Canceling cruise due to Zika virus

[chamima]

Wierd.we heard Curacao has the warning not Bonaire.....wonder what our ABC Island cruise will be in Oct...if too limited in ports we'll cancel...all for safety but Bonaire was the main attraction for us!

 

Hope you have a great time..even with the changes!

 

Bonaire was also a main attraction for us. :(

If it's still on your itinerary after last fall's changes you should be ok.

[HAM]

To the OP, first I am sorry you may have to cancel your cruise. But thanks for sharing the names of effective countries.

 

Sadly, the number of effective countries is very small !!!

[duchesslt]

People are panicking over this and looking at slathering themselves in DEET (which has potentially far more serious side effects!) when they should be hopeful they will contract the virus before it mutates and become immune.

 

As I understand it, Deet is the best man made insect repellent ever made. Side effects are extremely rare. Has helped Malaysians avoid malaria. Has helped avoid Dengue and recommended for Zika as well. 20 years of science has helped show it is safe.

 

If you are concerned about Zika the smartest thing to do is use a DEET repellent with 50% concentration as you do not need to reapply often.

[justcrusn]

Florida governor Rick Scott today declared a state of emergency as 9 confirmed cases of Zika are in Florida.

And cdc reports 36 in the USA total.

It's already here.....

[illiniwahoo]

The list above is missing many of the north an central American countries frequently visited by cruisers, like Mexico. Visit the cdc.gov for the most freqeuntly updated list. Numerous countries have been added in the past two weeks since the initial warning, including the popular cruise ports of st. Martin and the US Virgin islands. Here's the list of the Americas as of this morning:

AMERICAS

 

Barbados

Bolivia

Brazil

Colombia

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, US territory

Costa Rica

Curacao

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

El Salvador

French Guiana

Guadeloupe

Guatemala

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Jamaica

Martinique

Mexico

Nicaragua

Panama

Paraguay

Saint Martin

Suriname

U.S. Virgin Islands

Venezuela

 

I'll be calling to cancel our March cruise today (since I'm pregnant and this was suppose to be our babymoon!). I'll let you know what happens!

 

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[flowery]

I'm sure Zika is circulating in all of the Caribbean right now- not just the countries which have self reported.

 

A US entomologist predicts because of our air conditioned spaces, it won't be nearly as widespread in the US but warm weather states such as Texas, Calif and Florida will be affected. And a vaccine is a long way off.

 

According to the latest Consumer Reports, you don't need 50% DEET. The best DEET formulation on the market right now is Off Deep Woods Light Green can "Dry" formula 25%.

 

The other alternative, Sawyer Picaridin 20% (no DEET) is just as effective, and in addition, will repel deer ticks.

 

I urge everyone who is concerned about Zika to look at the Consumer Reports video of their mosquito research- this is free and accessible to the public. Very interesting- specially bred mosquitoes (non disease carrying) were tested on volunteers with a variety of repellents.

 

Let's be scientific about this and trust their results. On another thread, people are posting about "natural" repellents etc.

 

You can see all the results and all the products tested if you buy a membership. If you are a homeowner, CR is a great resource for appliance buying and many other things. We've had a membership for a long time.

 

I really feel for all pregnant women and those considering pregnancy- this is scary and alarming stuff.

 

Let's do what we can to minimize the spread when we return home by using one of the above two recommended products when traveling in Zika infested areas. I plan to use DEET on the outside of my clothes and Picaridin on my skin and hair. I was told at an outdoors equipment store that Permethrin, which can be sprayed on clothes and tents and lasts many months has a foul smell until it dries. This seems like overkill.

I'm going to stick to the Consumer Reports recommendations.

 

PS- CR also rates cars for frequency of repairs, crash test results etc etc. Non profit, trustworthy tests and advice.

Edited February 4, 2016 by flowery
adding info

[flowery]

Also agree with the other poster about the safety of DEET- I have used it extensively in the past without problem.

 

If I run out of Picaridin, won't hesitate to use DEET.

[Pickels]

A cruise is nice but a healthy new bundle of joy is more important, I wouldn't take a chance. Get a doctor's note verifying your pregnancy, and I'm sure the cruise line will either refund your costs or reschedule your cruise for another time or itinerary. Good luck

[illiniwahoo]

Celebrity was willing to give me a future cruise credit good for two years for the non-refundable portion of my cruise. Now who wants to babysit twin babies while my husband and I take a cruise before they are 18 months old? :)

 

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[KirkNC]

Unfortunately, we may have to cancel our cruise due to the Zika virus. I'm pregnant, and two of our three ports are now on the CDC warning list (http://www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/index.html)

A bunch more countries were added in the past week, so I'm guessing by the time we travel in March, all our visited countries will be infected. So we have to decide if we cancel the cruise, or take it, but never get off the ship (but that's a topic for a different thread.)

Happily, I do have the cancel for any reason insurance, but that still only reimburses 75%. What costs are non-refundable past final payment date? I booked through Celebrity, and on the invoice I have listed cruise fare, taxes and fees, and gratuities. I think that the cruise fare is non-refundable, but I will get the gratuities and taxes and fees back in full. Is that correct?

(I do know that based on exact date I may get 50% or 25% of my costs back, but to make this applicable to others as well, let's ignore that detail.)

I am also in the US, I know UK rules can be different.

 

Sorry you have to cancel but I would do the same in your circumstance.

[chamima]

Celebrity was willing to give me a future cruise credit good for two years for the non-refundable portion of my cruise. Now who wants to babysit twin babies while my husband and I take a cruise before they are 18 months old? :)

 

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If I understand correctly from your first post you received 75% of your cruise cost in cash so you only have that 25% as a credit.

Could you maybe do a short NY-Bermuda cruise in the spring? (Still pre-babies)

Or another short , more Northern cruise?

