Woman who spent a month on a cruise ship rerouting from Antarctica to Holland due to coronavirus arrives on land to a ‘strange new world’

Pippa tells Metro.co.uk: ‘This time I came back to a different world, a different way of life; one in which everyone has taken the past month getting used to while we were on our little blue ship on the Atlantic.

‘I’m used to adjusting to new situations and scenarios, it’s the nature of my job and life.

‘But this one will take a while to adjust to for sure.’

Luckily the Plancius – which has capacity for 116 passengers – was able to unload its guests in Montevideo, Uruguay, after leaving Antarctica.

From there, the ship ventured on to make an unplanned detour across the Atlantic.

With Oceanwide’s March expedition trips cancelled due to the pandemic, it was decided that its three small cruise ships would return to their home harbour in the Netherlands.

The ship’s staff members could choose whether to stay on or not. Pippa elected to stay on her vessel ‘for a bit of adventure’.

The ships stocked up on supplies in Montevideo, so no rationing was required during the Atlantic crossing, and the crew feasted on the usual ‘tasty food’ rustled up by the onboard kitchen team.

Pippa ‘quickly realised it was the right decision’ to stay on board the Plancius as she felt protected from the chaos of the outside world.

She tells us: ‘With all our loved ones at home dealing with social distancing and loo roll hoarding, we were a handful of people on Earth that could live relatively normally as much as you can on a wee blue ship in the middle of the ocean.

‘We spent every evening enjoying the sunset over the Atlantic Ocean with our fellow staff and crew members, doing everything from BBQs to movie nights.

‘When we crossed the equator line we had a traditional Neptune party, with everyone wearing crazy costumes.

‘Although we were isolated from the world we were not isolated from each other.

‘We also had time to enjoy the natural world. The marine life is always incredible and we spotted everything from whales and dolphins to flying fish and bioluminescent squid.

‘The beautiful weather was another plus but the warmth could be challenging for a group of polar guides! I will never forget the clear starry skies.’

During the voyage, Pippa and her colleagues ‘adjusted from being workers to essentially being passengers’.

With no passengers to guide or educate, Pippa had to make her own routine to keep herself sane.

‘It seems to resemble the same sort of thing everybody is going through now in lockdown; keeping to a routine and keeping busy… just on a ship in the Atlantic.’

Finally, after a month at sea, the Plancius pulled into the port city of Vlissengen in the Netherlands and everyone was shuttled to an eerily empty Schiphol airport to make their way home.

Oceanwide Expeditions has reported that at the time of disembarkation, all of its passengers, crew and guides were ‘100% virus-free’.

The polar cruise company had been implementing cautionary measures on its ships since December, with passengers filling out travel information forms and having their temperatures checked before boarding.

But it wasn’t until March that the decision was made to cease operations.

The family-owned firm has postponed its May trips but for the meantime, its June to September voyages are still scheduled.

Pippa said: ‘I think we will all see the ship differently now.

‘The adjustment from staff to being essentially passengers was strange.