The couple had booked a trip from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia in Argentina, where they would set sail to the Antarctic at the end of November.
Their first issue occurred before the ship had even docked, when it transpired an acquaintance had tested positive for Covid-19 at the boat terminal. He named the couple as contacts, but as Francis Gobillot told RTL, they had not been the only passengers in contact with him.
The couple had to carry out a rapid antigen test each day. After ten days, Francis’s results were positive, and remained so for 3-4 days. He said he could not explain this result, as he had not seen or had contact with another person in ten days prior to the result. His wife’s tests stayed negative, and after sixteen days of isolation, she was permitted to leave the cabin and participate in three excursions with the other passengers. Francis was not allowed out of his cabin until the end of the cruise - a period of 20 days in total. He disembarked the MS Hamburg with the 300 other passengers and returned to Luxembourg from Ushaia.
Francis regrets the fact that he was not permitted to do a single PCR test during his entire stay in Argentina. He told RTL he couldn’t even be sure that he actually had Covid, as he said the positive rapid tests could have been attributed to a mild cold he developed due to the air condition in the cabin. Despite this, he said he understood the strict measures were required in case of infection, but he would have preferred not to have been left in the dark.
Will they ever attempt to recreate their dream holiday? Francis says maybe, as it is a beautiful part of the world, but his wife is less sure. At any rate, the couple don’t expect to board a cruise ship again any time soon.
