and Franklin eschew the Bob Woodward approach, writing in the omniscient third-person, not trying to recreate dialogue. Each dispatch is dated and time-stamped as we read about the characters’ journey from “everything’s going to be all right out here in our adult playground on the ocean” to knocks on doors as trays of food are dropped outside cabins by crew members wearing hazmat suits. The result reads like the longest newspaper story ever written mixed with the requisite dramatic flourishes required to keep readers turning pages. “One additional traveler was aboard the ship,” ends chapter one. “The crew was unaware of its presence. It was never cataloged or ordered and had not purchased a ticket. This stowaway, likely hiding in the lungs of a passenger or perhaps a crew member, was microscopic in size yet capable of overwhelming this gargantuan ship.”

The Zaandam’s journey, of course, was well covered by the media. It was one of more than 100 cruise ships at sea when COVID broke out. Thanks to social media and wi-fi, passengers shared their misery in real time. But putting it all together in a format like this gives it the proper context. It’s easy in hindsight to think it wasn’t that bad. At least six Zaandam passengers ultimately died, but the death toll in the U.S. alone has now exceeded one million people. Smith and Franklin’s riveting recount of the cruise take readers back to a time I’m sure many of them would like to forget — when fear trumped everything and nobody knew what the future looked like. It’s an impressive example of narrative journalism. Perhaps too soon for some, but a worthy addition to the historical record.

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Cabin Fever: The Harrowing Journey of a Cruise Ship at the Dawn of a Pandemic

Description.

The true story of the Holland America cruise ship Zaandam , which set sail with a deadly and little-understood stowaway—COVID-19—days before the world shut down in March 2020. This riveting narrative thriller takes readers behind the scenes with passengers and crew who were caught unprepared for the deadly ordeal that lay ahead.

In early 2020, the world was on edge. An ominous virus was spreading on different continents, and no one knew what the coming weeks would bring. Far from the hot spots, the cruise ship Zaandam , owned by Holland America, was preparing to sail from Buenos Aires, Argentina, loaded with 1,200 passengers—Americans, Europeans and South Americans, plus 600 crew.

Most passengers were over the age of sixty-five. There was concern about the virus on the news, and it had already killed and sickened passengers on other Holland America ships. But that was oceans away, and escaping to sea at the ends of the earth for a few weeks seemed like it might be a good option. The cruise line had said the voyage (three weeks around the South American coastline to see some of the world’s most stunning natural wonders and ancient ruins) would carry on as scheduled, with no refunds. And it would be safe. Among the travelers there is a retired American school superintendent on a dream vacation with his wife of fifty-six years, on a personal quest to see Machu Picchu. There is an Argentine psychologist taking this trip to celebrate her sixty-fourth birthday with her husband, though she finds herself fretting in her cabin on day one, trying to dismiss her fears of what she’s hearing on the news. There is an Indonesian laundry manager who's been toiling on Holland America cruise ships for thirty years, sending his monthly paycheck to his family back home.

Within days, people aboard Zaandam begin to fall sick. The world’s ports shut down. Zaandam becomes a top story on the news and is denied safe harbor everywhere. With only two doctors aboard and few medical supplies to test for or treat COVID-19, and with dwindling food and water, the ship wanders the oceans on an unthinkable journey.

About the Author

MICHAEL SMITH is a Miami-based investigative reporter at Bloomberg Businessweek . He’s written about financial crimes, corruption, narcotics and human trafficking, and environmental and labor abuses in supply chains. Recently, he reported extensively on COVID outbreaks on cruise ships. Smith’s national awards include the prestigious George Polk, Maria Moors Cabot, Robert F. Kennedy, and Gerald Loeb awards. Cabin Fever is his first book.

JONATHAN FRANKLIN is a journalist and TV commentator based in South America for the past 24 years. Franklin’s most recent book A Wild Idea (HarperOne, 2021) chronicles the rollicking life of The North Face founder Doug Tompkins, who moved to a shack in Patagonia, gave away his riches, and became one of the world’s greatest land conservation activists. Franklin writes about conservation, organized crime, and survival at sea. His work is featured at www.JonathanFranklin.com.

Praise for Cabin Fever: The Harrowing Journey of a Cruise Ship at the Dawn of a Pandemic

"Riveting... It’s an impressive example of narrative journalism...A worthy addition to the historical record."— Associated Press

"The best nonfiction, in my mind, reads like a novel. It's filled with compelling characters and takes you to a place you'd never otherwise experience. It tells a story that grabs you by the throat and won't let you stop reading. Cabin Fever falls into that category...I couldn't put [it] down."— Star Tribune

" Cabin Fever is riveting, taut, and extensively researched. Smith and Franklin have written a page-turning adventure that will keep you reading late into the night."— Martin Dugard, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Taking Paris

" Cabin Fever reads like a terrific thriller; the fact that everything in it actually happened makes it even more of a page-turner. It’s a riveting book from start to finish." —Dave Barry, New York Times bestselling author of Tricky Business and Insane City

