Viv0828

8 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

We are doing a B2B cruises in April on Royal Princess from San Pedro  .The 1st cruise is a 7 night Mexican riviera cruise followed by the 7 night Coastal California cruise  .Thus you would only leave the USA for the first leg or you can just do the coastal Calif cruise which must also stop in Ensenada .just some ideas to replace your China trip 

thanks for the suggestion as we are in socal too.

we have done that mexican riviera cruise too many times though.

maybe a land trip through the southern usa??

or exploring all the parks and monuments in utah?

2 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

Sure, we lost thousands cancelling our Westerdam cruise, but we are saving many thousands more by cancelling the several cruises we have booked.  Score!

 

And now I think I'll just look away.

don't blame you for a second.

we are trying to plan something to replace our 4 week cruise and 3 week trip to china but i almost feel uncomfortable leaving the usa. 

1 hour ago, Mandalay1903 said:

Princess canceled the 2/13 cruise from Singapore on the Sapphire with about 24 hours notice. Passengers joining the 2/13 cruise had already flown to Singapore by the time the line canceled the cruise. Unconscionable!

that is terrible. i certainly hope they refund cost of the cruise, round trip air fare, hotels before the trip and give a FCC. i just heard that singapore has the most coronavirus cases next to china (excepting the diamond princess). i certainly wouldn't want to be there now.

46 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I have been there and it is not awful. It is like a number of other port cities I've been to around the world (cleaner than some) where the main sites are not to be found there but a distance away. Awful, no.

we were there maybe 8 years ago. we hired a cabbie and we had a wonderful day. whatever floats your boat i guess.

14 minutes ago, Mandalay1903 said:

18 minutes ago, Viv0828 said:

i think there are a lot of folks on that cruise who plan to cancel but are waiting and hoping HAL cancels first so they will receive a refund rather than FCC - JMHO.

A game of chicken...

YES! we did that with the sep 15 cruise. HAL kept urging us to take the FCC but we waited and waited till they finally cancelled.

3 hours ago, dreamers25 said:

We have just received notification of our cabin allocation for the Feb 29th Cruise. No upgrade which tells me that the boat is quite full. 

i think there are a lot of folks on that cruise who plan to cancel but are waiting and hoping HAL cancels first so they will receive a refund rather than FCC - JMHO.

Passengers on board the Westerdam

A US cruise ship blocked from several Asian ports over concerns that a passenger could have been infected with the new coronavirus has docked in Cambodia, as frustrated holidaymakers expressed hope their ordeal may soon be over.

The Westerdam was supposed to be taking its 1,455 passengers on a 14-day cruise around east Asia, beginning in Hong Kong on 1 February and disembarking on Saturday in Yokohama, Japan.

But the ship was turned away from Japan, Guam, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand over fears of the novel coronavirus epidemic that has killed more than 1,300 people in China.

Cruise operator Holland America has insisted there are no cases of the SARS-like virus on board and Cambodia announced yesterday that the boat would be able to dock in Sihanoukville, on its southern coast.

By evening, the ship moved into the beach town's port, moving past the small fishing vessels that usually ply the waters.

As it slowly approached the pier, people onshore snapped selfies of themselves with the massive vessel.

The mood was equally buoyant on the boat.

"Thank you Cambodia! You believed in us when no one would!" tweeted passenger Lydia Miller.

But all passengers would have to remain onboard until flights have been arranged, said provincial governor Kuoch Chamroeun.

"The arrangement of the planes to take them from (Sihanoukville) airport to Phnom Penh airport is under way," he said, explaining that three flights were scheduled for tomorrow.

Buses were lined up by the pier ready to transfer passengers to Sihanoukville's airport. Holland America has said they would foot the bill to return all guests.

Before the ship docked, doctors conducted health checks for the passengers.

https://www.rte.ie/amp/1115064/

Passengers on board the Westerdam

A US cruise ship blocked from several Asian ports over concerns that a passenger could have been infected with the new coronavirus has docked in Cambodia, as frustrated holidaymakers expressed hope their ordeal may soon be over.

The Westerdam was supposed to be taking its 1,455 passengers on a 14-day cruise around east Asia, beginning in Hong Kong on 1 February and disembarking on Saturday in Yokohama, Japan.

But the ship was turned away from Japan, Guam, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand over fears of the novel coronavirus epidemic that has killed more than 1,300 people in China.

Cruise operator Holland America has insisted there are no cases of the SARS-like virus on board and Cambodia announced yesterday that the boat would be able to dock in Sihanoukville, on its southern coast.

By evening, the ship moved into the beach town's port, moving past the small fishing vessels that usually ply the waters.

As it slowly approached the pier, people onshore snapped selfies of themselves with the massive vessel.

The mood was equally buoyant on the boat.

"Thank you Cambodia! You believed in us when no one would!" tweeted passenger Lydia Miller.

"The arrangement of the planes to take them from (Sihanoukville) airport to Phnom Penh airport is under way," he said, explaining that three flights were scheduled for tomorrow.

Buses were lined up by the pier ready to transfer passengers to Sihanoukville's airport. Holland America has said they would foot the bill to return all guests.

Before the ship docked, doctors conducted health checks for the passengers.

there is a show on the corona virus on TV right now (4pm pst) on cnbc.

might answer some questions - or create new ones.

