London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 29, 2025

Here's How Two Teens Are Dealing With Being Trapped On A Quarantined Coronavirus Cruise Ship

"If the kids want boundaries, they head up [to] their bunk bed and put on their headphones," the mom told BuzzFeed News.

Being trapped in a tiny windowless interior room of a cruise ship with your parents for two weeks may not be a dream holiday, but one family quarantined on the Diamond Princess due to a coronavirus outbreak is making the best of it.

"All you need is a pair of headphones and music, and you are all set," Xander Soh, 19, told BuzzFeed News.

Soh, his 16-year-old sister, Kaitlyn, and their parents are among the approximately 3,700 people -including around 1,000 cruise ship staffers -stuck on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in the port of Yokohama in Japan.

So far, 61 people on the ship have tested positive for coronavirus, and they are being treated in hospitals on land.

"We have lost all sense of time, but thankfully we have social media to chat with friends to keep us grounded and sane," said Kaitlyn.

Passengers must remain in the rooms at all times. Staffers are leaving food and drink for them outside their doors.


On Friday afternoon, cruise ship staffers let passengers from interior rooms take turns visiting the deck for fresh air for an hour at a time.

For the Soh teens, it was the first time they'd been out of their approximately 168-square-foot room since Tuesday.

Their mother, Aun Na Tan, 43, told BuzzFeed News that the coronavirus quarantine had initially been a huge shock, particularly after learning they would not be allowed to leave until Feb. 19. Luckily, none of the Soh family members have displayed any virus symptoms. (Staffers provided passengers with thermometers to check their temperature.)

"I had to spend a little time composing emails to the kids’ schools [and] dance and music teachers, and it slowly calmed us down," she said.

The family was supposed to have already returned to their home in Melbourne, Australia -they've had to cancel flights twice -and because of the quarantine, Kaitlyn will miss final callbacks for a dance role with the Victorian State Schools Spectacular, a big musical theater event for public schools.

The family will also miss out on a Queen and Adam Lambert concert "that we were very much looking forward to!" said Tan.

But right now, the family is just trying to make the best of it.

This is the third cruise the family has taken together -although it was the first time they chose an interior room, not one with a balcony - and Tan said she's confident they will cruise again even after this experience.

"We mesh along quite well and make jokes. And if the kids want boundaries, they head up [to] their bunk bed and put on their headphones," said Tan.

Every day, the cruise's kids club team members have dropped by to check on Kaitlyn and leave her care packages of games, activities, coloring books, and even a soft toy.

The teens love to dance, but the lack of space limits them to just some basic stretches.

Instead, they entertain themselves by reading, watching videos, and playing on their phones. Kaitlyn said she's "relieving my boredom by surfing BuzzFeed and K-pop news." (We appreciate you, Kaitlyn!)

Their dad, Jeff Soh, is working remotely for his job at a financial institution from the room's small desk.

Tan worries what the end of the quarantine will mean for her family and if their return to Australia may result in further waiting.

"Will we be subjected to more quarantine?" she asked. "That is our biggest worry at the moment. We don’t know what our standing is and what we need to get through before we are finally home and back to everyday life.

"But we bounced back to look at this time as an adventure," she told BuzzFeed News. "We are safe, we are together, we are in comfort, and we are being looked after by the crew. We are a positive bunch, and we’ll be alright."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
×