The MS Zaandam docked in Port Everglades, formerly one of the busiest cruise terminals in the world, ending a tragic odyssey. But the debate about what to do with the 25 other cruise ships out at sea continues.

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A stranded cruise ship docked Thursday at Port Everglades as the debate over treating the ship’s coronavirus-infected passengers in South Florida ratcheted up in intensity.

As the MS Zaandam pulled into the Broward County port, a few passengers wearing masks waved from balconies, but for the most part the ship’s decks were clear and barren. A second cruise ship, the MS Rotterdam, arrived at the Port Everglades cruise terminal soon after.

The Zaandam’s arrival had been the focus of intense, and at times, vitriolic debate this week as compassion clashed with fear. Federal, state and county officials searched for a way to end the suffering aboard the vessel — four on board died while at sea — without further straining local health systems or putting residents at risk.

After arriving, passengers said to have mild symptoms reportedly would remain aboard. Others were taken to medical centers for treatment.

Broward County Mayor Dale Holness said the decision to allow the ship to dock followed an agreement to quickly send the vast majority of passengers to their home destinations.

Holness said 1,200 passengers on the Zaandam and the Rotterdam would be screened and then airlifted out of South Florida on charter planes, four flights on Friday and one flight Saturday. Another 38 passengers who are Florida residents would receive private transportation home. Holland America said the ships’ crews would remain on their vessels.

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Holness said he believed the county properly balanced compassion and safety.

“Our top consideration is the health of our community as well as those on board,” he said. “We are grateful that we were able to find a solution that benefits everyone.”

The saga for the ships’ crews and passengers is ending, but the crisis at sea continues. As many as 25 cruise ships are still out in open waters. Carnival Crop. said in a government filing this week it still has as many as 6,000 passengers on ships at sea.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said he backed the agreement allowing the Zaandam and Rotterdam to dock saying it was a “thoughtful” approach.

“I think that is a plan that is going to work,” he said.

But the governor drew scorching criticism Thursday after saying, a day earlier, that he supported only bringing to shore Florida residents. He said the others, mostly “foreign nationals,” needed to be treated at sea.

“My concern is simply that we have worked so hard to make sure we have adequate hospital space in the event of a COVID-19 surge that we wouldn’t want those valuable beds to be taken up because of the cruise ship,” DeSantis said Wednesday.

On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Miami Beach, blasted the governor for “shamefully and immorally” intervening to stop the Zaandam from docking here.

“Our governor shamefully and immorally suggested that ship could not land in Florida,” she said.

Shalala likened the rejection of the Zaandam to the turning away of the MS St. Louis, the ship carrying hundreds of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany that was not given permission to land in the United States in 1939.

William Schaffner, professor of Preventive Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said it was imperative that the passengers on the ships be brought ashore. Treating them at sea was not feasible.

“I can assure you that cruise ships are not hospital ships,” Schaffner said.

Schaffner said Florida political and health officials were in a difficult bind. “This is one of those circumstances where the decision is easy, the implementation is difficult,” he said.

Disembarking the passengers would tax resources and health systems, Schaffner said, but there was no other alternative.

“Leaving them on the cruise ship, I think we learned, is probably not a good idea,” he said.

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The Zaandam has been at sea since March 7, when it left Buenos Aires. Guests on board had been self-isolating in cabins since March 22.

Holland America reported there were 442 guests and 603 crew on the Zaandam. Another 808 guests and 583 crew were on the Rotterdam, the cruise line said. There were 311 U.S. citizens and 52 Florida residents in total on the ships.

Holland America said 107 guests, 90 on the Zaandam and 17 on Rotterdam, plus 143 crew on Zaandam had “presented with influenza-like symptoms” since March 22.

In a statement, a cruise line official said the issue was a test of “our shared humanity.”

“These travelers could have been any one of us or our families, unexpectedly caught in the middle of this unprecedented closure of global borders that happened in a matter of days and without warning,” said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line. “We are so happy to be able to get our guests home and assist those few who need additional medical services. The COVID-19 situation is one of the most urgent tests of our shared humanity, and we must do everything we can to ensure we continue to act in ways consistent with our common human dignity.

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