gphb

22 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

As a small matter of interest   gphb, did you have the anytime dining facility on your previous crossings?

No.   My understanding was that Open Dining was introduced for 2023 and 2024 voyages that went on sale in May 2022 and then for all voyages on QM2 from 1 November 2022 onwards.  

I did wonder if this was why second seating was so empty, but I assumed that if the same number of people were still dining in QM2 from the same kitchens in the same general time frames that it would still be relatively full.  It appears fewer passengers are choosing to eat in Britannia than before or somehow they are turning tables more quickly.   

I also wondered if this trend continues if they can actually now go to a single seating for all fixed dining passengers?   This could be one silver lining to result as I recall dual-staged dining was one of the changes in moving from QE2's silver service in Columbia/Mauretania to QM2.   When my kids were younger on QM2 we would struggle to get to the 8pm sitting after dropping them off in the Kid's Zone which did not open until 8pm, so the 845pm last orders now feels awfully late, and I don't like it if that is a result of Open Dining.   I assumed it was more this particular ship's Master seems to favor noon clock changes instead of midnight, so more time was needed to break from lunch.

20 hours ago, TowandaUK said:

I’m not sure how recently you sailed with celebrity?  We sailed on Celebrity Silhouette in June this year and also July/August 2022. We saw a marked deterioration in food between the two cruises.

We sailed on Celebrity Apex in March 2023 in the North American region.     As you probably know, the Edge class ships (including Apex) do have a different restaurant selection than the other ships like the Silhouette, and while we wouldn't necessarily rate it above what we have experienced from Cunard in prior years, it was distinctly better than Cunard this year in our subjective opinion for the main restaurant offerings in terms of food quality.  All four X main restaurants were full every night.

I would say I have always found Cunard food good, hence why this recent crossing was disappointing.   The French Toast picture and pancakes being too dry are exactly what we found too.

I don't know if its reliable measure but I take it as a signal at least a large majority are "voting" with their feet, on all prior crossings Britannia has always been close to full in both early and late sitting, and on this crossing which was sold out it had only 33% of seats filled in second sitting on the first night down to 15-20% by the last two nights (including a gala).   We used to see the senior officers sitting at the large table in the center and did not see them this time either (but noticed a number at Verandah).    Either the food has deteriorated or expectations/tastes are not being met in some regard at Britannia for many passengers.

47 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

Roll on November and December and being back onboard. 

Sounds wonderful, enjoy!   

6 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

The toilet issue sounds a complete nightmare. Horrible. But how do you know it was throughout the ship if there was no acknowledgement?

It was the talk of the corridors and Kings Court; at first people were worried they had clogged it only in their cabin somehow.

11 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

Oh I love bread and butter pudding. Cunard’s lemon one is one of my favourites . Can’t remember bread and butter pudding at school. I suppose we must have had it. I make a short cut one in the slow cooker with hot cross buns and fresh custard from M &S. Real cheats recipe.

I think my case rests.   If you love bread and butter pudding with custard (which certainly was served at my school if not the 29 years of yours), pigs in blankets (UK version meaning sausage in bacon, not puff pastry) with your turkey-gravy-mash served twice daily and if you generally favor large portion sizes over quality, then you are probably the target consumer of Britannia Restaurant's current offering.    Nostalgic comfort food is still to be found here;  its not reliably executed it seems, but then school meals and nursing home dinners never were meant to be. 

I rather like to the think that classic ocean liners would strive to serve the best contemporary food of the day;  somehow CCL's competitors and even its other premium brands are better managing to do this.   

11 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Thank you for your review.

We didn't make it to Britannia for breakfast on our latest cruise but I thought French toast was still on offer. 

Can someone @bluemarble post the latest breakfast menu !?

Latest breakfast menu attached.   No french toast.   It may be different for Britannia Club.   

There is something called French Toast served daily in Kings Court but it looked a bit more like a fruit cake/mincemeat pudding.

Having recently completed a seven-day transatlantic voyage aboard the Queen Mary 2, our first Cunard experience post-pandemic pause and just after a couple of recent cruises on Holland America Line and Celebrity X, and we felt it useful to share a quick review. Our oceanic résumé is not devoid of experience with Cunard; we first sailed on the QE2 back in the early 1970s in tourist class and have enjoyed QE2 and QM2 since. Our opinions are subjective and your experiences may be different.
 

