Coronavirus

[emmas gran]

Just copied this from Celebrity poster

 

We are booked on the Royal's Quantum ot Seas departing Singapore on March 22nd for a Malaysia and Thailand short cruise. Our flights to Singapore are connecting through Hong Kong, and we were contemplating canceling the cruise. Looks like Royal made the decision for us. We just received an email that states if you are just even transiting through Hong Kong within 15 days to arrive at the Embarkation port you will be denied boarding. This policy applies fleetwide, all sailings. 

We now just need American Airlines to allow refunds without penalties. Currently they are doing that for Hong Kong transiting customers ONLY up to February 29th; we are connecting in HK on March 18th. I'm sure the airline's policy will change. This is all a mess!

 

Liz

[CruisingFox27]

3 hours ago, jkgourmet said:

 

Just out of curiosity - did the offer a refund or credit if you didn't want to go to those ports?

 

We didn't have the option to cancel and get a refund or a credit, the email just addressed the change of embarking port and itinerary. 

We'd received a call from MSC UK just prior advising of the changes, we'd not considered cancelling so I didn't ask if it was an option. 

No one on our roll call has mentioned asking either. 

[emmas gran]

From our friends who live in HK

"Schools now closed till March 2nd" 

[Bobal]

5 hours ago, petuniaflower said:

Thanks for the link, very interesting!

 

Agree it is interesting. I wonder how often it's updated as now 2 confirmed cases in UK but none showing on the list, which was apparently updated 30 minutes before I posted this

Edited January 31, 2020 by Bobal

[CruisingFox27]

5 hours ago, CruisingFox27 said:

 

We didn't have the option to cancel and get a refund or a credit, the email just addressed the change of embarking port and itinerary. 

We'd received a call from MSC UK just prior advising of the changes, we'd not considered cancelling so I didn't ask if it was an option. 

No one on our roll call has mentioned asking either. 

 

A couple of people on our sailing have advised they were offered the option of moving to an alternative cruise.

[Fogfog]

THIS was on FB 

 

𝗠𝗦𝗖 𝗖𝗥𝗨𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗖 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗛 𝗠𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣𝗦 𝗚𝗟𝗢𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬

In light of the coronavirus outbreak in China, #MSCCruises is immediately taking further precautionary measures for the health and well-being of its guests and crew on all of its global fleet.

MSC Cruises has undertaken a series of actions since 24 January, and due to the latest coronavirus developments, today implemented additional public health measures across its fleet. While there are no cases of coronavirus on board any of MSC Cruises’ ships these measures are additional steps to secure the health and well-being of all guests and crew.

- Guests from all nationalities are required to fill out a pre-embarkation questionnaire to ensure no-one boards their ship who has travelled from mainland China or visited mainland China in the past 30 days. Anyone who has travelled from mainland China or visited mainland China in the past 30 days will be denied access to the ship;

- Mandatory non-touch thermal scans conducted for all guests and crew prior to embarkation for every cruise operated by the company anywhere in the world, and persons with signs or symptoms of illness such as fever (≥38 C°/100.4 F°) or feverishness, chills, cough or difficulty breathing will be denied embarkation;

- Elevated deep-sanitation on every ship in the line’s entire fleet;

- Guests who may have fever symptoms will be isolated in their cabin and the same measure applies for their close contacts, including guests staying in the same cabin and family members, as well as any crew member who may have served these guests.

These measures follow previous actions that were taken last week. Guests and crew who travelled last week from mainland China were already screened for symptoms upon embarkation, and were requested to report any symptoms of illness to the onboard medical centre.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus in China, MSC Cruises has been closely monitoring the public health and safety situation in each of the regions its ships sail. The company has been consulting with international and local health authorities to follow their advice and recommendations

[BermudaBound2014]

Stats really jumped last night (especially the deaths). 9.7K infected now with 213 reported deaths.

 

https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

 

Bobal: That is intereting about the UK not showing up. I wonder if WOH needs to confirm? I suspect they will show up today, but if those cases in the UK aren't showing up, I wonder what else is missing.

 

 

[CruisinCrow]

5 hours ago, Bobal said:

 

Agree it is interesting. I wonder how often it's updated as now 2 confirmed cases in UK but none showing on the list, which was apparently updated 30 minutes before I posted this

 

It seems like it's only updated once a day or so.  Definitely not live data.

