Tonight, hundreds of Belizeans in far flung corners of the world, from Asia, to the UK to the USA, are still waiting for an opportunity or an opening to get back home. And while most of them are depending on flights that are slow to materialize, the ones who've had it easiest so far are those Belizean nationals who worked on cruise lines. They have suffered mightily, being on the sea since early April and not touching solid ground for months. But, since late May, Cruise lines have been making stops in Caribbean ports, dropping home crew from the island nations and the Atlantic coast of Central America.
This weekend, two more ships with 22 Belizeans brought their passengers home. Cherisse Halsall was on the waterfront:
Cruise ships have been their home for months - and the closest they got to Belize was by holding a flag.
It started on Saturday morning when the Carnival Glory docked 5 miles southeast of Belize City.
And it was the same drill as last time with police blocking off a large portion of Marine Parade - supposedly protecting the public from these un-quarantined cruisers.
This time there was a small audience, already one week into quarantine, to witness this second arrival.
Shortly before noon, 9 Belizeans followed in the footsteps of the crew from the Rhapsody of the Seas and walked down Radisson's pier headed safely for a comfortable quarantine
And it continued this morning with the Norwegian Cruise Line's Oceania Marina which brought in DJ Lindy D and 12 others
Once on land, they lined up to quickly sanitize before being guided into the hotel.
And just like the two groups before them they were debriefed about the do's and don'ts of their Radisson lockdown then quickly ushered to their rooms where they'll spend the next 14 days of their mandatory quarantine.
That brings the Radisson's occupancy to 36 quarantined Belizeans back home but days away from freedom and perhaps the chance of the embrace of their loved ones.
News sought comment from Foreign Affairs CEO Annie Lou Burns who says that several ministries are working in tandem to assist Belizean stranded all over the world. She says that up to yesterday, 489 people had applied to be repatriated, but that number is growing by the day. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently asking other countries to assist where they can while placing priority on Belizean citizens in distress.
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