China Cruises Cancelled?

[mugtech]

On 1/25/2020 at 10:11 AM, BirdTravels said:

Cruise lines rarely cancel a cruise. They will change the ship’s itinerary. They would leave a ship idle. 

Supposedly a fan blog based in Singapore announced that the RCI Spectrum OTS has cancelled cruises that were roundtrip from Shanghai on 1/27/20 and 1/31/20.  Have heard nothing from RCI or any cruisers, the roll calls were never started.

[Norwegian Cruise Line]

The safety, security and well-being of our guests and crew is our number one priority. We are proactively implementing several preventative measures outlined below due to growing concerns regarding coronavirus infections in China. We will continue to consult with The World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and take appropriate additional action as needed. 

 

Policies currently in place include:

• Guests who have visited mainland China within 30 days of their voyage embarkation, regardless of nationality, will not be allowed to board any of our vessels. The standard incubation period recognized by the WHO and US CDC for this virus is 14 days.

• • Guests who are denied boarding will be issued a refund when they provide proof of travel.
  • Hong Kong is not considered to be part of mainland China and guests who have visited this region will be permitted to sail. 
• In Hong Kong, we are implementing non-touch temperature screenings for all passengers embarking from this destination and any guest who registers a body temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius or higher, will not be allowed to board. Guests on these voyages may also be subject to temperature screenings when returning from shore excursions at ports of call.
• • Guests who are unable to sail due to a high temperature will be advised to open a travel insurance claim with their insurance provider.
• For all guests, we will continue standard pre-boarding health reporting and evaluation. Any guests who appear symptomatic are subject to pre-boarding medical evaluations including but not limited to temperature checks as deemed necessary.
• Any guest who exhibits symptoms of any respiratory illness while onboard will be subject to additional screening for Coronavirus at our onboard Medical Center and may be subject to potential quarantine and disembarkation.
• We have implemented additional cleaning and disinfection protocols onboard all voyages. These protocols will be enforced in addition to our already rigorous sanitization standards in place.
• Our crew members who have visited Mainland China within 30 days will not be allowed on board our ships.

 

The above measures will remain in effect until further notice and are subject to change at any time as we evaluate the situation and continue to consult with local health authorities as well as the WHO and US CDC. At this time, there are no changes to our itineraries. We also have the flexibility to alter our itineraries as needed to avoid areas of concern. As always, we will closely monitor the situation and take appropriate action as necessary. We apologize for the inconvenience to any guests affected by these measures put in place to ensure the safety and well-being of all our guests and crew. 

 

[mugtech]

32 minutes ago, Norwegian Cruise Line said:

The safety, security and well-being of our guests and crew is our number one priority. We are proactively implementing several preventative measures outlined below due to growing concerns regarding coronavirus infections in China. We will continue to consult with The World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and take appropriate additional action as needed. 

 

Policies currently in place include:

• Guests who have visited mainland China within 30 days of their voyage embarkation, regardless of nationality, will not be allowed to board any of our vessels. The standard incubation period recognized by the WHO and US CDC for this virus is 14 days.

• • Guests who are denied boarding will be issued a refund when they provide proof of travel.
  • Hong Kong is not considered to be part of mainland China and guests who have visited this region will be permitted to sail. 
• In Hong Kong, we are implementing non-touch temperature screenings for all passengers embarking from this destination and any guest who registers a body temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius or higher, will not be allowed to board. Guests on these voyages may also be subject to temperature screenings when returning from shore excursions at ports of call.
• • Guests who are unable to sail due to a high temperature will be advised to open a travel insurance claim with their insurance provider.
• For all guests, we will continue standard pre-boarding health reporting and evaluation. Any guests who appear symptomatic are subject to pre-boarding medical evaluations including but not limited to temperature checks as deemed necessary.
• Any guest who exhibits symptoms of any respiratory illness while onboard will be subject to additional screening for Coronavirus at our onboard Medical Center and may be subject to potential quarantine and disembarkation.
• We have implemented additional cleaning and disinfection protocols onboard all voyages. These protocols will be enforced in addition to our already rigorous sanitization standards in place.
• Our crew members who have visited Mainland China within 30 days will not be allowed on board our ships.