Ship's Condition and Ambiance

No surprise, the Queen Mary 2 exudes grace, with her public spaces and Britannia class staterooms still manifesting a timeless elegance. Despite the weather-beaten hull courtesy of the North Atlantic, the ship has maintained her lustre, particularly the spaces rejuvenated during the 2016 refit, such as the Corinthia Lounge and Kings Court. Classic venues like the Commodore's Club and the Library continue to enchant. As for The Verandah, it may not rival Celebrity's Edge-class dining experiences but offers a congenial atmosphere, apparently even attracting senior officers for the meals.
 

Crowding and Capacity

The ship's additional staterooms and trimmed public spaces render her a tad more crowded than originally designed. The feeling of congestion particularly manifests in the Corinthia Lounge and Kings Court, possibly exacerbated by the ship sailing near full capacity.
 

Day-Time Programming

The roster of daytime activities remains robust, if not improved. The insight lectures and guest speakers, particularly those focused on arts and culture, were engaging and well-selected, despite not always boasting A-list credentials.
 

Guest Demographics

Our voyage was predominantly comprised of first-time or novice Cunard travelers, along with a ~20% sprinkling of gold, platinum, and diamond tier guests. With 700 passengers extending their journey in Southampton, the voyage skewed toward an older demographic, which we found less diverse than previous Cunard experiences in terms of age, nationality, and lifestyle, impacting our enjoyment to a degree.
 

Dining Experience

The culinary offerings in Britannia and Kings Court were underwhelming. The menus were reminiscent of lackluster British school meals, brimming with comfort food slathered in uninspired gravy and custard. While the nostalgia is palpable, the execution leaves much to be desired. Breakfast in Britannia lacked options like waffles and French toast, and the versions served in Kings Court were unrecognizable.  In the past we would place HAL or Celebrity in similar overall quality, but would now rank Cunard a distinct third by comparison on this trip.  We actually couldn't wait to get off the ship for better food.  It can't all be about cost, as Cunard are the only line we've been on in 2023 that routinely still serves steak in the main restaurants, but unfortunately even this they managed to make un-tasty. 
 

Alternative Dining and Atmosphere

The Corinthia Lounge provided a decent lunchtime alternative, although some dishes were served lukewarm. Golden Lion Pub, however, remained consistent in its food quality. Britannia restaurant was sparsely populated during the second seating, resulting in a somewhat drab atmosphere.
 

Traditions and Social Events

Certain cherished rituals like the chef's parade have been discontinued, although it would have been hard to genuinely express the same awe that we used to given the current product;  the once universal Captain's reception has been replaced by a modest half-glass of sparkling wine left at your table on first gala night. Yet, World Club Party, Senior Officers' invitationals, and other events are still in full swing.
 

Boarding and Immigration

Boarding was fast with no health checks and no paperwork or pictures assuming one did these online.   Immigration onboard was rapid, its certainly the easiest way to get into the UK we've ever seen assuming you can pass the electronic background checks, as they didn't even match passports to what had been submitted online or even to stateroom cards just a quick glance at whatever photo you show them and wave you on.
 

Onboard Technology

The Wi-Fi service, fast and reliable in public areas, was surprisingly unavailable in staterooms, a point clarified only after speaking with the Hotel/Guest Services director as the official policy. Technical issues were addressed with ambivalence by the staff but ultimately resolved after some persistence.  Satellite service appears to already be using Elon Musk's Starlink Maritime service by SpaceX, but is let down by poorly maintained access points in the corridors.
 

Maintenance Issues

In five decades of sailing with Cunard, we've never encountered a ship-wide plumbing issue until now. Shockingly, the vacuum pumps that power the toilets failed, leading to a total outage. What's more, there was no official communication or updates regarding this pressing issue, making it especially inconvenient for those cabins housing three or four occupants. The problem was eventually resolved, but the lack of an apology or even acknowledgment from the ship’s staff was an oversight.   The engine maintenance issues earlier this year are already well documented.
 

Final Thoughts

Compared to recent voyages on Holland America and Celebrity, this Cunard experience lagged in culinary and technological standards while maintaining par in service quality. The removal of "White Star Service" from their website is perhaps a silent admission of limitations. While transatlantic crossings hold an irreplaceable allure, based on this experience, we’re inclined to explore other options unless opting for Cunard's Grills class, which we believe still holds promise.

Note the extra 100% FCC on these cancellations is specific to new bookings only per the stated policy.