" Cabin Fever is a gripping account of how an invisible stowaway—the Covid-19 virus—transformed a fun-filled luxury cruise into an unimaginable nightmare. Through in-depth interviews with passengers and crew, Smith and Franklin bring the reader on board the fated Zaandam , day-by-day and cabin-by-cabin, as one of the world’s preeminent cruise ships veered into devastating crisis." —Sara Gay Forden, bestselling author of House of Gucci "In this gripping work of narrative nonfiction, journalists Smith and Franklin share the stories of the passengers and crew of Holland America’s Zaandam … The authors skillfully capture the fear and claustrophobia that set in as increasing numbers of passengers and crew members began to fall victim to the then-mysterious illness, requiring quarantine, as well as the struggles they faced during their journey back home and beyond. A riveting real-life drama that may reawaken your Covid-19 fears."— Kirkus Reviews

"Journalists Smith and Franklin report with vivid detail in this humanizing account of the voyage of anguish and isolation on Holland America’s virus-assaulted Zaandam , revealing the experiences of both crew and passengers...Though there's much to explore pertaining to the pandemic and the cruise ship industry, Smith and Franklin chose to focus on the resourcefulness and altruism of the crew. The result is a well-written, fast-paced, real-life thriller highlighting people caught in a nightmare situation and their triumph over adversity."— Booklist

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Review: 'cabin fever,' by michael smith and jonathan franklin.

The best nonfiction, in my mind, reads like a novel. It's filled with compelling characters and takes you to a place you'd never otherwise experience. It tells a story that grabs you by the throat and won't let you stop reading.

"Cabin Fever: The Harrowing Journey of a Cruise Ship at the Dawn of a Pandemic" falls into that category, with frightening similarities to other narrative nonfiction I couldn't put down: "Five Days at Memorial" by Sheri Fink, set in a sweltering hospital with critically ill patients after Hurricane Katrina wiped out power, and " The Siege" by Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy, which traps you inside the Taj Hotel in Mumbai as terrorists try to pick off guests one by one.

In "Cabin Fever," the invader is the coronavirus, which is attacking passengers and crew stuck on a cruise ship. The Zaandam left Buenos Aires with about 1,800 people on March 8, 2020, prepared to make its way down to the Strait of Magellan, along the western coast of South America, through the Panama Canal and then to Florida.

But we all know what happened in mid-March of 2020, as cities and countries began locking down amid the spread of COVID-19. People on the Zaandam thought they'd be fine — as far as they knew, the virus was in China and Europe, not South America.

As people start getting sick, country after country refuse to let the ship dock to let people get treated, or even just get off the Zaandam to make their way home.

Since everyone is stuck on the ship, the crew plans group activities so passengers won't get bored. No masking, no social distancing — but elaborate buffets, a poker tournament, and "Formal Night." To make matters worse, the Zaandam left port with no COVID tests and very limited medical supplies. Anyone who felt sick was given Tylenol and cough syrup.

You don't need a vivid imagination to realize this will lead to serious illness and deaths on the ship. The two journalists who wrote "Cabin Fever" — Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin — take us inside the Zaandam and its increasingly dire situation through extensive interviews with several passengers and crew members as they battle COVID and fear for their loved ones.

While the people at the core of the story talk about their terror and coping strategies during the worst of their confinement in small cabins (some without windows), I would have liked more reflection from them on how they survived the claustrophobic experience.

But the book does what it sets out to do as a true-life page-turner. Smith, who covered the Zaandam's journey for Bloomberg Businessweek, and South American journalist Franklin have done a masterful job of detailed reporting on what happened, what went wrong and how it all ended.

Laura McCallum is an editor at the Star Tribune.

Cabin Fever

By: Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin.

Publisher: Doubleday, 253 pages, $30.

Laura McCallum is the Star Tribune's Politics and Government Editor. 

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Cabin Fever: The Harrowing Journey of a Cruise Ship at the Dawn of a Pandemic

Michael smith and jonathan franklin. doubleday, $30 (272p) isbn 978-0-385-54740-6.

Reviewed on: 04/14/2022

Genre: Nonfiction

Library Binding - 500 pages - 978-1-63808-408-2

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CABIN FEVER

The harrowing journey of a cruise ship at the dawn of a pandemic.

by Michael Smith & Jonathan Franklin ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2022

A riveting real-life drama that may reawaken your Covid-19 fears.