1 hour ago, Kmkub said:

Princess is giving them two months pay, an airplane ticket to anywhere in the world and comping all their on board charges for this cruise and during the quarantine. They don't have to do any of that. This isn't their fault.

actually, i think they really do. moral obligation.

16 minutes ago, mom0f3 said:

Don Bosco does great work.   You can donate money to provide a scholarship for one of their students, as we did after we visited.   Might be a really nice way for passengers or Holland America to thank Sihanoukville for their hospitality in allowing the ship to dock there.  

i am sure HAL is paying a lot to be allowed to dock there. course most of it will probably stay in the pockets of high government officials so the donation idea is really nice.

20 minutes ago, Grburkart said:

My point being I don’t think Princess is being cheap offering the crew 2 months paid leave as the poster suggests.

i think 2 or 3 months paid leave (including paid flights home and back) is very nice, unless this drags out for a substantially longer time. then they will deserve more.

21 minutes ago, BarbarianPaul said:

All I’m saying is that if I were on the Westerdam, I would probably be somewhat demoralized that a) my cruise was cancelled, b)  the ship was turned away at almost every port we were supposed to visit, and c) so much uncertainty remains about where we would be debarking. I personally love sea days, but in this context I’m not sure I would enjoy them. I think I’d just want to get out of there and resume my life, and if my government wanted to help, I’d be appreciative.

i agree except the part about loving sea days!  LOL!!

25 minutes ago, barbaraanne said:

 I am going to stop questioning the CDC and WHO and get on that ship.  This may likely be my last chance to do so.

go for it. i looked and i think your cruise starts and stops in the usa - safest option. enjoy it!

2 hours ago, sail7seas said:The ship and people on board have to 'land' somewhere soon.

absolutely agree. The sooner the better. 

9 hours ago, atexsix said:

Maybe they can go around dropping off each country's own citizens like a bus. At least this way they wouldn't overwhelm any one places resources.

that was my thought days ago. probably too many countries though.

53 minutes ago, Level six said:

I was supposed to be on this cruise and it is insane what has happened, but I am so glad I decided not to board. 

i am glad for you too. what a rotten situation. no winners in this debacle.

17 minutes ago, sail7seas said:

DRat,  I really liked the idea of sailing to Seattle.

i somehow think the residents would disagree with you.

it's always take them anywhere but near me.

glad things are settling down and hope everything works out as planned.

8 minutes ago, Level six said:

Agree, why does this one poster continue to say mean and condescending things to people regarding this situation when she did not have a vested interest in this matter (like being booked on one of the cruises that are affected right now)?   

i would hypothesize she wishes she were in the "middle of the action" rather than posting on land.or perhaps she lacks empathy when others see things differently than she does. just guesses.  damn crystal ball isn't working again!!

i'm happy we are on land!

i wish all the best for the passengers and the overworked crew on all the affected ships.

12 minutes ago, shrimp56 said:

You know, we all respond differently. No judgement is needed.  BTW the judging going on here is why I seldom come to cruise critic. I wish Westie and her passengers and crew a safe landing. Over and out.

well said! 

8 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Perhaps those with such anxiety self-selected and did not go on the cruise (similar to your own decision). It seems like all those we are hearing from are doing fine, having fun and praising the staff and crew.

 

perhaps some folks are not having a good time. i too would probably praise the staff, the food and the entertainment, but i would not want to be there. i cruise for the ports - the ship is my way of easily getting around. a "cruise to nowhere" would not be something i would choose.

remember, we are all individuals with different likes and dislikes. what one person enjoys, another may intensely dislike. 

plus, i recall only hearing from a few folks - not much of a sample size.

40 minutes ago, Betty in Cozumel said:

We're on the 29th sailing too and are waiting it out.  We still want to cruise.  Right now HAL has offered $250/person for the fees for changing our flights from Shanghai & Hong Kong to Tokyo.  Wonder if they'll increase that if we have to change our flights again.  

 

Plus we have $1,000 in flights from Mexico to Toronto to catch our flight to Asia.  Maybe we'll be spending our 3 week vacation in Canada.  LOL

ugh. you're in a worse pickle than most. if the cruise on the 29th happens it may not even  leave from tokyo. the $250 offer to change flights will probably stand. i still think the odds are in favor of cancellation but that's just a guess with absolutely no evidence to back it up. if i were you, i'd probably wait. once the westerdam docks, you will have more info to make a decision.

28 minutes ago, trav25 said:

Your medical policy...what was is that?  When I broke my leg on a trip, the foreign hospital didn’t want health insurance card from another country, didn’t want the trip insurance info and wouldn’t take credit cards. Cash only. Then you file loads of paperwork back home and wait to get reimbursed. I got paid from Allianz (broke it in the country before boarding) and from the ships insurance for not being able to make the trip. 

we have a yearly policy from geo blue. you can google it to see if it is appropriate for what you need. we have never made a claim but it has excellent reviews.

1 hour ago, gatour said:

The only inconvenience they have had is being on a ship that hasn't stopped at any port.  They are still being fed, able to enjoy the shows and other facilities onboard ship.

every time i see this sort of remark i see red. i would be in a psychological panic. i may be getting all my physical needs met, but there is more to that in a person.

some people may be enjoying an exciting adventure and others may be feeling like they are in prison - a luxourious prison but prison nonetheless. 

please don't judge all people by your likes and dislikes.