A crew member has given insights to what life is like aboard the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama.

Day seven of quarantine

About 3,700 crew and passengers and were stranded when an 80-year-old passenger, who disembarked in Hong Kong, tested positive for the coronavirus.

As of Feb. 10, there are 136 confirmed cases. These cases have been conveyed to hospitals for treatment.

There are also five Singaporeans on the ship, all of whom are physically well.

In an interview on Feb. 9, a crew member on Diamond Princess revealed what it is like working aboard the quarantined ship.

The interview was published on a blog named Barcielonda, and was conducted by the crew member's childhood friend.

A prison warden

The crew said that it all started "so fast".

His entire job changed from the morning he met his boss, who told the crew that they had been quarantined.

Now, crew members work 13 hours a day, serving about 3,000 meals to passengers in the cabins.

Here are some examples of the meals:

朝ごはんが届きました。breakfast. 08:59#ダイヤモンドプリンセス #DiamondPrincess #CoronavirusOutbreak #Quarantine pic.twitter.com/7nT6psDgdl

— だぁ(On board the Diamond Princess / 乗船中乗客) (@daxa_tw) February 11, 2020

昼ごはんが届きました。lunch. 14:03#ダイヤモンドプリンセス #DiamondPrincess #CoronavirusOutbreak #Quarantine pic.twitter.com/04EYrDFfk1

— だぁ(On board the Diamond Princess / 乗船中乗客) (@daxa_tw) February 11, 2020

夜ごはん届きました。dinner. 19:07#ダイヤモンドプリンセス #DiamondPrincess #CoronavirusOutbreak #Quarantine pic.twitter.com/KDcJWB13S6

— だぁ(On board the Diamond Princess / 乗船中乗客) (@daxa_tw) February 11, 2020

明日のメニューはこちら。Menu tomorrow.#ダイヤモンドプリンセス #DiamondPrincess #CoronavirusOutbreak #Quarantine pic.twitter.com/BF7McOss3Y

— だぁ(On board the Diamond Princess / 乗船中乗客) (@daxa_tw) February 11, 2020

This is because passengers who are feeling well have to stay in their cabins, and only have a few hours to go for a walk every day.

The crew member, however, feels more like a nurse or a warden, delivering meals to prisoners.

The working hours are 6:30 am to 4pm, then 5pm to 9pm.

"For my breaks I’ve found a nice spot where I can catch some fresh air, eat and have a cigarette, then I go to bed, because the next day I start again at six-thirty."

Although he is personally too tired to think about the virus, other crew members are worried, especially when they have to interact so much with the passengers.

Thankfully, most of these passengers are nice.

"Some [passengers] believe they’re still on holiday and complain that I’m late, or that the food selection isn’t great, but there’s not many like that. Others encourage us.

Today I felt a bit emotional because I’ve seen one of the passengers that I had met before the quarantine, an older Chinese American man, he also recognised me, he asked me how I was, and he wanted to take a picture of me from behind his cabin’s threshold.

Sometimes they even post some signs outside their doors; these are small things, but they help with morale, they give me strength."

You can read the full interview here, which reveals in deeper detail the sequence of events.

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Top image via Princess Cruises on YouTube, @daxa_tw on Twitter