The story of a stranded cruise ship at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In this gripping work of narrative nonfiction, journalists Smith and Franklin share the stories of the passengers and crew of Holland America’s Zaandam . In early March 2020, the ship was set to depart Buenos Aires on a monthlong journey around the tip of South America before ending at a dry dock in Port Everglades, Florida. As the authors note, the majority of the more than 1,200 passengers were seniors from around the world—three-quarters over 65, and many were in their 80s. The ship also contained approximately 600 crew members from various nations who typically worked in close quarters seven days per week for more than 12 hours per day. Unknown to most passengers, “forty-eight minutes before the Zaandam ’s departure, the U.S. State Department posted a warning about COVID-19 that was as unprecedented as it was unambiguous: ‘American citizens, especially those with underlying conditions, should not travel by cruise ship.’ ” Though news about the virus had been circulating, Holland America had refused refunds. Additionally, according to passengers, safety protocols were lax during boarding, despite assurances to the contrary, and social events continued largely as normal. At the first stops on their ports-of-call list, however, the passengers could sense the tension. Locals had become afraid of the virus arriving in their areas by cruise ship and wanted them out. When similar concerns spread around the world, ports began to close, and the ship faced dwindling supplies and an overwhelmed medical staff, which consisted of only two doctors and four nurses. The authors skillfully capture the fear and claustrophobia that set in as increasing numbers of passengers and crew members began to fall victim to the then-mysterious illness, requiring quarantine, as well as the struggles they faced during their journey back home and beyond.

Pub Date: June 21, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-385-54740-6

Page Count: 272

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: March 15, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2022

CURRENT EVENTS & SOCIAL ISSUES | HEALTH & FITNESS | BUSINESS | ISSUES & CONTROVERSIES | GENERAL BUSINESS | GENERAL CURRENT EVENTS & SOCIAL ISSUES

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ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5

Page Count: 64

Publisher: Penguin Workshop

Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020

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WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR

by Paul Kalanithi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 19, 2016

A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular...

A neurosurgeon with a passion for literature tragically finds his perfect subject after his diagnosis of terminal lung cancer.

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Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-8129-8840-6

Page Count: 248

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015

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Cabin Fever: The Harrowing Journey of a Cruise Ship at the Dawn of a Pandemic Kindle Edition

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• Publisher Doubleday
• Publication date June 21, 2022
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• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09GW1HFDH
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Doubleday (June 21, 2022)
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 21, 2022
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 2209 KB
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 260 pages
• Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 038554913X
• #46 in Hospitality, Travel & Tourism (Kindle Store)
• #248 in 21st Century History of the U.S.
• #497 in Hospitality, Travel & Tourism (Books)

About the authors

Jonathan franklin.

As an investigative journalist and non-fiction writer, I seek to capture the spirit of extreme survival. After more than a decade covering South American narco wars and organized crime heists, I realized I was risking my life for no good cause and switched careers. Now, I chronicle the everyday heroism of extreme survival.

My books include A WILD IDEA, a rollicking, inspirational biography of environmental activist Douglas Tompkins who fought for the survival of forests never logged, rivers never dammed and animals never fenced in. Working for nearly 25 years Tompkins singlehandedly launched a campaign to create a half dozen national parks in South America. I call him the greatest conservationist you've never heard of.

Released in June 2022, my most recent book is CABIN FEVER with my colleague Michael Smith -- this is a terrifying true story of survival at sea, aboard a cruise ship ambushed by Covid. Based on exclusive interviews with passengers and crew, CABIN FEVER, chronicles the heroics as beleaguered crew members fight to survive as port after port refuses to receive what is known as "The Pariah Ship.

Earlier books include 438 Days - a tale of survival at sea that Outside magazine called "the best survival book in a decade." I spent months interviewing fisherman Salvador Alvarenga and diving deep into the world of extreme survival. At first, it seemed impossible. How could a fisheman adrift in a tiny boat live 14 months at sea? Only Hollywood could have an ending like this where a single man drifts 6,000 miles and survives on his wits, humor, and resourcefulness. But it's true, Alvarenga lived for over a year in his tiny fishing boat, adrift in the Pacific. This is a daring, bold tale that highlights the simple pleasures in life. Like a glass of water. A square of chocolate. A smile. Maybe life isn't so complicated?

Michael Smith

‘Cabin Fever’ by Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin is now available to order. Michael Smith is a Miami-based investigative journalist at Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Businessweek. He’s written about financial crimes, corruption, narcotics, human smuggling and organ trafficking, and environmental and labor abuses in supply chains. Smith was a leading voice reporting on Covid outbreaks on cruise ships, including the Zaandam. More recently, he's chronicled the world of Bitcoin mining in the west Texas oil fields. Smith’s national awards include the prestigious George Polk, Maria Moors Cabot, Robert F. Kennedy, Overseas Press Club of America and Gerald Loeb prizes. Cabin Fever is his first book. @SmithMarkets

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BREAKING: A significant portion of the Key Bridge in Baltimore has collapsed after being struck by a large ship

Review: ‘Cabin Fever’ captures the horror of COVID cruise

The Associated Press

June 21, 2022, 12:19 PM

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“Cabin Fever: The Harrowing Journey of a Cruise Ship at the Dawn of a Pandemic” by Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin (Doubleday)

Imagine stepping off a dock in Buenos Aires in early March 2020 to board a ship with 1,242 fellow passengers and 586 crew members for a cruise around the tip of South America. You’ve heard about a virus making people sick in China and Italy and Spain, but it’s thousands of miles away. The prospect of touring the Falkland Islands, climbing Machu Picchu, and getting up close to a penguin colony in Chile far outweigh whatever dread you feel about global news.

