Hawke's Bay-born cruise ship performer Lauren Marshall must spend another 14 days in isolation before continuing her trip home. Photo / Supplied
Hawke's Bay-born cruise ship performer Lauren Marshall must spend another 14 days in isolation before continuing her trip home. Photo / Supplied
A Hastings-born cabaret performer stuck on a Covid-positive cruise ship since March thought a flight to the Caribbean would finally kickstart her journey back to New Zealand.
Instead, she's now stuck in quarantine on yet another cruise ship, her ever-growing nightmare at sea prolonged even further.
Marshall, pictured above in Antarctica, is the only crew member from New Zealand on board the cruise ship. Photo / Supplied
Lauren Marshallwas until Sunday aboard the Celebrity Eclipse off the coast of San Diego, California.
The 28-year-old, who had been performing musical theatre on the ship since July, was one of just 300 people left on the 2852-passenger vessel that was floating, unable to permanently dock, off the coast of San Diego, California.
She was essentially alone, as every other member of her cast has been repatriated.
Hawke's Bay-born cruise ship performer Lauren Marshall must spend another 14 days in isolation before continuing her trip home. Photo / Supplied
So when Celebrities Cruises over the weekend offered at the last minute to send her to another Celebrity ship in Barbados, she felt like she was starting her trip home.
Delight turned to apprehension, she said, with the flight to the Caribbean island "a nightmare".
"The journey was rough, with all of us crammed into planes with no social distancing," she said.
"We then were made to wait outside in extreme heat for extended periods of time. And then when I arrived to the new ship, myself and a lot of crew didn't have our luggage."
The performer is the only remaining member of her cast aboard the ship. Photo / Supplied
Now aboard Celebrity Reflection – the largest of the Celebrity Cruise ships - the performer thought her nightmare may be over.
But, upon arrival on the 1047ft ship, the group were told they would need to complete another 14-day isolation before continuing their journeys.
"A lot of crew were under the assumption that they would be flying home over the next few days, but that has completely fallen through," she said.
"We found out we would be going through another 14-day isolation lockdown in our cabins, and while I'm lucky to have a guest cabin with a balcony and meals delivered, arriving here to find out we are essentially going backwards in this process was quite devastating.
"So it's back to square one - waiting until quarantine is done to find out when we will be going home."
Marshall was aboard the Celebrity Eclipse off the coast of San Diego, California, before a recent flight to Barbados. Photo / Supplied
Still the only crew member from New Zealand, Marshall's desire to return to Hawke's Bay has intensified.
"No updated flight details have been given to us, so I'm guessing I'll be taking a charter to the UK and then hopefully flying commercially home," she said.
"It's been a very stressful time, constantly waiting for news on repatriation, but getting some downtime after the busy ship life is such a relief – especially as I only get to catch up with the friends and family once a year."
For now, Marshall is playing the waiting game.
"The New Zealand Embassy in the US is still adamant that my best bet at getting home is letting the company organise it."
Celebrities Cruises was approached for comment by Hawke's Bay Today. They stated a response to questions was likely "three weeks away".
