A DJ was stuck on a cruise ship for nearly three months due to coronavirus restrictions
He was part of the crew across a number of ships at sea when the virus hit
A DJ was stuck on a cruise ship for nearly three months due to coronavirus restrictions
Caio Saldanha, a Brazilian DJ, signed up to work on a 24-week run of shows aboard Celebrity Cruises’ 1,000-foot Celebrity Infinity ship.
The Trump administration issued a no-sail mandate on all boating on March 13th following the COVID-19 pandemic, the day before the Celebrity Infinity ship was set to depart from Florida’s Tampa Bay. Saldanha, and his fiance who was on board the ship with him, were stuck in limbo for three months just off the Bay, and waiting to be repatriated to Brazil.
Initially, cruise companies only expected to be shuttered for four weeks following the no-sail mandate, which meant crew stayed on board. But in April, the U.S. government pushed the date of the no-sail order back to late July.
Eventually it was announced that crews were allowed to disembark the ship, but only if their bosses agreed to foot the repatriation bills. Saldanha and his fiance travelled by the cruise ship to Barbados on May 27th, and flew back to Brazil.
In late April, travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic left Almad, a DJ from Athens who founded the PlayHouse party series — which has hosted nights in London, Stockholm, and Ibiza — and the PlayHouse Time Records label, stranded at Frankfurt airport. He gave DJ Mag his account of living almost a month of lockdown in a shuttered international departure lounge.