[CallyCruzer]

Regarding what types of repellent you should use - take a look at the CDC website. They list the ones they recommend. The higher percentages of DEET last longer - but you can always reapply. They also recommend Cutter Advanced, and Skin So Soft Bug Guard Plus - which is an Avon product and doesn't smell as foul as some of the other products. It also comes with your sun screen in the spray.

[north29]

Every Where, even here in Florida. IMHO it will take a few years for it to be a major problem if then.

A mosquito of the right type, will have to lunch on a person with the virus, and then bite some one before it dies, not all of the particular species of Mosquitos will carry the virus. Of course they are finding other ways for it to be transmitted as mentioned above semen, saliva blood to name a few. Of course they really do not know MUCH, but are OJT the learning process, like how long does the virus stay active in the body or can the Mosquitos get the virus from some where else. No one at the CDC or WHO have addressed that. All we hear are the symptoms will MOSTLY last a few days and mostly mild in older folks. Lots of truly unanswered questions to put women/pregnancy a bad situation.

For us travel is a GO

[cwayne]

Just off the Equinox. We departed before any warnings were posted for our stops. Once on board there were no warnings announced for passengers departing the ship in infected ports including our overnight stop in StMartin. I saw mosquitos in the shops downtown during the day. I am a senior but I was very disappointed that the Celebrity did not do more to warn the passengers.

 

Hi Jean,

Can you email me at cwayne@hiwaay.net. I want to give you an update on Wayne. He is having bypass surgery on Monday. Thank you and Harold again.

Monika

[Keith1010]

Sorry you are cancelling the cruise but if we were in your situations we would have done the same.

 

Keith

[20pluscruises]

Just off the Equinox. We departed before any warnings were posted for our stops. Once on board there were no warnings announced for passengers departing the ship in infected ports including our overnight stop in StMartin. I saw mosquitos in the shops downtown during the day. I am a senior but I was very disappointed that the Celebrity did not do more to warn the passengers.

 

While i don't fault Celebrity as I too was having trouble finding out info on the Zika virus other than the concern for pregnant women...

 

I did find a bit more recent information and will be using mosquito spray.

 

Yes, the mosquito's are more aggressive and out during the day...

 

"They are more aggressive. They will come into a building. They bite during the day. They fly at lower altitudes so children are at greater risk."

[LucyR.]

After I had booked my Carnival cruise. I received a letter from Carnival to be aware of the Zika Virus. Carnival has decided that only pregnant women can get a refund. But handicapped seniors with medical problems like ME don't qualify for a refund. I booked in April 2016 for a Cruise.

 

You really are not safe inside the ship because every time they arrive at a port the door is wide open for the mosquitos to come into the ship.

 

So I preferred to not cruise because I have a low immune system and have arthiritis. I have super weak hands and the Zika virus affects the hands and makes them so weak that you can't even use them. That happened to a young woman got infected with the virus.

 

I was planning to cruise to Mexico but I decided I didn't want to go into the hornets nest in Mexico. That is the way I see it.

 

I am just making a statement and NOT ASKING FOR ADVISE OR COMMENTS.

 

Some of you are in the habit of getting very negative to people like me who choose not to cruise because of the Zika Virus. But I don't need to hear any body telling me mean things like "live in fear!" I have a happy life and I am not afraid of staying home where I am 99% safe. Yes, there is one per cent chance I could get the virus but I will be home near my doctors to help me as much as they can with the virus and keep an eye on me. Plus, my relatives will be around to help me. I cruise SOLO all the time. So I prefer to stay home and have fun doing fun things.

[chamima]

After I had booked my Carnival cruise. I received a letter from Carnival to be aware of the Zika Virus. Carnival has decided that only pregnant women can get a refund. But handicapped seniors with medical problems like ME don't qualify for a refund. I booked in April 2016 for a Cruise.

 

You really are not safe inside the ship because every time they arrive at a port the door is wide open for the mosquitos to come into the ship.

 

So I preferred to not cruise because I have a low immune system and have arthiritis. I have super weak hands and the Zika virus affects the hands and makes them so weak that you can't even use them. That happened to a young woman got infected with the virus.

 

I was planning to cruise to Mexico but I decided I didn't want to go into the hornets nest in Mexico. That is the way I see it.

 

I am just making a statement and NOT ASKING FOR ADVISE OR COMMENTS.

 

Some of you are in the habit of getting very negative to people like me who choose not to cruise because of the Zika Virus. But I don't need to hear any body telling me mean things like "live in fear!" I have a happy life and I am not afraid of staying home where I am 99% safe. Yes, there is one per cent chance I could get the virus but I will be home near my doctors to help me as much as they can with the virus and keep an eye on me. Plus, my relatives will be around to help me. I cruise SOLO all the time. So I prefer to stay home and have fun doing fun things.

 

 

I am NOT going to criticize but have you tried calling customer service with your problem (or, if you have a TA asking him/her to advocate for you)?

It's possible that with confirmation by a doctor they might allow you to get a refund.

[Jiminy1955]

Celebrity was willing to give me a future cruise credit good for two years for the non-refundable portion of my cruise. Now who wants to babysit twin babies while my husband and I take a cruise before they are 18 months old? :)

 

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So glad to hear you decided not to go and that Celebrity came through for you! Hopefully you have family/friends that will be willing to watch those babies for you!! I know I would if I lived near you :)

[DrivesLikeMario]

Celebrity was willing to give me a future cruise credit good for two years for the non-refundable portion of my cruise. Now who wants to babysit twin babies while my husband and I take a cruise before they are 18 months old? :)

 

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I do! I do! It'll be years before my career-minded sons get around to having kids. Count me in! :D

 

I think you made a good decision. Happy pregnancy! :)