Winnipeg couple seeks way home as cruise ship seeks port

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This article was published 19/03/2020 (1753 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg couple potentially stranded on a cruise ship is racing against border closures and flight cancellations to get home.

Irene Schwartz, who boarded French cruise line Ponant ship Le Boréal on March 7 with her husband, said despite no passengers or crew being diagnosed with COVID-19, the ship had been turned away from Valparaiso, Chile, where it was set to port Friday.

According to Schwartz, the cruise ship is now on its way around the tip of South America bound for Uruguay. However, should it not be allowed to port there or nearby Argentina or Brazil, Le Boréal will set off for France and not arrive until April 20 — meaning passengers will have to spend just under a month at sea.

“There is large outbreak of the virus in France, and France is not safe for us,” Schwartz said Friday via email. “We really need to get off this ship in South America to get a flight home and not spend another month at sea to end up in an unsafe country.”

France has gone into lockdown to limit the spread of COVID-19; there have been nearly 11,000 positive diagnoses and more than 370 deaths in the Western Europe nation.

Argentina announced it would be closing its border to all non-residents, starting March 15; Brazil decided to restrict entry to foreign visitors, starting March 19.

“There are likely thousands of Canadians stranded away from home and the government is likely overwhelmed. We are just frustrated that we have a small window of time to get home, and we can get ourselves home without help, but we can’t get off the ship,” Schwartz said.

“The alternative is to spend a month at sea to go to France where the virus is spreading and we feel will be unsafe for us.”

She also fears even if they take the month-long journey, only French nationals will be able to disembark. She said the ship is about 75 per cent French-speaking and she estimated there are roughly a dozen Canadians currently on board.

According to its online profile, the 126-metre Le Boréal has 132 cabins and suites for 264 passengers and 140 crew members.

Schwartz and her husband, Mike, have bought tickets to return to Canada from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but docking there is not guaranteed. She said other rumoured options include Jamaica and Guadeloupe, are also not guaranteed.

Air Canada has announced plans to suspend its international and U.S. flights by March 31, making time even more of the essence for the Winnipeg couple.

“As long as flights are not cancelled before March 28, as Air Canada has stated, we can get ourselves home. We have had flights booked from every port,” Schwartz said. “The problem has been that we cannot get off the ship.”

According to an email provided by Schwartz from the Consulate of Canada in Rio de Janeiro, “(It) remains unclear if passengers of any cruise ship docking in Rio will be allowed to disembark, regardless of the health of the passengers.”

The Winnipeg Free Press reached out to Ponant for comment, but had not received a response.

Schwartz said she has attempted to contact Liberal MP Terry Duguid (Winnipeg South), the Canadian embassies in Montevideo and Rio de Janeiro, and is hoping taking their story public will get her and her husband home.

“There is no COVID-19 on board. Everyone is healthy. We have flights booked… If we could get off the ship, we can get home safely.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: malakabas_