That’s the starting point for a new nonfiction book called “Cabin Fever” by investigative journalists Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin. They tell the story chronologically, starting March 6, 2020, just two days before the Holland America cruise ship the MS Zaandam leaves port in Argentina. Days later the World Health Organization formally classifies COVID-19 as a pandemic and for the next 25 days, the Zaandam is adrift in international waters, denied safe harbor in every port as COVID breaks out across the world. It’s not until April 2, 2020, that the ship finally docks in Port Everglades, Florida, with three bodies in its morgue and hundreds of other sick passengers on board.

The book opens with a cast of characters — brief bios of the people on board who the journalists talked to to reconstruct the narrative. In addition to Dutch Captain Ane Smit and a few of his fellow officers, there’s a pair of retirees from Missouri hoping to cross Machu Picchu off their bucket list, two men from Nashville celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, and the manager of the ship’s massive laundry operation, Wiwit Widarto, who has spent 30 years working on cruise ships to provide for his family back home in Indonesia.

Over the course of the book’s 250 pages we learn their stories, with a focus on their experience aboard the Zaandam. Smith and Franklin eschew the Bob Woodward approach, writing in the omniscient third-person, not trying to recreate dialogue. Each dispatch is dated and time-stamped as we read about the characters’ journey from “everything’s going to be all right out here in our adult playground on the ocean” to knocks on doors as trays of food are dropped outside cabins by crew members wearing hazmat suits. The result reads like the longest newspaper story ever written mixed with the requisite dramatic flourishes required to keep readers turning pages. “One additional traveler was aboard the ship,” ends chapter one. “The crew was unaware of its presence. It was never cataloged or ordered and had not purchased a ticket. This stowaway, likely hiding in the lungs of a passenger or perhaps a crew member, was microscopic in size yet capable of overwhelming this gargantuan ship.”

The Zaandam’s journey, of course, was well covered by the media. It was one of more than 100 cruise ships at sea when COVID broke out. Thanks to social media and wi-fi, passengers shared their misery in real time. But putting it all together in a format like this gives it the proper context. It’s easy in hindsight to think it wasn’t that bad. At least six Zaandam passengers ultimately died, but the death toll in the U.S. alone has now exceeded one million people. Smith and Franklin’s riveting recount of the cruise take readers back to a time I’m sure many of them would like to forget — when fear trumped everything and nobody knew what the future looked like. It’s an impressive example of narrative journalism. Perhaps too soon for some, but a worthy addition to the historical record.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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Cabin Fever

The Harrowing Journey of a Cruise Ship at the Dawn of a Pandemic

By Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin

By michael smith and jonathan franklin read by george newbern, category: business | 21st century u.s. history | wellness, category: business | 21st century u.s. history | wellness | audiobooks.

Jun 21, 2022 | ISBN 9780385547406 | 6-1/8 x 9-1/4 --> | ISBN 9780385547406 --> Buy

Jun 21, 2022 | ISBN 9780385547437 | ISBN 9780385547437 --> Buy

Jun 21, 2022 | 498 Minutes | ISBN 9780593591734 --> Buy

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Jun 21, 2022 | ISBN 9780385547406

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498 Minutes

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About Cabin Fever

The true story of the Holland America cruise ship Zaandam , which set sail with a deadly and little-understood stowaway—COVID-19—days before the world shut down in March 2020. This riveting narrative thriller takes readers behind the scenes with passengers and crew who were caught unprepared for the deadly ordeal that lay ahead. In early 2020, the world was on edge. An ominous virus was spreading on different continents, and no one knew what the coming weeks would bring. Far from the hot spots, the cruise ship Zaandam , owned by Holland America, was preparing to sail from Buenos Aires, Argentina, loaded with 1,200 passengers—Americans, Europeans and South Americans, plus 600 crew. Most passengers were over the age of sixty-five. There was concern about the virus on the news, and it had already killed and sickened passengers on other Holland America ships. But that was oceans away, and escaping to sea at the ends of the earth for a few weeks seemed like it might be a good option. The cruise line had said the voyage (three weeks around the South American coastline to see some of the world’s most stunning natural wonders and ancient ruins) would carry on as scheduled, with no refunds. And it would be safe. Among the travelers there is a retired American school superintendent on a dream vacation with his wife of fifty-six years, on a personal quest to see Machu Picchu. There is an Argentine psychologist taking this trip to celebrate her sixty-fourth birthday with her husband, though she finds herself fretting in her cabin on day one, trying to dismiss her fears of what she’s hearing on the news. There is an Indonesian laundry manager who’s been toiling on Holland America cruise ships for thirty years, sending his monthly paycheck to his family back home. Within days, people aboard Zaandam begin to fall sick. The world’s ports shut down. Zaandam becomes a top story on the news and is denied safe harbor everywhere. With only two doctors aboard and few medical supplies to test for or treat COVID-19, and with dwindling food and water, the ship wanders the oceans on an unthinkable journey.

Listen to a sample from Cabin Fever

Also by jonathan franklin.

