A Kent couple who were stranded on a coronavirus-hit cruise ship on which two people died are finally home.

Mick Turnball from Bearsted, who first boarded the Coral Princess at the beginning of March with his partner, said once the lockdown began, the whole experience was "surreal".

After being turned away from several ports in South America, and missing his pre-booked flight home, Mr Turnball, 57, was feeling very homesick and upset.

At the time, he said: "At the end of a two-week holiday you've always had enough and want to get home and now it's been much longer than that. I'm ready to get off now, another day is a day too many."

With a new destination set of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the ship was just a few days away from docking when guests began experiencing flu-like symptoms.

It was later confirmed there were 12 cases of Covid-19 on board and it has now been revealed two passengers died as a result of the virus before reaching the port.

Mr Turnball said: "From the moment we were told to stay in our cabins the whole experience was completely surreal. The staff would knock on the door to say our dinner was outside but then disappear so we saw no one for days."

"They really did excel and couldn't have done any more"

On top of this, the pair were still unsure if they were going to be able to get home once they reached Florida, despite the Foreign Office having announced flights were being dispatched internationally to bring Brits home.

He added: "It was the not knowing that was the worst part of it all. Once we were turned away from a few different ports we were running out of options."

However, on Saturday, guests were finally able to begin disembarking the Coral in Miami, after authorities turned them away in Florida.

Their temperature was tested before alighting the vessel and people were required to wear a mask and practice social distancing measures while in public.

Mr Turnball was then allowed to board a British Airways flight back to the UK along with the other healthy British cruise ship passengers.

He is now back home in Bearsted where he will be self-isolating.

"We were all wearing masks and gloves on the plane and spaced out, so not all the seats were full.

"The crew were wearing masks too. It was very surreal", he said.

Speaking about the whole experience, the courier driver gave the ship's crew high praise.

"They really did excel and couldn't have done any more," he added.

"To have to deal with something like that is unbelievable but they were always very professional."

Those with respiratory symptoms, or who are still recovering, will remain on board until medically cleared by the ship’s doctors.

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