Portsmouth entertainer stranded at sea admits 'relief' after returning home

But Portsmouth-based Harriet Taylor, settling back into life after returning to the UK, has revealed the ordeal has not put her off going on another voyage.

The 24-year-old was left treading water with 800 crew on board the Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of The Seas with virtually no human contact after being forced to self-isolate following a suspected outbreak of Covid-19 in April.

The ‘terrifying’ ordeal sparked Harriet into issuing a desperate ‘get me home’ plea as the trip of a lifetime turned into a ‘lonely, boring’ nightmare.

Harriet finally returned home via a specially chartered flight into Heathrow Airport having initially been told her escape route home would involve transferring to sister cruiseliner Majesty of the Seas in Miami before heading back to Southampton.

An emotional reunion at the airport saw Harriet reunited with her parents Samantha and Stephen last month.

Now having been back home for two weeks, Harriet said: ‘It’s nice to be back and have my feet on land again, though my legs hurt a bit.

‘It was tough being stuck in the cabin for 21 days (during the suspected coronavirus outbreak) with no human contact while we were in quarantine.

‘I wasn’t sure how long it would go on for, though I always knew we’d get back at some point. The captain kept us informed with updates and we had emails telling us what was going on so that all helped.

‘We had wi-fi so I was able to stay in touch with friends and family and stay in touch with other people on board who all supported each other.’

Since returning on May 18 Harriet admitted it had been nice to catch up with more people via phone or social media.

She said: ‘It’s been nice to see and speak to family and friends again. It will be good to see even more people (now restrictions have been eased).

‘I haven’t really been doing a lot – just going for walks and unpacking and doing my laundry.’

The entertainer revealed she wasn’t surprised how things were after returning home. She said: ‘It was not a big shock as it was similar on the cruiseliner with social distancing and with queuing when in the shops.’

Despite Harriet’s ordeal, she said it hadn’t put her off. ‘I would definitely go again but I need a few months on land first,’ she added.

Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan, who took up the fight to see Harriet return home, said the ordeal ‘must have caused unimaginable stress’.

Last month he added: ‘I welcome that government has now taken notice of the multiple letters I have sent on behalf of this constituent, and the steps taken earlier this week including providing some funding for flights, but this should have been dealt with much more rapidly.’

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