“The cruise line did an amazing job,” said Ingram. “They kept us entertained and kept us fed even though they weren’t prepared to do so.”

Before passengers were allowed into Cambodia, they all had to be swab tested.

“We all thought it would be like what you see on TV, where they swish something around your mouth,” said Ingram. “But they had a piece of hard plastic three inches long and shoved it right up your nose to almost your eye. Then another piece of plastic was shoved down your throat. Some people were crying because it was very uncomfortable.”

One test came back positive, which resulted in retesting.

Officials later discovered the test was a false positive. By Feb. 18, all passengers and crew members had been tested and were all negative for the coronavirus.

“We were never under quarantine and there was never a single person who was sick,” said Ingram.

Ten coach buses and four accessible vans transported the passengers from the Cambodian coast to an airport in Phnom Penh.

Holland American chartered a Turkish plane to fly them home. Initially, the plane was supposed to land in Istanbul, Turkey, but while in the air their permission to land was rescinded. The plane diverted to Karachi, Pakistan, to refuel before continuing on to Amsterdam.

Ingram flew from Amsterdam to London, England, and then to Toronto.

Holland American provided full refunds to all passengers and covered all costs associated with getting them home.