(WXYZ) — A Lenawee County family returned home Wednesday night after being stranded in Cambodia because of the coronavirus outbreak. Passengers on the ship were desperate for help, even tweeting at the president and vice president to intervene.
The family has been traveling for two days on just a couple hours of sleep. They are indeed happy to be home after being stuck at sea, drifting undirected.
RELATED: Lenawee County family stranded in Cambodia amid coronavirus concerns
"It's good to be home," said Steve Muth.
Other counties would not let them dock. Once they made land, they had trouble booking flights because a woman on his ship tested positive for the Coronavirus. Now he has questions on how this situation was handled.
— Ali Hoxie (@ali_hoxie) February 20, 2020
DETAILS: https://t.co/8GuA0iBjl2 @wxyzdetroit https://t.co/LpDsxsDn5F
Steve and his family were elated to be back on U.S. soil after being stranded overseas due to the virus outbreak.
"We go to Thailand, there's actually a warship that greets us there," Muth said.
Steve's wife and daughter, and her boyfriend went on a 14-day Holland American cruise that left from Hong Kong. They say the crew assured them the virus would not impact their voyage.
[con’t] LANDED: The family is back on U.S. soil after being stranded on a cruise ship.
— Rudy Harper (@RudyHarperWXYZ) February 20, 2020
We put together a quick story on how the #CoronaviriusOutbreak impacted their trip. @wxyzdetroit at 11. pic.twitter.com/l4bmN7vQgQ
"They denied people boarding who were from China or had been to China," Muth said. "They figured everything was good... they took all precautions."
However, their nightmare came true on Tuesday. The ship was prohibited from docking with more than 2,200 people on board, including over 600 Americans.
The ship was turned away from multiple cities and countries.
"Our state department, in my view, did not look good at that level," Muth said.
The family disembarked in Cambodia and flew to Dubai, then to the U.S. Muth says the cruise line gave them a full refund, flights and money towards their next cruise, which they plan to take within the next year.
