The overseas odyssey continues for Dr. Joseph Rizza, Tucsonβs castaway cruise ship physician.
When last we heard from the 72-year-old SaddleBrooke resident on April 10, he was stuck on board the Celebrity Solstice as it circled Australia on its way to Singapore.
Now Rizza is on an entirely different cruise ship, due to arrive in the Philippine capital of Manila on Saturday. But itβs still unclear what will happen when he gets there, as Rizza fights to return home from a five-day work assignment that has turned into a six-week ordeal.
βI feel as if I am in one of those episodes of βThe Twilight Zoneβ I watched as a kid in the β60s,β Rizza said in an email Wednesday. βA cruel joke.β
Rizza joined the Solstice crew in New Zealand on March 15 as an emergency, mid-cruise replacement, after one of the shipβs doctors abruptly resigned.
When the ship reached Sydney on March 20, its roughly 2,300 passengers were allowed to get off, but Rizza and the other 1,100 crew members were not permitted to leave.
About a dozen passengers later tested positive for COVID-19 and one died from the virus.
No longer welcome in the port of Sydney, the Solstice spent the next two weeks floating off the coast of Australia before transferring about 650 crew members to another cruise ship and heading for Singapore.
Along the way, Rizza said, the ship attempted to stop at the Indonesian city of Surabaya, but it was only allowed to anchor outside the port to take on fuel and supplies.
The Solstice then continued toward Singapore, where it was expected to arrive this Sunday, but Rizza said he had already been told they wouldnβt be allowed to dock or let him off to catch a flight back to the States.
βSo I opted to be transferred by lifeboat at 2 a.m. to the ship Spectrum of the Seas, out at sea 20 miles off the coast of Bali,β he said.
According to Rizza, his new ship is now headed to Manila to drop off several hundred Filipino crew members β and hopefully him β before departing for Shanghai with the remaining crew.
βI hope to be allowed to fly home instead of having to undergo another 14 days of quarantineβ on board yet another cruise ship, Rizza said in his email.
The information has been discouraging so far from the human resources department of Royal Caribbean, which owns both the Soltice and the Spectrum of the Seas.
One message warned that Rizza would have to abide by whatever quarantine directives are in place when he reaches the Philippines.
A subsequent message indicated that all flights into or out of the U.S. had been suspended for 30 days per instructions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though no such directive could be found on the CDCβs website.
Rizza said several of his former Solstice shipmates have apparently tested positive for coronavirus, but so far no one has developed anything more than mild symptoms.
He said as far as he knows, his current ship is COVID-19 free.
βWe have aboard about 1,500 very healthy and happy crew, the majority of which are very young Chinese citizens,β Rizza wrote.
He signed off his recent emails with this: βHope to write to you from home sometime soon.β
Photos for April 23: Tucson gets by during Coronavirus Pandemic
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Erika Munoz, owner of Seis Kitchen, hands over a bag of meals to Michael Gallagher Carondelet, a registered nurse at St. Joseph's Hospital, to distribute to other nurses and hospital workers, on April 23, 2020. The donation was made in conjunction with A+C (Athletes/Artists+Causes) Foundation's βProject Frontline.β In two deliveries, 400 meals (200 poc chuck chicken and 200 puerco verde burritos) will be given to medical personnel at Carondelet St. Josephβs Hospital. The particular donation was made possible by the Houston Astros' Pitching Coach Brent Strom, who lives in Tucson.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Hospital workers wheel in carts full of catered meals donated by Seis Kitchen to Carondelet St. Joseph's Hospital, on April 23, 2020. The donation was made in conjunction with A+C (Athletes/Artists+Causes) Foundation's βProject Frontline.β In two deliveries, 400 meals (200 poc chuck chicken and 200 puerco verde burritos) will be given to medical personnel at Carondelet St. Josephβs Hospital. The particular donation was made possible by the Houston Astros' Pitching Coach Brent Strom, who lives in Tucson.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Kristi Hall, a sixth grade teacher at Desert Sky Middle School, participates in planning a lesson with a fellow teacher on Zoom, at her home on April 17, 2020. Schools in the Vail School District are supposed to open in July due to their year-round school calendar. Plans are being made for the possibility of students returning to the physical classroom.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Bry Kelley, a warehouse assistant, places a pallet filled with food down next to other items donated to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona on on April 21, 2020. Forty-one thousand pounds of flour, pasta and canned goods were donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The donation is part of an ongoing global effort by the church to address immediate needs of people and orgainzations due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
