Seabourn and the current issues surrounding the Corona Virus

[SLSD]

6 minutes ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:

You need to do a little research....

Hmm... I was going to say the same for you.  But, we can agree to disagree and get back to the stated topic--of which medical care is a side issue of sorts.    HAPPY SAILING!

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Wasn’t Obamacare supposed to fix all that?

Edited March 2, 2020 by Ragnar Danneskjold

[ab21au]

4 hours ago, frantic36 said:

It was recommended by my husband's doctor because the flu vaccine is only at peak effectiveness 3-4 months after being given.

My old Dr (not that I trust him, hence he is my old Dr) told me not to get it too early as it’s effectiveness was not as good at 4 months. He said if I had it early (as soon as it is released) then I could get it again at end of August. After what you have posted, I must do some research. I will ask my new Dr or get DW to ask her boss (she works for a Dr). 

[ab21au]

1 hour ago, cuddles115 said:

There are many sailors who "lurk" on these treads to gain some important and supportive information.

On COVID-19 ... on Cruise Critic!!!!  I would be looking elsewhere. 

[ael123]

3 hours ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:

Let me correct a few facts.  All data available on-line.

- All Americans over 65 are covered by Medicare. It is great.

 

- About 13% of Americans don’t carry health insurance.

 

- If you can’t afford insurance or health care there is Medicaid coverage.

 

 No one goes without healthcare in the US.  Even illegals get healthcare. ( and in my opinion, having experienced health care in Europe, the best in the world)

I disagree. There are many that can't afford health coverage. My husband and I are 60 and 61 respectively. We pay $1300 a month for health care which is very expensive. Even with that we still have a copay and coinsurance of 20$. So if we are billed $100 to see a doctor we have a copay of $40. That leaves a $60 balance. Then we also get billed 20% of $60 which is $12.00 so we pay $52 for a $100 medical bill. I know many individuals who have health insurance but can't afford to get necessary medical care because it is very expensive. Then there is the working poor who work at retail stores like Walmart or work in fast food restaurants and barely make minimum wage. They do not get dental coverage, prescription coverage, coverage for hearing aids and other necessary medical equipment. Having worked in the health field before retirement I have seen people in the ER who bought cheap insulin because they couldn't afford pharmaceutical insulin. The US health care system is a disgrace. 

[texanaust]

Well so much for this thread...Why don't we throw in politics and tipping just to add to the excitement.😷

[teamflames]

I just checked some of the prices of the itinerary affected cruises on an agency site, the Darwin to Colombo sea days only is higher than most other cruises despite having no ports in its 10 day sailing. This cruise must surely be getting cancelled in its droves and yet they price it like that!?

[SLSD]

13 minutes ago, teamflames said:

I just checked some of the prices of the itinerary affected cruises on an agency site, the Darwin to Colombo sea days only is higher than most other cruises despite having no ports in its 10 day sailing. This cruise must surely be getting cancelled in its droves and yet they price it like that!?

That IS surprising Teamflames.  One would expect a fire sale.  On the other hand, Seabourn may be so overwhelmed with logistics at the moment that they are not aggressively seeking more passengers for this route.  I will be interested in hearing how many are onboard for the itinerary. 

[Joc123]

1 hour ago, texanaust said:

Well so much for this thread...Why don't we throw in politics and tipping just to add to the excitement.😷

Don’t forget the dress code 😜🤣

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Ok, to get back on topic, is Seabourn (or any line) skipping ports in Italy other than Venice?  The number of cases in Italy jumped 50% on Sunday.  Most in Lombardi/Veneto.

[zimflyer]

1 hour ago, teamflames said:

I just checked some of the prices of the itinerary affected cruises on an agency site, the Darwin to Colombo sea days only is higher than most other cruises despite having no ports in its 10 day sailing. This cruise must surely be getting cancelled in its droves and yet they price it like that!?

Thank you for dragging us back to SB and the coronavirus...

Seems to me very few of us here are actually affected with bookings right now or in near term....

 

Unlike so many people who cant wait to compare health choices...

 

Anyone been offerred a refund yet?

Almosr every line in Australia has offered fair and free cancellation, sometimes with generous FFC see below... P&O Australia is probably our least luxury cruise brand,  yet they and Princess have been absolutely fair, even generous. All are Carnival brands, it seems you don't get whay you pay for.

