Another Maidenhead couple home safe from South America coronavirus cruise

A second Maidenhead couple have made it safely home after getting stuck on a cruise ship during the coronavirus outbreak.

Earlier this month, the Advertiser detailed how Nick and Lyn Middle, from Pinkneys Green, made it home safely after being forced to self-isolate mid-way through a cruise around South America.

A second couple, on a different cruise that was also set to travel around the continent, have revealed they had a similar experience after they were trapped on a boat for 12 days with confirmed coronavirus cases.

Ian and Denise Muir, both in their 70s, set off from Buenos Aires on Holland America’s Zaandam on March 7, and were expecting to travel to Santiago.

On March 22, the captain informed the passengers that a COVID-19 case had been confirmed on the ship, and all were to remain in their cabins.

About 750 passengers, including the Muirs, were then transferred to another boat – the Rotterdam, and spent 12 days trapped in their cabins, six on either boat, before they were permitted to travel through the Panama Canal and to Fort Lauderdale, where they alighted.

Ian and Denise eventually got on a plane in Florida on April 3 and arrived in Maidenhead the following day.

They have now completed their 14 days of quarantine at their home in Riverside.