Rough seas
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ|Christmas 2020
This Christmas, Michael and Ann Smith are grateful to be alive. They tell Samantha Trenoweth about a spontaneous birthday cruise that steered them perilously close to death by COVID-19.
Samantha Trenoweth
Rough seas

When Michael and Ann Smith boarded the Ruby Princess on March 8 this year, they didn’t have a care in the world. They were joining two of their dearest friends for 11 idyllic days at sea. For Mike, it would be a welcome respite from his hectic career as a children’s psychiatric nurse in Perth, as well as a celebration of his 60th birthday.

They’d booked the cruise as a birthday treat. “We’d had a wonderful holiday with Princess Cruises once before – a Canada-Alaska tour – so we felt comfortable travelling with them again,” Ann tells The Weekly.

In the weeks before they sailed, she says, “there were very few COVID cases in Australia or New Zealand. If the cruise had been going to Europe, we would have cancelled, but we felt safe here. And we thought Princess Cruises would take precautions … They’d asked us to declare our health conditions, so they knew Mike had a heart complaint.” In fact, he’d had three previous heart attacks. “Then, leading up to the cruise, they emailed telling us that, if we had a cold or a cough, we could not come ... So it gave me a sense of security. I didn’t think they’d put our lives in jeopardy.”

As promised, the cruise was a lot of fun, with wonderful company and breathtaking New Zealand scenery. When the ship docked back in Sydney on March 19, COVID restrictions were in place and passengers were instructed to quarantine at home for 14 days. But again, the Smiths weren’t particularly concerned. They ew back to Perth and arranged for family to stock up their cupboards with groceries. They’d been happily married for 32 years, so a couple of weeks together at home wouldn’t be too trying.

Esta historia es de la edición Christmas 2020 de Australian Women’s Weekly NZ.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición Christmas 2020 de Australian Women’s Weekly NZ.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S WEEKLY NZVer todo
PRETTY WOMAN
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

PRETTY WOMAN

Dial up the joy with a mood-boosting self-care session done in the privacy of your own home. It’s a blissful way to banish the winter blues.

time-read
3 minutos  |
July 2024
Hitting a nerve
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Hitting a nerve

Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes could aid physical and mental wellbeing.

time-read
5 minutos  |
July 2024
The unseen Rovals
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

The unseen Rovals

Candid, behind the scenes and neverbefore-seen images of the royal family have been released for a new exhibition.

time-read
2 minutos  |
July 2024
Great read
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Great read

In novels and life - there's power in the words left unsaid.

time-read
2 minutos  |
July 2024
Winter dinner winners
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Winter dinner winners

Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of budget-concious recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.

time-read
3 minutos  |
July 2024
Winter baking with apples and pears
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Winter baking with apples and pears

Celebrate the season of apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the cold weather blues away.

time-read
7 minutos  |
July 2024
The wines and lines mums
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

The wines and lines mums

Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.

time-read
10+ minutos  |
July 2024
Former ballerina'sBATTLE with BODY IMAGE
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Former ballerina'sBATTLE with BODY IMAGE

Auckland author Sacha Jones reveals how dancing led her to develop an eating disorder and why she's now on a mission to educate other women.

time-read
7 minutos  |
July 2024
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN

When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.

time-read
8 minutos  |
July 2024
IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO START
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO START

Responsible for keeping the likes of Jane Fonda and Jamie Lee Curtis in shape, Malin Svensson is on a mission to motivate those in midlife to move more.

time-read
5 minutos  |
July 2024