floridian1

We sail in two weeks out of Rome (civita) and we have 2 school age kids. Watching all the updates and trying my best to keep all of us healthy with vitamin c, elderberry, frequent hand washing and sanitizer.

We decided we will NOT cancel unless we are forced to by MSC or the airline. The only port i forsee may deny a ship is Malta. However the Worst case scenario for us is quarantine as we have jobs and school to get back to.

In regards to msc or gov officials quarantining a med cruise - i'm not sure what good that would even do anyone since the cruise embarks and disembarks new passengers at every port (except malta).

the good news is no big news or big changes today out of italy in regards to coronavirus.

we sail the week after you. for now we are just watching the news unfold but plan on going and hoping for the best.We arent cancelling unless MSC cancels us.

We stayed in a YC room right under the YC pool deck on seaside and we never heard a noise. And we are fairly light sleepers.

atleast in the usa rapid influenza test are found everywhere. most urgent cares, doctors, and even the smaller clinics have them. its just a nasal swab - results are known within minutes (10-15?) i would expect all cruise ships would have it too.

WOW that's a shame. not docking hurts the Jamaican people who were surely looking forward to having the cruise ship passengers spending their money there!

27 minutes ago, floridian1 said:

cruising in 2 weeks. If the majority of the ports deny cruise ships what do you think MSC will do? Cancel completely? they cruise to Rome (civi), Palermo Italy (confirmed case), Malta, Barcelona, Marseille france and Genoa (not too far from the lockdown towns).

would like to add barcelona to the coronavirus list - news an hour ago has a confirmed case there - they had visited milan italy last week.

cruising in 2 weeks. If the majority of the ports deny cruise ships what do you think MSC will do? Cancel completely? they cruise to Rome (civi), Palermo Italy (confirmed case), Malta, Barcelona, Marseille france and Genoa (not too far from the lockdown towns).

I am having my doubts that Malta will allow a cruise ship from italy to dock soon, especially with the stop in palermo (coronavirus case) the day before malta . there is already reports there that the port workers are refusing to enter cargo ships from italy.

And how the heck will msc know who has visited one of those mentioned towns in italy??

42 minutes ago, cruiser man 60 said:

I think people need to get a grip and stop listening to media hype, yes it's concerning but most people only have very mild symptoms.

if I listened to all I hear about travel, I wouldn't leave home.

tell that to the governments and companies that are shutting things down. I'm not worried about the virus specifically either - but I am worried about our upcoming cruise missing port stops, possibly getting cancelled, quarantines, flight cancellations, museums closing, etc. 

Genoa too..which is close to the infected areas.

I am getting so worried. we have been planning and looking forward to our rome trip and msc med cruise for a year - leaving in 3 weeks. everything booked and paid for including transfers and ind. tours. traveling with our kids too. this is a nightmare. i hope italy gets this under control FAST.

We r on this cruise next month. Getting worried too. Not about the virus specifically..but the ramifications if someone on our cruise gets it...fearful of ports denying the ship, quarantine, etc

He sounds like a scammer. I would be very upset if he did this to us. Sorry this happened to you OP. I would report it to the hotel director the last night of the cruise...or by written email to msc after the cruise if you dont want to deal with anymore awkward situations on your vacation.

for the people that are positive and aren't showing symptoms - how easily can they actually spread the virus if they are not coughing and sneezing? 

i would like to know this too. Also what if only 1 of your party of 4 is deemed sick.

1 hour ago, blordos said:

I found this in my Grandiosa YC photos. It may be helpfull about the minibar policy.

Thank you! This is great.

3 hours ago, sidari said:

BB ... Not just Princess, Saga cruises ship, Saga Dream was refused entry to Valetta Malta on Saturday due to 89 cases of Norovirus, the ship is due back in Southampton on Wednesday morning.

No idea if those affected will also be checked for the Coronavirus.

oh great, one of our stops next month. Do cruise ports normally refuse entry because of NORO?? I thought its a pretty common bug.

The sofa bed is the size of a full sized bed. Your 2 teens should fit on it comfortably. We sailed in the same type of cabin on Seaside (sorry no photos of it)

I think countries that have citizens onboard this ship should (if not already) be helping. Whether that is by providing more tests, helping processing tests, sending a medical team to help with this situation. Clearly by the lack of testing being done japan needs some help.

1 hour ago, aprilF said:

 

This is basically what we are dealing with too.  We have a Med cruise booked out of Italy in Mid May.  We are about 10 days out from PIF.  At this point we could cancel and turn into a land vacation in Italy.  My thoughts/ things we are questioning are--

If i could cancel I would but we are paid in full now and with only basic travel insurance - its not worth the stress of the possibility of a foreign country quarantining our family for extended periods of time because of 1 person that could have coronavirus on our ship. Oh and we are traveling with our kids - and you know how easily they get sick with colds and stuff when traveling. This is so stressful. We are all taking higher that normal Vitamin C and will be starting elderberry soon too on top of the normal hand washing, sanitzier and never touching our faces with dirty hands.

10 minutes ago, CruisinCrow said:

 

...But if anyone on our ship does come down with a fever for whatever reason (and this is "regular" flu season too), we'll be stuck on the ship until the person is tested.  And if the person tests positive for Corona, we could be stuck on the ship indefinitely like the passengers on the Princess ship. ...  I have a job and life at home I need to return to.

This is my fear too. and we are traveling from fl to italy for a med cruise in a few short weeks. the fear of being stuck on the ship (im not even worried about the actual virus)... many many illnesses cause fevers that are not coronavirus.

What ports has this cruise visited? There are people there that have come in contact with these passengers too!

These photos are great. Thanks for sharing.

36 minutes ago, blordos said:

 

The service is excellent in the YC. Every day they bring snacks to your cabin and small chocolates on your pillows. Once you do YC you will never go back, not even Aurea. 🙂

 

Thank you for the replies and your tips! 

43 minutes ago, blordos said:

Just back from the MSC Grandiosa. I had an inner Yacht Club cabin and the room was enough for two. I use the cabin for sleeping and changing cloth. Most of the time we were outside the cabin. The YC lounge and the restaurant was excellent.

The weather was a little too chill to linger on deck 19 but the price was low in January.

I love the butler service around the ship. Especially when we were escorted to the main theater and the Cirque du Soleil. The butlers have direct access to the entrances.

Thank you!

• Was the new rules about the mini bar in action? (price now on certain items + choice of 1 full size bottle)
• Which cirque show did you see? Did you like it? Did YC guests get any sort of preferred seating?
• Did the main theater shows have a section for YC?
• Any stand out dishes in the YC?
• Did you take any MSC tours in port?

Any other YC specific tips are appreciated 🙂 we sail next month - looking forward too it. Although nervous now and hoping coronavirus doesnt cause any ship issues.