Eden resident Amanda Midlam was left in limbo in a foreign country after the cruise ship she was on cancelled its journey and kicked off all its passengers without warning.
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Ms Midlam flew out of Sydney to Mauritius on March 12 to embark on a 42-day world tour, including 27 nights aboard cruise ship Costa Mediterranea.
The schedule for the tour originally intended to conclude in Venice, but unsurprisingly this destination was amended once COVID-19 infections and panic rose worldwide.
The day before departure her booking agency reassured Ms Midlam they had "a dedicated team working on the COVID-19 issue in daily contact with partners in Europe"
"So please rest assured that if there are any changes to your itinerary, our team is ready to action these and update you immediately - it is our intention to keep any necessary changes to a minimum and for them to be as least disruptive as possible," the advice read.
Already on the ship awaiting cast off, Ms Midlam received a message from a friend notifying her that Costa had cancelled all cruises, yet neither the cruise company nor booking agency notified passengers of changed plans, nor were they contactable by phone she said.
Only able to access social media and not other sites while on board, Ms Midlam's only source of information was via Facebook friends.
On March 15 Ms Midlam said it was passengers' understanding that they would have to remain on board the ship indefinitely with Costa working on a new sailing schedule while the rapidly evolving scenario and government decisions regarding coronavirus was clarified.
However, by March 16 passengers were informed they were being "kicked off the ship, after reassuring us we would be sailing at 5pm," Ms Midlam said.
An hour after the ship was due to sail, Ms Midlam heard from other passengers there was going to be an announcement on deck and that dozens of buses had pulled up beside the boat.
"We were told to pack and put our bags outside our cabins. There was no dinner on the ship. We were told we would have dinner at the hotels they arranged. There was no word on who was going where or what would happen next."
While queuing to receive back passports with about 1000 other passengers, Ms Midlam observed the hospitality of the operators change rapidly.
"Nobody made provisions for the very elderly or those with mobility issues. Very different to the greeting we received. Staff were suddenly wearing masks and gloves and one told me they did not want us there.
"Costa did not bring water until someone collapsed and people started yelling for water.
"I believe Costa turned the air-con off to get us to hurry off the ship, although the delay in getting passports back was down to them. While I was packing my room quickly turned into an oven."
Late that night, passengers arrived at a hotel where a big sign warned them that Cyclone Herald was due to arrive the following day.
"Our luggage had been taken off the ship and placed in a marquee. The power went out and I found my bag by phone torch."
When questioned by Ms Midlam, the booking agency said as Costa cancelled the cruise they should have a plan and they would look into it.
On Monday morning Ms Midlam woke with no idea what was happening or who was going to let her know what was going on.
"The cruise company had obviously washed their hands of us and travel agencies remained conspicuous by their silence since we arrived in Mauritius."
The deeply uncertain travel experience introduced "new trauma on top of bushfire trauma" for Ms Midlam.
She was finally notified on Tuesday she would be flown to Sydney via Dubai, where she would then need to book a hotel and arrange transport back to Eden via bus, before entering self-isolation for 14 days.
"It is upsetting to know the Italian government made it mandatory to stop cruises on March 10 and I flew out of Sydney on March 12 without having been informed - I kept expecting the the trip to be cancelled right up to the last minute but was assured it was going ahead.
"Coronavirus is not currently in Mauritius, I am returning from a country where it doesn't exist."