We were departing Saturday from San Diego for the Oosterdam.    We received the cancellation notice from HAL, relatively quickly.   They are handling this extremely well under the circumstances from my perspective.

Dear Valued Guest:

We are very sorry to inform you that your Oosterdam cruise departing March 14, 2020 has been cancelled.

Increasingly, we have faced operational challenges in maintaining our scheduled itinerary in light of rapidly changing restrictions related to COVID-19. Given these quickly developing limitations and our inability to guarantee you the cruise experience you expect we have made the very difficult decision to cancel your cruise.

Please accept our most sincere apologies. These extraordinary circumstances are beyond our control, and the decision was made with the deepest regret. We of course share your profound disappointment at this news and know you have been looking forward to your trip, and we are sorry we cannot provide the cruise vacation you expected.

All guests will receive a full refund of their cruise fare, Holland America Line Flight Ease air, pre- and post-cruise hotel packages, prepaid shore excursions and other prepaid items, and taxes, fees, and port expenses. Your refund will be processed automatically via the method of payment used to pay for your cruise.

As your cruise has been cancelled so close to departure, each guest will also receive a Future Cruise Credit equal to 100% of the base cruise fare paid on this voyage. The terms and conditions of this Future Cruise Credit appear below.

If any portion of your travel was not booked through Holland America Line, other booking and cancellation conditions and policies may apply. Please consult with your Travel Advisor or Tour Operator for more information.

We understand this cancellation may cause you to incur additional expenses, such as air change fees. Reimbursement of reasonable non-refundable expenses will be considered. A Change Fee Reimbursement Form is available at [webaddress]; please complete this form and submit it, along with any relevant receipts and documentation, for review by our corporate office. If you purchased a Cancellation Protection Plan or independent vacation travel insurance, please submit your claim through your carrier before submitting a reimbursement request.

If you are already in San Diego or en route and booked your flights through Holland America Line’s Flight Ease® program you may contact us at (206) [xxx-xxxxx] for assistance with your return flights. Guests with independent travel arrangements should contact their travel advisor or airline directly.

"At my request, effective midnight tonight, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and MSC have all agreed to suspend outbound cruises for thirty days. It is a great and important industry – it will be kept that way!"  POTUS

Orlando just reported to Travel Advisors that HAL have no plans at this time for any fleet wide decisions similar to Princess.   They do not consider they have had any confirmed cases of COVID-19 and so do not have the same need to flush the brand as do Princess.   They will look at individual ships and itineraries.    

In the meantime they will be changing their Short Term Cancel/Book with Confidence program to include 100% commission (base + override) payable to TA even if guests cancel, and to provide commission on the FCC rebookings.

3 hours ago, richwmn said:

as a solo passenger I only expect to see $100 added to my cabin. I would be very surprised to see anything different.

Yes me too, but for three passengers I was kind of hoping to see $300.   I realize this is an unexpected bonus, but equally the HAL passenger contract explicitly advises guests to follow State Department advisories, and as we know the State Department has advised to not cruise at this time.

24 minutes ago, suec12 said:

We booked our May cruise long ago and plan / hope to go. It is my understanding that if we sail, we will get an additional OBC? I viewed my payment tab and saw only an earlier OBC noted - anyone seeing their amount adjusted to reflect the current "stay on board" incentive or am I misunderstanding that older booking would also be getting an additonal credit?

We see an additional $100 for the first and second passenger but nothing for the third passenger in a cabin.   I always find the $200 per cabin/$100 per passenger misleading as why should we automatically assume this caps in HAL's favor (presumably for single passengers).  Every passenger including the third and fourth is making a choice in cruising at this time.

Chapter 11 considerations?

Just a thought as we consider cancelling a March cruise originating in US.    We are past the 100% cancellation deadline and have private non CFAR insurance so under the new March 6 policy HAL would hold onto the full cash amount for cruise and flight-ease as a FCC.     If CCL were to file Chapter 11 then in theory there is no guarantee that this FCC would be honored as we would be a creditor like any other.

Our assessment is that seems medium risk of a Chapter 11 filing with continued operations based on current trend and size of their fleet, but very low risk of them implementing such a policy in those circumstances as most customers are repeat and even their largest creditors would not want to see minor creditors like us angry.
 

At this point, we're inclined to go regardless as we upgraded our cabin as a contingency against quarantine, and believe it is equally likely that we will be COVID-+ve before the end of the year if we don't travel.

