Oklahoma Couple Under Quarantine On Grand Princess Cruise Ship

An Oklahoma couple is among those under quarantine on a cruise ship in California.

The Grand Princess shipped out from San Francisco for a Hawaiian cruise on February 21. David and Maribeth VonTungeln from El Reno were on board, along with Maribeth’s sister, brother-in-law and about 2,400 other people.

“I never had been to Pearl Harbor, I really enjoyed that,” David said. “It’s been a good trip overall, we’ve had a good time.”

They cruised to four islands and were supposed to make one more stop in Mexico before docking Saturday back in California. But that last stop was canceled when 19 crew members and two passengers tested positive for the COVID-19 strand of coronavirus. The ship went under quarantine and everyone on board was confined to their cabins.

“We’ve been cruising outside of San Francisco since last Thursday, just floating around in circles waiting on them to get everything lined out for coming into port,’ said David.

They said the crew provided everyone with masks and no one could open the door without wearing one. The VonTungelns have kept busy playing cards and dominoes and they’ve stayed positive.

“Being Christians makes a big difference because you know God's got it. He's in control and we can't change the circumstances, so we might as well be as happy about it as we can,” said Maribeth.

They said they're lucky because they've got a balcony and they’ve been able to get some fresh air and Maribeth says the small space hasn’t stopped her from staying active, she’s managed to walk three miles every day in her cabin.

They also have access to TV, phone, internet and, of course, food.

"We're in a room that's probably nicer than probably 90-percent of the world's population lives in, we've got room service, so it really hasn't been that bad," David said.

The Grand Princess docked at the Port of Oakland Monday. The 21 people who tested positive for COVID-19 were taken to a hospital for treatment.

All other passengers will go into a 14-day quarantine at military bases in California, Texas or Georgia.       

The VonTungelns hope they’ll get to leave the ship sometime Wednesday, but they don’t know which state they’ll end up in for their next quarantine.

They said they’re ready to get home, sleep in their own bed and more than anything, hug their grandkids.

The couple said the cruise liner is refunding the trip and will send them on another cruise for free. They said they’re excited to go on another cruise, but not right away.