 

The above measures will remain in effect until further notice and are subject to change at any time as we evaluate the situation and continue to consult with local health authorities as well as the WHO and US CDC. At this time, there are no changes to our itineraries. We also have the flexibility to alter our itineraries as needed to avoid areas of concern. As always, we will closely monitor the situation and take appropriate action as necessary. We apologize for the inconvenience to any guests affected by these measures put in place to ensure the safety and well-being of all our guests and crew. 

 

Royal Caribbean says that 15 days, not 30 days is the number, but RC also includes Hong Kong, and none of the ships will be porting in Hong Kong, two on the Quantum switched to Singapore.

[Level six]

2 hours ago, mugtech said:

Royal Caribbean says that 15 days, not 30 days is the number, but RC also includes Hong Kong, and none of the ships will be porting in Hong Kong, two on the Quantum switched to Singapore.

 

It's a big mess!  HAL Westerdam should be  in Hong Kong now, I wonder what RC knows that HAL doesn't.  HK is 26 miles from the border of China and most of the people left to HK a week ago...we will see.  

[ziggyuk]

39 minutes ago, Level six said:

 

It's a big mess!  HAL Westerdam should be  in Hong Kong now, I wonder what RC knows that HAL doesn't.  HK is 26 miles from the border of China and most of the people left to HK a week ago...we will see.  

 

Hong Kong is part of China, it adjoins China and is not 26 miles from the border, like most countries the border is just a line on a map, Hong Kong is not just the island of HK it is also part of the mainland.

 

There is a new high speed train and multiple land crossings between mainland China and HK.

 

The border is irrelevant though as the virus is carried by people and not on the wind, there are tens of thousand of people currently returning to Hong Kong from China following the New Year celebrations.

Edited February 1, 2020 by ziggyuk

[Level six]

1 hour ago, ziggyuk said:

 

Hong Kong is part of China, it adjoins China and is not 26 miles from the border, like most countries the border is just a line on a map, Hong Kong is not just the island of HK it is also part of the mainland.

 

There is a new high speed train and multiple land crossings between mainland China and HK.

 

The border is irrelevant though as the virus is carried by people and not on the wind, there are tens of thousand of people currently returning to Hong Kong from China following the New Year celebrations.

 

Totally agree, but that is not what HAL thinks.  They thing HK is not China and therefore not a risk. 

[Lou33]

18 minutes ago, Level six said:

 

Totally agree, but that is not what HAL thinks.  They thing HK is not China and therefore not a risk. 

 

Right now it's not.  They have 13 cases of the virus.  Singapore has about the same, but nobody seems to be worried about Singapore.

[Level six]

I guess we will all see in the next month or so what happens.  

[jaja]

As many others,I have been following all this here and on the news  My biggest concern is that I truly believe we cannot trust China to release accurate information. While they have been more forthcoming than in the past, we really probably do not know how long this  has been going on or if indeed infection and death numbers are correct. 

[cassie55]

13 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

 

Hong Kong is part of China, it adjoins China and is not 26 miles from the border, like most countries the border is just a line on a map, Hong Kong is not just the island of HK it is also part of the mainland.

 

There is a new high speed train and multiple land crossings between mainland China and HK.

 

The border is irrelevant though as the virus is carried by people and not on the wind, there are tens of thousand of people currently returning to Hong Kong from China following the New Year celebrations.

I don't think Beijing would allow the border to close completely although HK politicians want this. They have closed 6 entry posts and the high speed rail and the ferries are cancelled.  

 

But statistically the total deaths (136 so far) are equivalent to the number of fatalities on US roads in 2 hours.   I'm not saying it's not going to get worse but the actual numbers are small. (And I'm writing this on a flight from London to Hong Kong). I'll take sensible precautions and I'm not worried.