 

Still waiting on SB USA to reply to my email if 10 days ago....not even acknowledgement... so much for individual attention.

Edited March 2, 2020 by zimflyer
Spellings

[DrHedgehog]

3 minutes ago, zimflyer said:

Thank you for dragging us back to SB and the coronavirus...

Seems to me very few of us here are actually affected with bookings right now or in near term....

 

Unlike so many people who cant wait to compare health choices...

 

Anyone been offerred a refund yet?

Almosr every line in Australia has offered fair and free cancellation, sometimes with generous FFC see below... P&O Australia is probably our least luxury cruise brand,  yet they and Princess have been absolutely fair, even generous. All are Carnival brands, it seems you don't get whay you pay for.

 

Still waiting on SB USA to reply to my email if 10 days ago....not even acknowledgement... so much for individual attention.

SB is not even close to this so far.

 

I got a reply after 5 days of waiting that they will refund all taxes and port fees plus 25% of the cruise fare. Refund of the residual is subject to their special consideration. 
 

my original cruise was from Benoa to Singapore with 5 ports of call on the way. The final offer was from Darwin to Colombo with all sea days. Totally different cruise without even a single common port! now they insist that the cruise is amended and the refund is not guaranteed.

 

I seriously consider moving to Chrystal after this issue.

[teamflames]

11 minutes ago, DrHedgehog said:

SB is not even close to this so far.

 

I got a reply after 5 days of waiting that they will refund all taxes and port fees plus 25% of the cruise fare. Refund of the residual is subject to their special consideration. 
 

my original cruise was from Benoa to Singapore with 5 ports of call on the way. The final offer was from Darwin to Colombo with all sea days. Totally different cruise without even a single common port! now they insist that the cruise is amended and the refund is not guaranteed.

 

I seriously consider moving to Chrystal after this issue.

Except Crystal haven’t been any better. They cancelled some mini legs and only offered an FCC until everyone kicked up such a fuss they finally agreed they are supposed to refund when they are the ones who cancel. Their information has been as abysmal as Seabourn.

On Seabourn I called to ask when do we need to notify them of our intentions of whether to still cruise or take fcc - no idea!

Can I book one of the affected itineraries- no idea! What happens if we fly thru Singapore but plan on visiting Qatar and Oman- no idea! Exactly what air fare changes are covered by SB? - no idea! Do you think our Gulf or European stops could be affected given Iran and Italy? -no idea.

Absolute waste of time.

We did have a nice discussion about the weather and the type of summer we have had this year in Australia.

Celebrity on the other hand, even though I am using a TA were happy to discuss some of the logistical issues we face due to uncertainty around our SB and Crystal cruises and even delayed final payment by 30 days.

[zimflyer]

Sympathize with you, our 38 day Asian Arc Singapore via HK  Manila, Vietnam etc to Sydney became all Aust. N.Z. Ports. Completely different start point: Perth AND end point: Auckland. NO REFUND POSSIBLE, despite this, seems like you book and pay for a wedding dress they will give you crimpolene bell bottoms and too bad...

[zimflyer]

5 minutes ago, zimflyer said:

Sympathize with you, our 38 day Asian Arc Singapore via HK  Manila, Vietnam etc to Sydney became all Aust. N.Z. Ports. Completely different start point: Perth AND end point: Auckland. NO REFUND POSSIBLE, despite this, seems like you book and pay for a wedding dress they will give you crimpolene bell bottoms and too bad...

Oh.... and dont expect any help dealing with your tens of thousands of dollars invested in your vacation. As above, try getting a refund out of an airline, try getting a last minute air booking AND, having done all that IT COULD STILL CHANGE...AGAIN.

 

NOT the best advertising for SB, I am yet to have my first experiencr, not sure it sets me in the most enjoyable of moods...

 

Have cancelled and booked new flights and hotels and sent to SB. Will call them tomorrow and post my experience here...

[Thecat123]

I live in New Zealand and have a cruise leaving Saturday from Sydney

Its all good at the moment until maybe the Australian Government decides that the ship can not land so we can board

Nothing which Seabourn or any other cruise line can do about it

[rols]

1 hour ago, DrHedgehog said:

my original cruise was from Benoa to Singapore with 5 ports of call on the way. The final offer was from Darwin to Colombo with all sea days. Totally different cruise without even a single common port! now they insist that the cruise is amended and the refund is not guaranteed.

