Uruguay welcomed international cruise ship after Argentine restrictions prevented Buenos Aires visit

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Although the ship was scheduled to port in Montevideo on December 7, it had to change its itinerary after an unforeseen event with the port of Buenos Aires.

After calling at ports in Europe (Barcelona and Madeira) and heading for Cape Verde, Africa, the cruise ship was bound for Buenos Aires. But because of sanitary measures imposed by Argentina requiring a 14-day quarantine before going ashore when a ship comes from Africa, it was forced to change its destination.

Having departed on November 23 from Cape Verde and after Buenos Aires refused to allow her to enter port without having completed the 14-day requirement, the Viking Jupiter was forced to improvise a new itinerary: December 3 in Montevideo, December 4 in Punta del Este, December 5 back in Montevideo and again to Punta del Este on December 6.

On December 7 and 8 she will be heading to Buenos Aires, returning to Montevideo on December 9. On December 10 she will be at sea, reaching Puerto Madryn in Argentina on December 11.

“Since Argentina would not accept the ship, new stopovers were scheduled for Sunday in Montevideo and Punta del Este,” said ANP (National Ports Administration) operations manager Mario Dandraya.

Punta del Este port director Carlos Ferreira said that “on Friday we were advised that the vessel was coming to Punta del Este. We had to set up the whole operation in one day, but everything went well.”

Dandraya explained that the port was not affected in any way by the docking of the cruise ship in Montevideo because its arrival had been arranged for a few days later. “The port logistics allowed us to not refuse them entry, not because of the pandemic but because of the occupation of the docks at the port of Montevideo,” he said.

He added that, “as always” Montevideo is a port capable of accommodating and prioritizing vessels in special circumstances, as occurred in March 2020 with the Greg Mortimer cruise ship.

The ship docked at 4:30 AM in Montevideo, its first call in South America, and passengers were only able to disembark at 12 noon after health authorities performed all the required tests on board, both for crew members and passengers.

“Medical records of the vessel, vaccination of passengers and crew, tests performed during the trip were reviewed and so far we found nothing to indicate that there are currently any problems on board. Anyone with headache, diarrhea, cough is tested with a PCR, records are meticulously kept,” health authorities reported.

The cruise ship features a “high-tech” laboratory that allows passengers to be tested “every day” before breakfast. The ship is part of a segment of small luxury cruise ships with spacious suites. It was built to the latest navigation standards and is equipped with modern safety systems.