46 minutes ago, ski ww said:

We have not got the email yet. We're departing Amsterdam 5 July and we are NOT cancelling. That $200 OBC will be nice, thanks HAL. 

If you use Google (gmail) as your email provider, it may automatically be flagged as spam.  It was for us, just found it.

14 minutes ago, bluesea321 said:

  26 minutes ago, JennAngel9 said

If Japan does let the passengers mix back into society starting tomorrow (today in Japan!), I don't think we can say that the quarantine kept the people of Japan any safer, because presumably a non-trivial % of all cases grew during the quarantine.
 

I could not agree with you more. Very well said!!!

I don't fault the Ministry of Health for its early handling of the Diamond, things were evolving fast, but I would fault them if they release the pax without a quarantine on-shore like the US, Canada, Australia and others are doing. And for whatever it is worth, I just emailed the Editor of the Japan Times forwarding the video from Professor Iwata in case they had not seen it. 

 

Ditto.   I do think getting this video out is important.   Professor Iwata is now in contact with the BBC.   

While he alluded to it in the English language translation, I understand he was clearer in the Japanese language version that he thinks all the health workers on the ship will likely be spreading it when they return to their hospitals.  

Other direct quotes from his Twitter timeline (https://twitter.com/georgebest1969) on the subject of the Diamond Princess include:

• "Infection control is scattered, worse than in Africa"
   
• "I've been so appalled that I've been fainted, and I've never felt my infection risk so intensely in my 20+ year doctor life. When it came to fighting SARS in Beijing in the fight against Ebola in Africa, it was not so scary. I'm sorry for DMAT."
   
• "By the way, I was warned that the future of bureaucrats who invited me to join me was worried. That is wrong. It is not bad to invite, but a great person somewhere who drives out without permission is bad."

(translated from Japanese language by Twitter)

On his blog, he is also a bit more realistic.  "Infection control may or may not work. The goal is to be 100% perfect. That's why the "itself" that did not work is inevitable. But it's best not to look away and pretend to be "good" because of the fact that it didn't work"

5 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Cannot answer about Maritime Law, but how do you establish Red & Green zones without massive cabin moves?  I suppose they could re-arrange dining, but I have read meals were being delivered to cabins.  How to you Red & Green zone the crew?

I really don't know but I think the doctor in the video was suggesting that there should be some zones even just for the quarantine staff to consider a green zone where they don't do all the practices he describes of using cell phones, eating with their gloves still on, etc. and with presumably some sheeting to and from.   I did see pictures of where they had taken over the MDR for prescription medication sorting and so there are at least some public areas of the ship that perhaps could be better controlled.   Or tents on some of the open decks that are roped off?    Again, I have no idea and don't wish to "manage in hindsight" but it seems such consideration could have been in Princess leadership or UK government (the flag bearer) to question too?

22 minutes ago, Seavoyage said:

Yikes - Ship of death....terrible.

For some reason the original video post was not showing in my current view of the boards, so thanks for reposting it otherwise I never would have seen it.   In case it disappears again, here is the apparent whistleblower video link with alleged first hand knowledge of whats going on behind the scenes.     Perhaps someone can archive it in case it is censored by Google.
 

I get all the support for Princess management in a difficult situation, they can't control the quarantine, but I always thought under maritime law a Captain had absolute control of her/his ship, and so for example while they cant leave the dock or disembark, they could have hired and brought on board their own infection control expert and for example established red and green zones as the doctor suggests, or required informed consent to be verbal or electronic not written on paper that is carried from cabin to cabin.   For there to be apparently no one on board that is an infectious disease control expert is astounding.

 Especially since they go out to sea every 2 to 3 days wouldn't they have more rights themselves under maritime law in terms of what happens on their ship?   

Tonights call by US State Dept and CDC primarily focused on the Princess ship (Diamond Princess) included some information on the returning Westerdam passengers from a US perspective.      Obviously this is very limited compared to all nationalities on board but is consistent with many of the current numbers and whereabouts.