About Michael Smith

MICHAEL SMITH is an award-winning investigative reporter at Bloomberg Businessweek. His long-form stories document financial crimes, the business of narcotics… More about Michael Smith

About Jonathan Franklin

JONATHAN FRANKLIN is a journalist and TV commentator based in South America for the past 24 years. Franklin’s most recent… More about Jonathan Franklin

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Cabin fever: the harrowing journey of a cruise ship at the dawn of a pandemic - hardcover, smith, michael ; franklin, jonathan.

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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Hardcover. The true story of the Holland America cruise ship Zaandam, which set sail with a deadly and little-understood stowawayCOVID-19days before the world shut down in March 2020. This riveting narrative thriller takes readers behind the scenes with passengers and crew who were caught unprepared for the deadly ordeal that lay ahead.In early 2020, the world was on edge. An ominous virus was spreading on different continents, and no one knew what the coming weeks would bring. Far from the hot spots, the cruise ship Zaandam, owned by Holland America, was preparing to sail from Buenos Aires, Argentina, loaded with 1,200 passengersAmericans, Europeans and South Americans, plus 600 crew.Most passengers were over the age of sixty-five. There was concern about the virus on the news, and it had already killed and sickened passengers on other Holland America ships. But that was oceans away, and escaping to sea at the ends of the earth for a few weeks seemed like it might be a good option. The cruise line had said the voyage (three weeks around the South American coastline to see some of the worlds most stunning natural wonders and ancient ruins) would carry on as scheduled, with no refunds. And it would be safe.Among the travelers there is a retired American school superintendent on a dream vacation with his wife of fifty-six years, on a personal quest to see Machu Picchu. There is an Argentine psychologist taking this trip to celebrate her sixty-fourth birthday with her husband, though she finds herself fretting in her cabin on day one, trying to dismiss her fears of what shes hearing on the news. There is an Indonesian laundry manager who's been toiling on Holland America cruise ships for thirty years, sending his monthly paycheck to his family back home.Within days, people aboard Zaandam begin to fall sick. The worlds ports shut down. Zaandam becomes a top story on the news and is denied safe harbor everywhere. With only two doctors aboard and few medical supplies to test for or treat COVID-19, and with dwindling food and water, the ship wanders the oceans on an unthinkable journey. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780385547406

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Cabin Fever

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5 Cheapest Cabins on Any Cruise Ship

A cruise vacation offers a tremendous value already. But not every cabin is created equal.

In this article we are going to look at the 5 cheapest cruise cabins on any ship.

If you want to save as much money as possible you should look for these staterooms. Just know that they are cheaper for a reason.

Still, booking these more affordable accommodations will allow you to cruise more often , as we went over in another article on how to cruise more often .

Interior Cabins

The advertised price you see for a cruise on a brochure or website is almost always the price for an interior cabin. Cruise lines like to show a really cheap rate to make a cruise vacation look even more affordable. So, they show you the cost of the very cheapest cabin on the ship: an inside cabin.

These cabins have no balcony, no window, and often not quite as much space. But if you don’t mind the darkness, meandering the interior halls of a cruise ship to find your cabin, and wondering what time of day it is when you wake up, an interior cabin fits the bill.

How much cheaper is an inside cabin compared to a balcony cabin?

In many cases an interior stateroom is 50% to 90% cheaper than a stateroom with a balcony or veranda. All things being equal, this means you can go on three cruises with an inside cabin for the same price as you would pay for just two cruises with a balcony.

As long as you don’t get claustrophobic and don’t mind a tighter space, getting in the habit of booking one of these cabins will allow you to go on more cruises. These staterooms still have all the other amenities of other cabins such as two twin beds that make into a king, nightstands, a desk, TV, closet, and mini-fridge.

Before you’re tempted to stretch your budget for a balcony cabin, remember that you’ll get to enjoy the same food, shows, and amenities on the ship as everyone else, even if you opt for the cheapest cabin on the vessel.

Read more: Best cruise cabins and how to find them 7 Reasons for booking an interior cabin

Guaranteed Staterooms

When selecting your cabin on a cruise booking you may see something called a guaranteed cabin rate. This simply means that you pick the category and the cruise line will select the cabin for you and make sure you get at least that category or higher. You can get a guaranteed stateroom in the interior, ocean view, balcony, or even suite category, which will guarantee a lower rate than if you had personally selected the exact stateroom location for that category.

This is why it’s one of the cheapest cabins you can get on the ship, and it works across many categories.

But while this gets you a better deal on a cabin, it also comes with a risk. You may end up in a less than desirable location, and there’s nothing you can do to change it.

After booking your cruise your stateroom will remain unassigned for a while until the cruise line works their magic and finally reveals where you will spend your vacation.

If the location on the ship is not a big deal to you, but you still want to make sure you have a certain category or higher, a guaranteed cabin is a great option.

However, if you like to be near an elevator, want a cabin near the lido deck, or have a general preference on where you will sleep on the ship, you should opt out of the guaranteed rate, and just pick the cabin yourself.

