She lay alone at home too sore to get up, too nauseous to eat and too weak to stand.

"I have never felt as sick as what I did. There were a few times that I thought I should call for an ambulance," she said.

This woman would only speak if her name was not used as she fears the social repercussions from those in her community.

She was among 2700 passengers aboard this ill-fated cruise which has lead to sickness and, in some cases death, across the world.

In NSW alone, 369 people who were on board tested positive to COVID-19, with eight of those people dying from the virus.

The Central West woman is a retired paramedic and says she knew exactly how serious this virus could be for those who contract it.

Along with her fellow passengers she disembarked on Thursday, March 19 feeling fine and happy after an enjoyable cruise, even though it was cut early due to COVID-19 restrictions on cruise liners.

The day it arrived back into Circular Quay she stayed the night in Sydney and the first sign of being unwell occurred.

"I'd woken up in a sweat like I'd just showered and it wasn't a hot night," she said.

The following day she caught the train home and not long after received a text that would change everything.

"About an hour after I got inside my yard I got a text message that four people on board had tested positive to COVID-19," she said.

"I rang the hospital and said I had a fever and I think I need to be tested.

"Two days later I got phone call from NSW Health saying I'd tested positive. It stunned me, but I felt fine at that stage."

By Tuesday, five days after her cruise, she woke up with a headache and by that afternoon "felt dreadful".

"I had muscle soreness, I felt like I'd just run a marathon. I had extreme nausea and I couldn't face any food at all. I had lethargy and dizziness and headaches," she said.

"I felt so weak, I couldn't get up and have a shower I just stayed in bed.

"The only reason I didn't call an ambulance is because I knew someone would have to sit in the back with me and I didn't want them to get it and take it home to their family."

She never had the shortness of breath and sore throat that are often listed as common symptoms.

"By day four I got up and started feeling better, but I'm still exhausted and it's a month later," she said.

The woman said a lot of people aren't taking government lockdown restrictions seriously, with many of them flouting the law and leaving home without a reasonable excuse.

"I just wish I could go up to them and say 'what are you doing, are you serious, I could have died from this'," she said.