I had cabin fever for 32 days on stricken cruise ship.. now I'm on crest of a wave

Rose Kate tells of being at sea as pandemic began | Festival launch with 32 Roses & new co-host

- SANDRA MALLON

A TALENTED musician hoping to be crowned this year's Rose of Tralee has told how she spent 32 days quarantined in a cruise ship cabin during the pandemic.

Kate Heneghan is one of 32 Roses vying for the glitzy tiara at the festival, which kicks off on Friday.

The Mayo Rose revealed she was unable to leave her room on the Ruby Princess cruise ship, owned by Carnival Corp, after Covid swept through the cruise liner, infecting 800 guests and crew and killing more than 50 people.

Speaking at the launch of the festival, Kate said: "In March 2020, I was coming to the end of a four-month cruise contract with Oceania.

"We were doing our final two-week cruise of New Zealand, so we left Sydney and we were making our three-day voyage over to Auckland.

"The New Zealand Prime Minister at the time closed all borders into New Zealand so we had to do a 180 with the ship in the sea and make our three day voyage back into Sydney.

"The guests were allowed to disembark the ship then and they got domestic and international flights back to Australia, Europe and the US but little did we know at the time, there had been Covid spreading rapidly amongst the crew and the guests.

"We were then quarantined, and I was given a guest cabin and put into it for 32 days and not let out."

Although she did not contract Covid-19 on the ship, Kate - who was performing on the vessel - told how the military would patrol corridors to make e sure no one left their cabins.

"I didn't actually [get Covid]. There were 800 cases linked to the Ruby Princess cruise ship and over 50 people ended up passing away.