Related: Cabins that should probably be avoided

Studio Cabins

While the listed price of a solo cabin, or studio cabin, may be higher than the regular cabins in the same category (not always), when you factor in the lack of a “single supplement fee”, it ends up being cheaper in most cases.

After all, you have to remember that those listed cruise prices only show the cost on a per person basis. With a studio cabin made for solo travelers the price is not automatically doubled, like it is for a standard cabin. So you have to consider the price of a studio cabin without the single supplement fee.

Now, not every cruise ship has solo cabins. I recently put together a list of every cruise ship that currently has solo staterooms . Cruise lines like Carnival, Princess, and Disney Cruise Line do not have studio cabins, so solo travelers will have to look elsewhere for a studio cabin rate.

Solo cabins are some of the first cabins sold out when a cruise line opens bookings. There has been a resurgence in solo travel as of late, so if you want to book a studio cabin you will want to do so well in advance of your planned cruise dates.

As you can see in the screen shot below, a studio cabin on a 2024 Caribbean cruise with Norwegian Epic is currently about 60% cheaper than the inside cabin. Norwegian Epic has more solo cabins than any other cruise ship at sea right now, so it’s a go-to choice for many solo cruisers.

Again, you can check out our full list of cruise ships with solo cabins for a more comprehensive list.

Ocean View Cabins

Normally, an ocean view cabin will cost more than an inside or interior cabin. But I have seen prices between the two categories that were practically identical. It may be only a few dollars more to book an ocean view stateroom over an interior stateroom, making it will worth it to have some natural light and a bit of a view.

I have even seen some ocean view cabins that were the same price as the inside cabins, making it an easy decision for those wanting a little more space. Sometimes these are obstructed views or smaller porthole windows, but if you’re looking for the cheapest cabin on the ship, make sure you don’t overlook this option.

Combine an ocean view with a guaranteed cabin selection and you can get a cheaper rate than an interior cabin as well, so don’t assume you have to settle with a windowless room if you want to save money.

I always like to look at the square footage of the cabin as well, so I know if I’m just getting a better view or some extra space on top of it. The square footage may vary even in the same class if a set of cabins are at the bow of the ship, for instance. Near the forward part of the ship the exterior of the vessel will narrow, impacting how much space you actually have. This is why a quick look at the ship’s deck plans can help clarify what you’re paying for.

Related: Best way to get cabin upgrades

Obstructed View Cabins

I’ve booked a few cruises with an obstructed view before, but it wasn’t on purpose. You see, when you book a guaranteed cabin you never know where the cruise line will put you. My first Princess cruise had a lifeboat right outside the window of my ocean view cabin, but I was happy to have saved a lot of money on a cheaper cabin. And some view is better than no view in my opinion.

While obstructed view cabins are among the cheapest on a cruise ship, they come in a variety of categories and actually obstructions. An ocean view or a balcony cabin may have an obstructed view, typically caused by a lifeboat, but the lifeboat could be covering 75% of your view or just a small part of it. Sometimes it’s just part of the structure of the ship that will block your view or a large beam that gets in the way.

Either way, these obstructions, while somewhat annoying, can save you money.

A great positive on obstructed view cabins is that they are typically in desirable locations on the ship. Since usually it’s a row of lifeboats that block the views these cabins are located mid-ship, providing easy access both to the lido deck and lowest passenger deck when tendering.

What kinds of things can obstruct the view other than a lifeboat? It can be a number of things but often will include the following: gondola cleaning machines, walkways and observation decks, a bulkhead, whirlpools, steel railings, etc.

An important think to note is that cruise lines will always tell you if the cabin you book has an obstructed view. But sometimes it will say “partial view” and could end up as just a minimal obstruction.

Newer cruise ships try to minimize the number of cabins with obstructed views because they can’t sell them for the same rates as regular cabins, but if you want to find some great deals on a cruise ship don’t shy away from those obstructed views.

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Everything you want to know about cabins and suites on Carnival Cruise Line ships

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Picking a cabin on a Carnival Cruise Line ship isn’t nearly as complicated as picking a cabin on, say, a Royal Caribbean or a Celebrity Cruises ship.

Unlike some of its biggest competitors, Carnival isn’t known for a huge range of cabin categories on its vessels.

That means that when you’re trying to find the best Carnival cruise ship cabin for you, you’ll have an easier time than you will when booking with some other lines.

The vast majority of the accommodations on Carnival ships fall into one of three broad buckets: Windowless “inside” cabins, oceanview cabins and balcony cabins.

For more cruise guides, news and tips, sign up for TPG’s cruise newsletter .

You’ll find relatively few suites on Carnival ships. Each of the vessels in Carnival’s recent Vista-class series, for instance, offer fewer than 75 suites. Each of the line’s earlier Conquest-class ships have around 50 suites. The oldest Fantasy-class vessels have 28 suites and 26 junior suites.

This is in part due to Carnival’s focus on offering an affordable product. The typical Carnival customer isn’t in the market for a super fancy, high-priced suite.