A pallet of food is placed down next to other items donated to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona on on April 21, 2020. Forty-one thousand pounds of flour, pasta and canned goods were donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The donation is part of an ongoing global effort by the church to address immediate needs of people and orgainzations due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Christian Bergman, 4th year University of Arizona medical student, takes the temperature of a patient outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020. Medical students from the University of Arizona and other universities volunteer to help the homeless population with the growing concerns of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) within the homeless population. βThis is a vulnerable population in our community; they canβt defend themselves in a society already running short on supplies and resources,β said Bergman. Medical students and medical personal help by giving out food, drinks with electrolytes and masks to the homeless. Those who are sick, medically impaired or have been exposed to those with COVID-19 are isolated outdoors in tents on the property. As of Sunday April 19, there were 13 individuals whom are isolated in tents.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Lekha Chesnick, 1st year medical student at Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, talks with a homeless man (whom choose to not give his name) outside of the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020. Medical students from the University of Arizona and other universities volunteer to help the homeless population with the growing concerns of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) within the homeless population. Medical students and medical personal help by giving out food, drinks with electrolytes and masks to the homeless. Those who are sick, medically impaired or have been exposed to those with COVID-19 are isolated outdoors in tents on the property. As of Sunday April 19, there were 13 individuals whom are isolated in tents.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Christian Bergman, 4th year University of Arizona medical student, checks on a patient outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020. Medical students from the University of Arizona and other universities volunteer to help the homeless population with the growing concerns of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) within the homeless population. βThis is a vulnerable population in our community; they canβt defend themselves in a society already running short on supplies and resources,β said Bergman. Medical students and medical personal help by giving out food, drinks with electrolytes and masks to the homeless. Those who are sick, medically impaired or have been exposed to those with COVID-19 are isolated outdoors in tents on the property. As of Sunday April 19, there were 13 individuals whom are isolated in tents.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Elliott Dumont, owner of Roadrunner Bicycles, 6177 E. Broadway Blvd., works on a customer's bike on April 22, 2020. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has not slowed down bike shops. With many people at home, they are bringing bicycles for repairs and buying new ones for exercise. Dumont says he's booked out till the first week of May for tuneups on bikes.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Elliot DuMont, owner of Roadrunner Bicycles, 6177 E. Broadway Blvd., far left, helps Ethan Sasz, far right, and his son, Evan, 10, with a mountain bike purchase on April 22, 2020. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has not slowed down bike shops. With many people at home, they are bringing bicycles for repairs and buying new ones for exercise. Dumont says he's booked out till the first week of May for tuneups on bikes.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Marcella Montoya waits in her vehicle as general manger David Kessler brings out her order, as Bear Canyon Pizza serving their customers despite COVID-19 restrictions, April 22, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Kitchen manger Koa Hoffmann tosses dough while working up a crust for a call-in order as he and few others keep cooking at Bear Canyon Pizza despite COVID-19 restrictions, April 22, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Alvaro Enciso, a local artist, works in one of his studios at his home on April 9, 2020. Every Tuesday Enciso travels into the Sonoran desert to post crosses where migrants have died after crossing illegally over the U.S./Mexico border as part of a project he's titled Donde Mueren Los Suenos / Where Dreams Die. With the outbreak of the coronavirus disease his six year project is on hold and instead he works on other artwork at home.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Dolly Spalding works on a pen and ink drawing in her apartment at the Redondo Tower Apartments on April 7, 2020. During her quarantine, Spalding has been creating drawings of all the Greek goddesses. She is collaborating with Emlyn Boyle, an artist from Ireland, and plans to publish a book with Boyle's writings.
