What is being done about coronavirus.....

[gnomie1]

23 minutes ago, TrulyBlonde said:

Marsha Collier

 

@MarshaCollier

·

6m

 

Leaked Emails: Norwegian Cruise Lines Pressures Sales Team to Lie About #Coronavirus #travel #COVID19

Even if only 10% of this story is true (and I happen to believe more is, esp since there is email verification and backup) this is disturbing on so many fronts.

[pappy1022]

I guess statistically, the fewer people you have in a contained area (cruise ship) the less likely a virus will occur but it only takes one to start the chain of events. Proper hygiene reduces the risk but it won't guarantee that you won't get sick. Airport and air travel certainly adds to the risk, as does hotel stays, bus tours and going into crowded venues. I applaud Regent for their efforts to try making their cruises as safe as posible but they don't control all the elements of travel and sightseeing. I believe that this virus will get much worse before it gets better. I hope and pray that the world tackles this issue quickly. I have until early May to decide on whether I take my September cruise. If I had to decide today, I would definitely cancel and get my money back, less the $200 cancellation fee. To me, even though I am healthy, the overall risk is too high at this point and the likelihood that the experience will be diminished both on the ship and more importantly in the ports, leads me to that conclusion. For those of you who do continue with your near term cruise plans, I wish you the best and hope for a safe and enjoyable journey.

[Gray Eagle02]

 

“Leaked Emails: Norwegian Cruise Lines Pressures Sales Team to Lie About”

This is where I found it.

 https://www.newsweek.com/norwegian-cruise-lines-leaked-emails-show-company-urging-employees-lie-about-coronavirus-1491777

[snorkle lover]

7 minutes ago, pappy1022 said:

I guess statistically, the fewer people you have in a contained area (cruise ship) the less likely a virus will occur but it only takes one to start the chain of events. Proper hygiene reduces the risk but it won't guarantee that you won't get sick. Airport and air travel certainly adds to the risk, as does hotel stays, bus tours and going into crowded venues. I applaud Regent for their efforts to try making their cruises as safe as posible but they don't control all the elements of travel and sightseeing. I believe that this virus will get much worse before it gets better. I hope and pray that the world tackles this issue quickly. I have until early May to decide on whether I take my September cruise. If I had to decide today, I would definitely cancel and get my money back, less the $200 cancellation fee. To me, even though I am healthy, the overall risk is too high at this point and the likelihood that the experience will be diminished both on the ship and more importantly in the ports, leads me to that conclusion. For those of you who do continue with your near term cruise plans, I wish you the best and hope for a safe and enjoyable journey.

 

[snorkle lover]

Pappy,

Just curious as to when your cruise in September might be?

We also have a cruise booked in September ( 24) on the

Splendor but our final payment is due the end of April.

Wondering why the difference ? We also may cancel due
to our ages ( over 70).We are so disappointed 😔 but

health must be taken in account.

 

 

[Pcardad]

At the current rate of doubling you should be fine in September...

[pappy1022]

Snorkle Lover, we are on Explorer beginning September 9 on a British Isle cruise. I think Splendor cruises have a different cancellation timeframe than the rest of the fleet. Maybe things will be better in September but I need to make my decision by May. I am not interested in taking Regent's offer to use the credit towards a 2021 cruise. I want my money back so that I can be flexible for all vacation opportunities, There are still other places I want to see, not all by cruising.

[greykitty]

Donald Trump to address the US tonight at 9:00 pm ET.   To be honest, I believe severe measures need to be taken to mitigate transmission - and that life is not going to be 'normal' for a while - and not just a few months.

Rumored topics include

"President Donald Trump's top advisers discussed potential new travel advisories on Europe during meetings at the White House on Wednesday, according to two officials familiar with the matter. The advisers are considering raising travel alerts on Europe to recommend against all non-essential travel to the continent, which administration officials view as a new epicenter for the pandemic. The administration could also mandate new quarantine measures for travelers returning from Europe. An extreme scenario could also see the administration banning flights from European countries, though for now it appears the United Kingdom would be exempt."

[DaveFr]

32 minutes ago, greykitty said:

Donald Trump to address the US tonight at 9:00 pm ET.   To be honest, I believe severe measures need to be taken to mitigate transmission - and that life is not going to be 'normal' for a while - and not just a few months.

Rumored topics include

"President Donald Trump's top advisers discussed potential new travel advisories on Europe during meetings at the White House on Wednesday, according to two officials familiar with the matter. The advisers are considering raising travel alerts on Europe to recommend against all non-essential travel to the continent, which administration officials view as a new epicenter for the pandemic. The administration could also mandate new quarantine measures for travelers returning from Europe. An extreme scenario could also see the administration banning flights from European countries, though for now it appears the United Kingdom would be exempt."