Related: The ultimate guide to Carnival Cruise Line

That said, Carnival has seen the success that some of its competitors have had with a bigger range of upscale accommodations, and it’s eyeing more suites for future vessels. The line’s two newest ships, Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration , each have 180 suites — more than twice the number found on the vessels Carnival was unveiling a few years ago.

Note that Carnival’s two oldest ships — those that are part of the 1990s-built Fantasy Class — have relatively few balcony cabins by today’s standards. (After retrofitting, they have around 150 balcony cabins, out of a total of more than 1,000 cabins in all.) In part because of this, Carnival has been phasing Fantasy-class ships out of its fleet in recent years.

A Carnival Cruise Line cabin primer

As is typical for many cruise ships, Carnival vessels offer cabins in four broad categories: Windowless “inside” cabins, oceanview cabins, balcony cabins and suites.

On newer Carnival ships, a significant portion of cabins are balcony cabins — the rooms everyone wants these days. But the ratio of balcony cabins to non-balcony cabins on Carnival’s newer ships isn’t nearly as high as on the newer ships of some rival lines such as Royal Caribbean.

About 44% of the 2,004 cabins on Carnival’s Carnival Panorama (launched in 2019) are balcony cabins, for instance. Compare that to the 65% of cabins on Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas (launched in 2018) that are balcony cabins.

As noted above, Carnival ships also have fewer suites than you’ll find on the ships of some of its rival lines. By contrast, the line’s newer ships have a higher percentage of inside cabins than you’ll find on the newer ships of some rival lines.

Here’s a breakdown of the broad cabin categories on Carnival Panorama, which is typical of the line’s newer ships:

Inside cabins: 789 (39%)

Oceanview cabins: 254 (13%)

Balcony cabins: 891 (44%)

Suites: 70 (3%)

On older Carnival ships (and, in general, all older cruise ships), there are far fewer balcony cabins. Fewer than 10% of cabins on the line’s two oldest vessels, Carnival Paradise and Carnival Elation, are balcony cabins. The two ships date to 1998.

On both Carnival Paradise and Carnival Elation, inside cabins and ocean-view cabins make up the majority (nearly 90%) of accommodations, and suites account for fewer than 10% of rooms. Here is the breakdown for Carnival Paradise:

Inside cabins: 420 (40%)

Oceanview cabins: 466 (44%)

Balcony cabins: 98 (9%)

Suites: 78 (7%)

The takeaway here is that you’ll have a tougher time locking down a balcony cabin on an older Carnival ship than on a newer vessel. If you’re planning a cruise on one of the line’s older vessels and a balcony cabin is a must, you’ll want to book early to make sure you get one.

You’ll also want to book early if you’re aiming for a suite — particularly if you want one of the best suites on a Carnival ship. An old saw in the cruise industry is that “ships sell from the top and the bottom.” That is, the first cabins on any vessel to sell out are the most expensive cabins, which are the suites, and the least expensive cabins, which typically are the inside cabins. The “middle” sells last.

Design-wise, Carnival’s cabins and suites are fairly basic and comfortable, if not super stylish. Cabins on recently unveiled or overhauled vessels mostly have a soothing palette of creams and blues. Cabinetry in these rooms is a crisp and clean faux wood. Cabin bathrooms are neutral.

One exception is the new Carnival Venezia , which has a darker (faux) wood finish to furniture in cabins that ties into the ship’s Italy theme.

Related: The 5 best destinations you can visit on a Carnival ship

Inside cabins on Carnival Cruise Line ships

Inside cabins are the cabins you stay in when you’re on a tight budget. On any Carnival ship, they almost always are the least-expensive option when you’re booking a cabin, and you often can save considerable money by booking an inside cabin versus an ocean-view or higher-level cabin.

What you’ll give up, of course, is that ocean view. Your room will have four walls and no windows offering a glimpse of the outside world.

On many cruise ships, inside cabins are smaller than oceanview and balcony cabins. But on Carnival ships, that’s not always the case. On Carnival Panorama, for instance, most inside cabins measure 185 square feet. That’s the same size as the interior area of some oceanview and most balcony cabins on the ship (not including the extra square footage from the balcony).

Related: Why inside cabins aren’t as bad as you think

Inside cabins on Royal Caribbean’s new Wonder of the Seas , by contrast, measure just 149 square feet — quite a bit less than the inside cabins on Carnival Panorama.

Note that, in a quirk of the cabin categorization system at Carnival, there are a few inside cabins on some Carnival ships that do, indeed, have a view to the outside world. These cabins either have an obstructed view (often due to lifeboats) or a porthole, such that the view isn’t all that great. For that reason, the line classifies them as inside cabins.

Oceanview cabins on Carnival Cruise Line ships

With an oceanview cabin, you get a window looking out to the sea but not an attached balcony where you can sit outside and enjoy the fresh air.

Carnival’s newer ships have relatively few such cabins, as generally cabins that face outwards now are built with balconies. But older Carnival ships are loaded with oceanview cabins.

