"I don't swim. This is a fairly crucial element of my backstory, something that defines me even if I don't want it to and have begged people to stop asking me about it. Water and I simply have nothing in common. I'm a 41-year-old writer, and water is, well wet. My son swims like a fish, and as soon as I dunk my head under the surface, I start wondering what it would be like to suffocate, how soon I can come back up, and what I'm even doing down there in the first place."
"As bad as a pool is, the ocean is even worse. It's not just water. It's water with living creatures in it. What's down there? I don't care to find out. Things are bad enough up here. My general lack of interest in swimming, perhaps better described as a horrible fear, is one of the reasons I've never been on a cruise. God forbid I have to escape because of some kind of Steven Seagal/Under Siege situation. I'd jump on the edge of the boat, desperately attempt to doggy-paddle and end up at the bottom of the Mariana trench."
"The world is currently transfixed by the fate of the people aboard the MV Hondius, a cruise ship that became the center of an outbreak of the hantavirus, a virus I only knew about from a mention in the X-Files movie in 1998. Clearly, I'm no expert, but I'm at least savvy enough to know that it's bad. More than 100 people have been evacuated from the ship and placed into various levels of quarantine to stop transmission."
"Less publicized is news of a British cruise ship dealing with a rash of stomach flu cases. Passengers on that boat have been temporarily prevented from disembarking so that tests can be done on those affected. Now, one might feel quite trapped by the idea of being sequestered on a boat against one's will. But you did pay for a ride on said boat, did you not? You willingly stepped on to the deck, flopped on your cot, and gazed out at the infinite blue of the ocean."
A person with a strong fear of water avoids cruises and imagines worst-case scenarios involving drowning. The fear extends beyond the ocean to the possibility of danger occurring on a ship. A cruise ship, MV Hondius, becomes the focus of a hantavirus outbreak, leading to evacuation of more than 100 people and placement into quarantine levels to prevent transmission. Another British cruise ship faces stomach flu cases, with passengers temporarily prevented from disembarking while tests are conducted. The situation raises questions about being trapped, but the choice to board a cruise is framed as voluntary, even when health risks emerge.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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