Since you have quote marks around the rumored topics, what is the source of the quote?  Thanks.

 

Dave

[greykitty]

Sorry - it's on various news sites.  Here's one.  But google will take you to the same reports. We'll see for sure tonight.  It's always hard to predict how on script the President will stay.   I myself think they're working toward a travel ban without just implementing one.

 

https://www.stltoday.com/news/world/a-top-department-of-homeland-security-official-says-us-travel/article_258eca51-6809-54c4-8172-3f1aba6b643b.html

 

Also, more news to think about from Italy

 

Italian closures

 

[ArtsyCraftsy]

9 hours ago, BBWC said:

Lana,

unfortunately I read today that Canada may be days away from closing all of its ports to cruise ships. Something to monitor.

Absolutely -- I'm trying to keep  up-to-date with the current situation as much as I can.  My hope is that by the time I'll be (possibly) heading to Canada in mid-June, things will have settled down.  

[ArtsyCraftsy]

11 hours ago, seniormom said:

I am loving watching your journey.  We will be on the Vancouver to Seward portion of your Alaska cruise and are considering adding the return cruise to make a back-to-back as well.  I have to say your authenticity and thought process is very helpful as we make decisions.  Hope to see you on board in Alaska!

Thanks -- I can only speak for myself, but I don't believe that I'm being reckless or foolish.  I tend to analyze things like this on a "risk/reward" basis, and base my decisions on that.  I feel my risk is low under the circumstances, and given that my time left to travel like this is limited (progressive health issues), the rewards justify the risk.

 

Lana (currently on the Mariner, docked in Port Lincoln, Australia)

Sunrise, Port Lincoln, Australia -- 7:15 AM, Thursday, March 2, 2020

[Portolan]

Breaking news:  US bans all travel from Europe (except the UK) to the US for the next 30 days.

[taxare]

Europe travel ban effective Friday at midnight (assume Eastern). Wow, you can't get all of those Americans home by then.....

Edited March 12, 2020 by taxare
Update

[ArtsyCraftsy]

Re: The status of the current 2020 World Cruise on the Mariner --

 

We just got the new itinerary! MAJOR major changes.

Basically, we go from Fremantle (Perth) to Seychelles, then Mauritius, South Africa, Namibia, St. Helena, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Devil's Island (French Guiana), Grenada, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua/Barbuda, St Barts, San Juan, and then Miami on May 17 as originally scheduled.

 

It looks like the remainder of the itinerary for us San Francisco folks remains the same (Miami to Colombia, Panama Canal, Central America/Mexico, and up the coast to San Francisco).

Apart from the Miami-to-San Francisco part of the itinerary, every port is new to me, so I'm VERY happy. They're still awaiting final confirmation on some of the ports, so I don't want to post the details just yet.  Suffice it to say that Regent is also offering what i consider to be significant compensation:  

 

For those of us who choose to continue on the modified itinerary,

"Regent Seven Seas Cruises will REFUND you 50% of the pro-rata cruise-only fare for the March 1st through April 8th portion of your voyage.  And now we'll also provide Future Cruise Credit for 50% of the pro-rata cruise-only fare for the April 8 through May 17th portion of your voyage, which can be applied to any new booking made within one year on any Regent voyage sailing before December 31. 2022.

Or, if you prefer to end the World Cruise early, Regent will provide you with EITHER A 100% REFUND of the remaining pro-rata cruise-only fare OR a Future Cruise Credit for 125% of the remaining pro-rata cruise-only fare.  The Future Cruise Credit can be applied to any new booking made within one year on any Regent voyage sailing before December 31, 2022."

 

As I said, I'm very happy with the new itinerary -- a radical change, for sure, but I've never been to any of the new ports, and several have been on my "bucket list" for a long time (Cape Town, Devil's Island, St. Lucia, for example).  I know some of the current World Cruisers will choose to leave the cruise in Perth as they've mentioned it over the past few days.  Each of us will decide based on our respective situations/schedules/past travel/etc.

 

Lana (now wishing she'd waited a few weeks to book the 2022 World Cruise) 

[Portolan]

41 minutes ago, Portolan said:

Breaking news:  US bans all travel from Europe (except the UK) to the US for the next 30 days.

 

DHS has clarified this to say that this only to foreign nationals, so US permanent residents can return.

[greykitty]

2 minutes ago, Portolan said:

 

DHS has clarified this to say that this only to foreign nationals, so US permanent residents can return.

Will the US folks have to be tested before returning? Is that what the President meant by 'appropriate screenings'?

 

In other news, NBA just cancelled season after a player confirmed for COVID-19.  Tom Hanks and his wife also confirmed with COVID-19.  All this reported just after the Trump speech.

