Healthy passengers will be able to disembark from the Zaandam and Rotterdam cruises in Florida

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Cruise ship passenger stranded in Chile tells what she lives 3:52

(CNN) - A pair of cruises carrying more than 200 passengers and crew members with flu-like symptoms will be able to dock in Florida's Everglades port on Thursday, ending a nightmare journey interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

A conditional agreement between the cruise line and local authorities will allow healthy passengers to return home while the ill remain on board for treatment, Broward County Commissioner Barbara Sharief said Thursday.

After days of uncertainty about their final destination, the Zaandam and Rotterdam cruises were due to disembark passengers at around 1 p.m., at the port of Fort Lauderdale, according to Sharief.

Zaandam's South American itinerary changed dramatically when nine passengers tested positive for covid-19 and four men died on board. Sharief said the men were over the age of 70: two had been diagnosed with covid-19, one suffered a heart attack and the other succumbed to a pre-existing disease.

No one on board needs a hospital bed at this time, but local beds are available, Sharief said.

Holland America reported Wednesday night that it had secured a local health system to treat the fewer than 10 people who need immediate critical care on the ground. The Broward Health Hospital System confirmed Thursday that critically ill Zaandam patients would be transferred there, according to spokeswoman Jennifer Smith.

"Prepare to disembark" was the long-awaited and reassuring message sent to passengers by the captain of Rotterdam, the Zaandam's sister ship, on Thursday morning, according to passenger Laura Gabaroni.

Healthy passengers with permission to travel home will be transported by private bus from Port Everglades to local airports for charter flights, Sharief said. About 200 passengers come from countries that require connecting flights to get home. Passengers will be taken directly to flights to avoid the possible spread of the virus.

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Passengers at Zaandam include 311 US citizens, from 46 states, including 52 from Florida. Broward residents, among them, agreed to quarantine for an additional 14 days at home. The rest comes from countries ranging from Canada to the United Kingdom and Australia.

On Wednesday night, the British-American cruise line called the situation for those on board a "humanitarian situation." He filed a last-minute appeal to federal and local authorities to allow cruise ships to disembark in the port of Everglades.

"Holland America Line requires compassion and good sense in reviewing and approving our landing plan by Florida officials," the cruise line said in a statement.

The appeal came hours after Governor Ron DeSantis said his state was ready to accept Florida residents aboard cruise ships.

According to Holland America in Rotterdam there are 583 crew and 442 guests, and 603 crew, in Zaandam.

DeSantis expressed concern about accepting others because of the limited hospital beds in the state.

According to the cruise line, nearly 1,200 passengers are able to travel home, according to CDC guidelines.

El Zaandam, in which four passengers died since leaving the Argentine capital on March 7, is among more than a dozen cruise ships stranded at sea as ports deny entry and passengers panic about returning to House.

"They need to get ashore"

Zaandam began transiting the Panama Canal on Sunday night after being docked in Panama for several days. The ship and its occupants have been in limbo for weeks waiting for permission to disembark after several South American ports denied entry to the vessel.

The United States Coast Guard, in a maritime safety information bulletin issued Sunday, said an increase in foreign passenger ships requiring medical evacuations was depleting local medical resources.

Passengers have "better access to a comfortable environment and medical personnel on board the foreign passenger ship where care is already being provided," according to the bulletin.

Jennifer Allan said her mother, Gloria Weed, 70, and her father, Bill Weed, 75, were quarantined in their cabin aboard Zaandam in what she described as "solitary confinement."

"My dad has developed pneumonia," he told CNN this week. "It is getting worse. They need to get ashore. They need medical attention sooner rather than later. ”

Allan said his parents, who live in Sarasota, Florida, had a fever about 10 days ago. He described the efforts of Zaandam's crew members to care for the passengers as "extraordinary" despite the fact that many are ill.

No one has left the ship since it stopped in Punta Arenas, Chile, on March 14. Originally, guests were told that they could disembark in Chile to take flights, but in the end that was prohibited.

Holland America deployed Rotterdam to offer aid. Rotterdam met with Zaandam off Panama on March 26 to "provide additional supplies, personnel, test kits to detect covid-19 and other support as needed."

Holland America transferred healthy guests from Zaandam to Rotterdam.

CNN's Jennifer Henderson contributed to this report.

Cruise ships