Oceanview cabins on Carnival ships can sometimes be bigger than inside cabins and even bigger than balcony cabins (when comparing their interior space). On Carnival Panorama, some oceanview cabins measure 185 square feet — the same as inside cabins. But there also are bigger “standard” oceanview cabins that measure 220 square feet and “deluxe” oceanview cabins that measure 230 square feet.

Related: The 5 best cabin locations on any cruise ship

Balcony cabins on Carnival Cruise Line ships

Balcony cabins are what everyone wants these days, and Carnival is building its newest ships with far more of them than in the past. As noted above, about 44% of the cabins Carnival Panorama are balcony cabins. But that percentage jumped to 56% on the newer Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration. It will be the same on Carnival Jubilee, a sister vessel to Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration coming out in December 2023.

The typical Carnival balcony cabin has a contemporary look, with clean lines and relatively minimalist furniture. It typically features twin beds that can be converted into a king bed, a built-in desk area and a sofa that often pulls out into an additional bed. Some rooms have pull-down bunks to create more sleeping spaces. Balcony cabins typically measure around 185 square feet, not including the veranda area, which often measures 35 square feet.

Note that on some Carnival ships, specific categories of balcony cabins have larger balconies than most. These are wonderful for sitting out and watching the waves. Often these rooms are at the back of the ships overlooking the wake.

Related: 6 reasons to book a balcony cabin on your next cruise

For instance, Carnival Panorama has “Family Harbor” and “Havana” balcony cabins with 60-square-foot balconies overlooking the wake. That’s 71% more balcony space than the typical balcony cabin on the ship.

Carnival Panorama also has “Havana Cabana” balcony cabins with even bigger, 100-square-foot balconies.

Suites on Carnival Cruise Line ships

As noted above, Carnival ships generally don’t offer a lot of suites. For the most part, the suites they have are relatively modest in size and amenities compared to the suites at some of the line’s rivals.

The biggest suites on Carnival Panorama, the ship’s eight Grand Suites, have 345 square feet of interior space, plus an 85-square-foot balcony. Contrast that to the biggest suites on Royal Caribbean ships, which can measure more than 1,500 square feet.

Suites on Carnival ships also haven’t traditionally come with butlers and access to private concierge lounges like the suites on many other vessels.

Related: This amazing new cruise ship suite measures more than 4,000 square feet

Still, some of that has begun to change with the debut of Carnival’s new Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration. Carnival went big with the suites on the groundbreaking, 5,282-passenger vessels — the biggest Carnival ships ever.

Unveiled in 2021 and 2022, respectively, Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration each feature two sprawling Presidential Suites that measure 1,120 square feet — bigger than any other accommodations in the line’s fleet.

Located at the top of each ship on Deck 17, the complexes have separate living and sleeping areas and the most expansive balconies in the Carnival fleet — all unusual-for-Carnival features. Measuring more than 600 square feet, the balconies also offer a lounging area with a large sunbed and a private outdoor hot tub and shower.

Related: 7 reasons you should splurge for a suite on a cruise ship

The Presidential Suites are among 180 suites you will find on Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration, the most ever for a Carnival ship.

The two ships have 11 different categories of suites in all, four of which are part of a new premium “Excel” category of suites with extra amenities and access to a new-for-the-line, resort-style enclave at the top of the ships called Loft 19.

In addition to the two Presidential Suites, the Excel suites include a dozen 861-square-foot Excel Aft Suites that overlook the back of each ship and boast separate living rooms and bedrooms and large wraparound balconies with hot tubs.

Slightly smaller are a dozen 710-square-foot Excel Corner Suites offering separate sleeping and lounging areas and wraparound balconies. A step down are six smaller Excel Suites that measure 614 square feet.

Every one of the suites in those categories is bigger than any suite found on Carnival Panorama.

Passengers staying in all four categories of Excel suites on Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration have access to a dedicated concierge phone line and guaranteed dining times at the extra-charge specialty restaurants found on the ships (except for Japanese eatery Bonsai Teppanyaki and the Chef’s Table). Other upgraded amenities for Excel suite passengers include complimentary Bottomless Bubbles soda packages, room service and laundry service, sparkling wine upon arrival and upgraded bathroom toiletries.

The new Loft 19 enclave found on both Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration offers full bar service, a private pool surrounded by sun loungers and cabanas available for rent.

Related: A guide to Carnival’s VIFP loyalty program

Bottom Line

Fun-focused Carnival offers a solid mix of cabins on its vessels for a range of price points. If you’re looking for an inexpensive vacation option, the inside cabins on Carnival ships are more spacious than the inside cabins you’ll find on the ships of some rival lines. Oceanview cabins on Carnival ships also can be larger than normal for the category. Balcony cabins on Carnival ships hold their own in size against most competitors. Just don’t expect a huge number of suites when sailing with Carnival.

Planning a cruise? Start with these stories:

• A quick guide to the most popular cruise lines
• 21 tips and tricks that will make your cruise go smoothly
• 15 ways cruisers waste money
• 12 best cruises for people who never want to grow up
• What to pack for your first cruise

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Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.