Edited March 12, 2020 by greykitty

[ronrick1943]

2 minutes ago, Portolan said:

 

DHS has clarified this to say that this only to foreign nationals, so US permanent residents can return.

But if foreign nationals can't fly, airlines will cancel;l flights---how will you get a fight back to the US?

[greykitty]

Well, get yourself over to the UK?  I think the issue is the lack of borders in the EU, and that's why the UK is ok, for now, since Brexit?  

 

OK,  this link goes into more detail about about US folks who have been in the Schengen area.   Guess no side trips to the UK needed

 

In the next 48 hours, in the interest of public health, I intend to issue a supplemental Notice of Arrivals Restriction requiring U.S. passengers that have been in the Schengen Area to travel through select airports where the U.S. Government has implemented enhanced screening procedures.”

DHS

 

 

 

Edited March 12, 2020 by greykitty

[cwn]

1 hour ago, ArtsyCraftsy said:

 

Re: The status of the current 2020 World Cruise on the Mariner --

 

We just got the new itinerary! MAJOR major changes.

Basically, we go from Fremantle (Perth) to Seychelles, then Mauritius, South Africa, Namibia, St. Helena, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Devil's Island (French Guiana), Grenada, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua/Barbuda, St Barts, San Juan, and then Miami on May 17 as originally scheduled.

 

Lana,

I am enjoying your blog and posts so much and am so glad for you that Regent is carrying on the World Cruise. I agree with you, you are probably in a safer place right now than I am. We have a cruise to England in July and back Sept. Wonder if we will be able to go.

 

I posted a link to my Navigator 2018 WC blog on your blog comment section the other day. We hit many of the ports in Southern and Western Australia you are seeing. I was hoping maybe the tours we did would be of some help to you.

 

Now the rest of your new cruise itinerary is nearly the same as what we did also. It is a great itinerary so I hope there is clear sailing ahead. Regent was offering some really great tours in South Africa and Namibia, that if offered to you, I would highly recommend. Two of them were SA port day safaris, absolutely great tours. We also did some fun things on our own in some ports that were easy for me. If you need the link I will post it again on this thread.

 

We have found Regent is good to you when things go wrong on the ship as you are finding also. We had a couple of "bobos" in 2018 and are looking forward to a cruise on the Splendor as a result.

 

Thank you for taking time to tell us about your experiences.

Carolyn

Edited March 12, 2020 by cwn

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

51 minutes ago, greykitty said:

Well, get yourself over to the UK?  I think the issue is the lack of borders in the EU, and that's why the UK is ok, for now, since Brexit?  

 

OK,  this link goes into more detail about about US folks who have been in the Schengen area.   Guess no side trips to the UK needed

 

In the next 48 hours, in the interest of public health, I intend to issue a supplemental Notice of Arrivals Restriction requiring U.S. passengers that have been in the Schengen Area to travel through select airports where the U.S. Government has implemented enhanced screening procedures.”

DHS

 

 

 

What’s so bad about us Europeans???

 

[pappy1022]

I'm sorry, but all of you Regent cheerleaders need to face the facts that this is a very serious situation that cannot be sugar coated any longer. You are certainly welcome to go on with your scheduled cruises and I wish you well. Until this virus is eradicated I think it is prudent to cancel all cruises to the most impacted areas and Europe is now the hottest area as far as the virus is concerned.

[slidebite]

I think tomorrow there will be a huge bunch of news from all the cruise lines. I suspect massive cancellations until Mid-April at the earliest.

 

The financial fallout will be horrendous and hopefully they'll survive. Don't want to sound like a chicken little, but FCC won't mean much if the cruise line doesn't exist anymore.

[SusieQft]

5 hours ago, ArtsyCraftsy said:

Lana (now wishing she'd waited a few weeks to book the 2022 World Cruise) 

Lana, I am enjoying your blog and your uplifting attitude.  The new itinerary sounds like a terrific solution to what has become a huge mess in the rest of the world.  Hopefully Africa and South American will be able to stay isolated enough for this to work.

 

Will Regent let you cancel your booking and then rebook it using the new discounts/FCCs?  I know they will let you cancel it, at least, which might just convert a bit of the payment into a FCC, but can you then rebook it?  To me, it would be a major shortcoming if they will not allow this.

[flossie009]

6 hours ago, Portolan said:

Breaking news:  US bans all travel from Europe (except the UK) to the US for the next 30 days.

 

5 hours ago, Portolan said:

 

DHS has clarified this to say that this only to foreign nationals, so US permanent residents can return.

IMHO, this latest edict defies logic and is against W.H.O. guidance.

It is unlikely to stop or slow the spread of covid-19 in the U.S., but will create further panic and adversely affect business and the world economy.