Call transcript:  https://www.state.gov/on-the-repatriation-of-u-s-citizens-from-the-princess-diamond-cruise-ship/
 

Highlights, as of Monday evening US time, Tuesday morning Cambodia:

• 92 American citizens remain on board the Westerdam
• Another 260 remain in hotels in Phnom Penh
• Roughly 300 American citizens have departed Cambodia, but only after testing by the Government of Cambodia’s Ministry of Health
• The one couple that remains in the hospital in Kuala Lumpur is the only individual as of writing that has tested positive coming off the Westerdam
• "Obviously, everyone is very concerned about the safety of all of the American citizens and all of the other passengers on the Westerdam, and every step is being taken on an international basis to collaborate on contact tracing and in staying in very close contact with the passengers of that ship"

I have cross-posted information on the Princess ship to the Princess forum, so not mentioned here, but interesting nonetheless for discussion there.

The transcript of the US State call debriefing the recent evacuation process.

https://www.state.gov/on-the-repatriation-of-u-s-citizens-from-the-princess-diamond-cruise-ship/
 

Highlights of the call include:

• This evacuation has been preplanned between US and Japan for such scenarios over the last 18 months (!?)
• It was the NSC that actually gave the initial approval to evacuate (not State or CDC)
• The flow of air on these 747 cargo planes was used in carefully positioning crew, passengers and isolation pods
• The passengers were already considered "evacuees" when the +ve results were received as they had already departed the ship, so the process to keep them in the process (and boarded to the isolation units on the planes) was considered the best interpretation of the pre-planned protocol
• Sixty-one (61) US citizens remain on Diamond Princess
• The Japanese testing process is very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail, and hence quite slow

18 minutes ago, gphb said:

It seems this is very good news.

The latest paper from the Imperial/WHO/MRC group 

I should mention that the reason why I try and follow these peer reviewed papers and not just rely on CDC/WHO statements is that we are now in a "containment stage" of a pandemic operation, and at least in the USA an executive order has been quietly issued by the military branch of the government (joint chiefs) initiating the largest scale pandemic preparation (Department of Defense Global Campaign plan for Pandemic Influenza and Infectious Diseases 3551-13) to date.   As they state clearly, "in no way does the planning indicate a greater likelihood of an event developing", so just prudent planning, but the protocols in such cases are widely documented to be around communicating what is best overall for the long term population health, which may not be consistent with the actual facts.     Hence why we might see the WHO president making what seem like ill-timed statements, ambassadors or prime ministers pursuing photo-ops over public health, or US State Dept ignoring the immediately prior determination and written promise of CDC in evacuation protocol for those 14 infected but asymptomatic.   

8 hours ago, fragilek said:

"Still on board. They’ve tested guests and 185 of 380 in Kuala Lumpur have tested negative so far. They’re going to swab the rest of us coronavirus and results for everybody may take 2 days to complete and then hopefully they’ll book flights providing everyone’s negative". from someone still on the ship  twitter @Lorrian34100

It seems this is very good news.

The latest paper from the Imperial/WHO/MRC group (Paper #5 at https://www.imperial.ac.uk/mrc-global-infectious-disease-analysis/news--wuhan-coronavirus/ ) indicates that they see an epidemic doubling time of 7 days (how long it takes for the number of cases in a given epidemic to double) in the overall event and they model that 13.5% of those infected are what the media call "super-spreaders" and transmit at a rate 74x larger than the remaining infected individuals.   

It seemed an interesting paper that based all of their analysis on how the RNA is mutating in this virus across different patients which allows them to really trace its propagation over time, and the other good news was that it doesn't seem to be mutating any faster than any other similar virus, very slowly in fact in terms of changes per year.   The paper included a few caveats and while just published the last sample was from Feb 3 so a while ago, but overall this 74x difference really could explain how Diamond Princess and Westerdam might end up very differently indeed.  

Anyway based on all this, a lay person like me might reason that the Diamond Princess had one or more super-spreaders and that even just based on this model there is as yet no evidence consistent with a super-spreader on Westerdam and its possible we might not see much more from this particular event now that the individual and the person closest to her has been isolated.    We can hope and pray. 

19 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

This is not true as has been posted numerous times by chengkp75, who is in a position to know. 

 

I can't find the longer explanation but it is to the effect that individual cabins are not interconnected via recirculated air.  Public rooms, yes.

Actually, the official statement on recirculating air by the Holland America Group subsidiary of CCL is that the cabin air does recirculate on their ships but that in special situations such as on quarantined ships like Diamond Princess the captain can increase the relative proportion of fresh air relative to the recirculating air, but they cannot eliminate it, in cabins, crew cabins and public spaces alike.

"The ship is equipped with air filtration systems found in land-based hotels and casinos ... our ships have a mix of fresh and recirculated air that goes through a filter. However, in an abundance of caution we are maximizing the percentage of fresh air in guest cabins, crew cabins and public spaces."

