On 7 March 1,200 tourists, including Americans, Australians, Canadians, Brits and Europeans, gathered on the dock in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to board Holland America’s 780-foot long, ten-story tall Zaandam for a 31-day South American cruise of a lifetime.

Few on board had heard of the virus as they set sail. No one could imagine the extraordinary sequence of events that was about to unfold on the high seas.

The tension rises and falls as passengers hear the news about the outbreak on land and the first signs of it appear on ship. Then the Zaandam is prevented from docking in port after port. At one point their passage is blocked by a Chilean naval cutter with guns raised.

In an attempt to manage the rising number of casualties onboard, the sister ship Rotterdam is called into action to meet the Zaandam on the high seas to take some of the passengers and transfer some of their staff to the Zaandam to help out. A high-risk manoeuvre in rough conditions that few would attempt. Only the crew of the Rotterdam don’t know about the Covid outbreak on the sister ship until it is too late. Some of the crew try to mutiny and lock themselves in their cabins.

Meanwhile diplomats are desperately trying to negotiate for the Zaandam and the Rotterdam to sail down the Panama canal. A nail-biting journey through very narrow waters akin to threading a needle.

Cabin Fever is a story layered with moments of kindness, peril and perseverance. A remarkable tale that is filled with individual acts of heroism, the struggles and the tragedies of the crew and passengers.