That is unacceptable. Seabourn was never like this previously. Book a cruise and we'll tell you where you're going! The notion that that cruise has been 'amended' is laughable, well it would be except it's not funny in the slightest. Hiding behind their onerous and one-sided conditions in situations like this is going to guarantee they lose a lot of loyal customers, or turn them all into last-minute bookers. We pay the money and accept the accelerated payment schedule and cancellation fees so that if we change our minds, we pay for it. We do that expecting Seabourn to act in good faith if they radically alter the cruise. This is not them acting in good faith at all. 

[Flamin_June]

Living in the UK we are fortunate that UK consumer rights do afford us some protection in cases like DrHedgehog's - although we have to put up with unfavourable conditions with loss of deposits.

 

Getting back to the important issues this thread has highlighted: when  going to get a flu jab, should we dress formally, and are we expected to tip the nurse?

 

Actually I thought the flu jab side bar was interesting, and informative to those who are concerned that their health is as fully protected can be under present circumstances.

 

In the meantime cases continue to rise in Europe. I don't want to be horrible to any nationality, but it does look like the Italian and Iranian authorities seriously fumbled the ball on this one .

[zimflyer]

41 minutes ago, rols said:

That is unacceptable. Seabourn was never like this previously. Book a cruise and we'll tell you where you're going! The notion that that cruise has been 'amended' is laughable, well it would be except it's not funny in the slightest. Hiding behind their onerous and one-sided conditions in situations like this is going to guarantee they lose a lot of loyal customers, or turn them all into last-minute bookers. We pay the money and accept the accelerated payment schedule and cancellation fees so that if we change our minds, we pay for it. We do that expecting Seabourn to act in good faith if they radically alter the cruise. This is not them acting in good faith at all. 

That is all you would expect - good faith. Sadly the world turns, the customer becomes less relevant and the almighty $ overrides all. Time to vote with feet???

[oceanviewer21]

Very reassuring video message from Seabourn chief medical officer on Seabourn Press and media page https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/news.html?source=122648

[teamflames]

19 minutes ago, oceanviewer21 said:

Very reassuring video message from Seabourn chief medical officer on Seabourn Press and media page https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/news.html?source=122648

That is a good video.

 

The cynical side of me doesn’t appreciate that on the same day (the 27th) they announce major itinerary changes with only FCC no refunds they also announce their global partner appreciation party.

No wonder I can’t get any answers about my upcoming sailing they have been too busy working out how to keep all the TAs happy.

Can be found on same link as above

[rols]

1 hour ago, oceanviewer21 said:

Very reassuring video message from Seabourn chief medical officer on Seabourn Press and media page https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/news.html?source=122648

Hmm, nicely produced corporate fluff video which I'm afraid to me rang as hollow as the some of the "xxx is our number one priority" slogans trotted out by companies everywhere in order to try hard to not actually say anything but to not say it in a soothing way. Most of the information was just a regurgitation of what everyone should by now know and I noticed something of a discrepancy between "can spread via hand contact surfaces, but this is not the primary means of spread" and the fact most of the measures taken are to add hand sanitizers everywhere. I suppose it would be unlikely for him to say "each passenger will be issued with a medical grade plastic bag to put over their head to stop them sneezing on each other". 

 

I'm sure Seabourn has ramped up the onboard medical protocols to limit disease spread even more than they usually are, and I'm fairly sure everyone already knew that they would have done so. 

 

I personally find videos like that a little condescending. 

[saminina]

Quite certain Holland America has its hands full taking care of HAL business.   They'll take care of SB when time allows.  Do not hold your breath.

[Mauzac]

I watched the video and I'm just pleased they are giving guests personal hand sanitisiers.

 

I have no idea if it's a regional thing in the UK but nowhere in my area has stock of anti-bac gel, or anti-bac handwipes.  I've given up looking for now, but market forces dictate it will come back in the shops at 5 times the price, as it has on Amazon! 

[Bobal]

 

According to this post on the MSC boards Colombo are no longer allowing cruise ships to call. I would give this less credence if it weren't from someone actually onboard.

 

I realise it's some time before Encore is due in Colombo but just a heads up that this is what's currently happening. Please don't shoot the messenger.