Source:  Ray Caluori, EVP Princess Cruises, Holland America Group, February 11, 2020
Link:  https://www.facebook.com/PrincessCruises/videos/783739805479528/
 

The industry stated reason for using both recirculated air and fresh air is to maximize the return on investment to shareholders, without too much impact on passenger discomfort.     Hence why they only adjust the percentage back in favor of the passengers in exceptional circumstances like a quarantined ship with known infection (currently 1 in 8 passengers infected which would seem to be hard to be demonstrated to be linked to direct contact or droplet only, despite prior statements by the US CDC to the contrary based on the best information they had at the time).

“More energy is more fuel, and more fuel is a higher cost for the company.  The investors want their return on investment. So we’re trying to minimize energy cost in any way we can without jeopardizing the comfort of our passengers.  One way is recirculating the air inside the ship instead of venting it outside, as had been the practice ... by doing so we’ve reduced our cooling [costs] by a quarter.”  -- Eddie Wehus, HVAC and refrigeration manager, competitor cruise company (RCL), company environmental blog, October 27, 2016

2 minutes ago, clskinsfan said:

Yeah but 25% of those hospitalized need intensive care. And it still kills 2% of those it infects. 

The 2% figure is likely very low and misleading.  I understand that is the current death rate divided by the number of new cases on the same day.   With exponential growth, one should divide by the number in the same cohort infected (e.g, 14 days prior).  

See latest peer reviewed report Report 4  from WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Modelling/MRC/Imperial College London (list of reports at https://www.imperial.ac.uk/mrc-global-infectious-disease-analysis/news--wuhan-coronavirus/) 

They estimate death rate to be 18% (with 95% confidence that it is higher than 11% and less than 81%) in Hubei, and between 1.2 and 5.6% in travelers worldwide outside of mainland China.    I am not an epidemiologist so please do not rely on this interpretation and form your own viewpoint,.

"On Feb. 10 all 2,257 passengers and crew on board Westerdam were temperature-tested and not one person had an elevated temperature.”    HAL Official Statement, Feb 15
 

 "We appreciate the interest in preventing the spread of covid-19 but any further discrimination toward our guests based on unfounded concerns is inappropriate and may be illegal” — joint statement from HAL & US CDC in letter to passengers, Feb 15.

A few questions/comments:

Doesn't the first statement seem a little odd, I can't remember a single cruise where there weren't at least a few passengers with gastro-intestinal or other common ailments that present with mild fevers. Could one achieve that zero elevated result with the aid of fever reducers supplied or recommended by the ship?   

On the second statement, first before threatening with legal action, I'd like to understand why the US CDC (and the WHO) so quickly accepted the results of the tests under their supervision of the first 20 passengers within hours, something that no other country seems to be able to do that quickly.    With the unfortunate benefit of hindsight, and if the preliminary testing of the US national in Malaysia proves correct, it is now clear that the CDC assessment of risk was in fact critically in error.   Wouldn't it have made sense to at least scan everyone for temperatures on exit, instead of hugging, shaking hands and handing out flowers.   Hard to accept that health/safety and not public relations was the #1 priority on disembarkation day, especially given the concern of neighboring states with first hand knowledge of the virus and its risks.

Will the US Ambassador to Cambodia and his entire family have to enter quarantine since they boarded the ship to greet the disembarking passengers?  (see his unfortunately timed twitter post attached).

I do hope everyone on board can get some peace and return home quickly, such a terrible situation for everyone.      We've gone ahead and changed our next HAL booking in March from a non-verandah outside cabin to a larger one with verandah;   we are only cruising in the Americas, but felt this was needed just in case the ship is quarantined as two weeks in a cabin with no direct fresh air is at least by Princess standards a demonstrated health hazard;   CCL have confirmed that their ships do have recirculated air shared between many cabins, contrary to some reports.      We made this change without upgrade offers, but as expected did get some good pricing and it took 2 minutes to change with a HAL pricing specialist by phone despite it being past the final payment period and a discounted only new-booking fare.

We are still very much pro-cruising but with 2% of the HAL/Princess/Cunard/Costa/Carnival fleet now with confirmed infection and 5% quarantined for some periods, it seemed prudent to us to at least lower the cabin infrastructure risk.   We also know now not to trust any public statement by HAL, which is fine I think if you know that going in.