Finally Off the Courterdeck

A couple weeks ago, I wrote here about my friend, novelist and ad litem children's advocate Gay Courter who was quarantined on the Diamond Princess with her husband Phil.  The happy news is that they're well and finally back home.​

​Huzzah.

She said it all played out like a B-movie and even had a crazy ending.  As Gay explained, "When the mayor of San Antonio said we radioactive zombies couldn’t enter his town, one of my travel insurance policies went into effect and they sent a private jet to take us home.  That part was fun."

There's sort of an an odd bonus ending to the tale, as well.  During the quarantine, the cruise line put out a notice on behalf of the passengers, which I came across on their website when trying to track down news of the Courters' status.  It said -- 
 
“Because of the extraordinary circumstances onboard Diamond Princess, the company is refunding the full cruise fare for all guests including air travel, hotel, ground transportation, pre-paid shore excursions, gratuities and other items. In addition, guests are not being charged for any onboard incidental charges during the additional time onboard. Princess Cruises will also provide guests with a future cruise credit equal to the cruise fare paid for the voyage."
 
I thought, boy, was that ever clever of Gay and Phil.  The lengths some people will go to get out of paying for a cruise.  And get another for free!  Mind you, I'm not sure if going on another cruise is high on their list, at least for now.  But perhaps in the future.  After all, they have it in writing, and as Gay wrote back, "Yes, now they are stuck with the deal!"