The class action was filed this week against Carnival Plc and Princess Cruise Lines Ltd over their "mishandling of a deadly coronavirus outbreak" on board the Ruby Princess, Shine Lawyers said.

The cruise, which docked in Sydney on March 19, has been linked to more than 650 cases of COVID-19 and 21 deaths.

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Bathurst couple Dominic and Judy Chircop were in a group of six people on the cruise, with four of them contracting the virus.

Blayney woman Lyn Davidson also contracted COVID-19 from the cruise and was so sick with the virus that she feared for her life.

There were other Central West people on the cruise, including from Blayney and Wellington and also Janet Lieben, 67, who died from the virus at Orange Hospital.

Mr Chircop and his wife have been on 19 cruises and he said while two of his group had a "head cold" on the final day, he and another became sick after returning home.

Mr Chircop told the Western Advocate in May that that his body ached all over and he lost his sense of taste and smell while battling COVID-19, and it took him 18 days to recover fully.

"I don't believe we should have got on that boat at all," he said.

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While the couple did register for the class action, Mr Chircop said he was unsure how successful it would be.

"I think the major thing people should learn out of the class action is to learn from their mistakes," he said.

While Mr Chircop has since recovered from the virus, his friend Raymond McKeown suffered lung damage from the deadly disease.

"I didn't get out of bed for three days, but I didn't want to go to hospital and give it to anyone else," he said.

The Ruby Princess trip was Ms Davidson's 18^th cruise and she said it was important to be part of the class action.

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Ms Davidson's health is still compromised months after her brush with COVID-19.

"I still tire really easily so I went through a course of vitamin B shots ... I don't have the stamina that I used to have," she said.

Shine Lawyers said all 2700 passengers who travelled on the Ruby Princess, departing from Circular Quay on March 8 and disembarking on March 19, 2020, are eligible to join the class action, as are relatives who have suffered a psychiatric injury as a result of the events that occurred.

The executors and administrators of deceased passengers' estates are also eligible to participate in the class action.