[jimdalva]

On 1/30/2020 at 9:01 AM, Beardface said:

Hysteria and overreaction, mainly.

 

This thing has a 2 week incubation period where you are contagious but don't show any symptoms.  We just started learning about the first couple cases in the US late last week, which means there's a very real possibility this is out, spreading among people who have been sick for a week and haven't even known it.

 

With the possibility we start to see numbers in Australia and the US balloon over the next couple weeks, I would not be surprised if knee jerk reactions are made to start locking things down in the US, with a pointed effort to avoid gathering people in large crowds.  We've already had college basketball games canceled due to the possibility there might be an infection on campus.

I read a news article that said that the timeline for spreading in the US will be accelerated because Americans with poor or no health care won't see a Dr. and won't take a day off and lose a days pay.

[sidari]

5 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Stats really jumped last night (especially the deaths). 9.7K infected now with 213 reported deaths.

 

https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

 

Bobal: That is intereting about the UK not showing up. I wonder if WOH needs to confirm? I suspect they will show up today, but if those cases in the UK aren't showing up, I wonder what else is missing.

 

 

Newspaper reports today that the death figures are not a true record because bodies have been cremated without being recorded.

[Beardface]

American Airlines and United Airlines have canceled all flights between the US and China through March 28th

Delta Airlines has canceled all flights between the US and China through April 30th

 

United will have one daily flight between Hong Kong and San Francisco running during this time

[BermudaBound2014]

38 minutes ago, Beardface said:

American Airlines and United Airlines have canceled all flights between the US and China through March 28th

Delta Airlines has canceled all flights between the US and China through April 30th

 

United will have one daily flight between Hong Kong and San Francisco running during this time

 

Holy Sh*t. Did they do this much with SARS? I can't remember.

[Beardface]

The US just closed its borders to China.  Will deny entry to the country for any foreign national who has traveled through China within the last 14 days.  Any US citizen will be put in an immediate quarantine upon entry.

 

All incoming flights from China are being routed through Honolulu, Seattle, Atlanta, San Francisco, O'Hare (Chicago), JFK (NYC), and LAX for quarantine purposes.

 

All effective this weekend

[CruisinCrow]

On 1/31/2020 at 5:10 AM, Bobal said:

 

Agree it is interesting. I wonder how often it's updated as now 2 confirmed cases in UK but none showing on the list, which was apparently updated 30 minutes before I posted this

 

The two UK patients are showing on the list now.  US is up to 7.

[Liverzeb]

On 1/31/2020 at 1:28 PM, Fogfog said:

THIS was on FB 

 

𝗠𝗦𝗖 𝗖𝗥𝗨𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗖 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗛 𝗠𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣𝗦 𝗚𝗟𝗢𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬

In light of the coronavirus outbreak in China, #MSCCruises is immediately taking further precautionary measures for the health and well-being of its guests and crew on all of its global fleet.

MSC Cruises has undertaken a series of actions since 24 January, and due to the latest coronavirus developments, today implemented additional public health measures across its fleet. While there are no cases of coronavirus on board any of MSC Cruises’ ships these measures are additional steps to secure the health and well-being of all guests and crew.

- Guests from all nationalities are required to fill out a pre-embarkation questionnaire to ensure no-one boards their ship who has travelled from mainland China or visited mainland China in the past 30 days. Anyone who has travelled from mainland China or visited mainland China in the past 30 days will be denied access to the ship;

- Mandatory non-touch thermal scans conducted for all guests and crew prior to embarkation for every cruise operated by the company anywhere in the world, and persons with signs or symptoms of illness such as fever (≥38 C°/100.4 F°) or feverishness, chills, cough or difficulty breathing will be denied embarkation;

- Elevated deep-sanitation on every ship in the line’s entire fleet;

- Guests who may have fever symptoms will be isolated in their cabin and the same measure applies for their close contacts, including guests staying in the same cabin and family members, as well as any crew member who may have served these guests.

These measures follow previous actions that were taken last week. Guests and crew who travelled last week from mainland China were already screened for symptoms upon embarkation, and were requested to report any symptoms of illness to the onboard medical centre.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus in China, MSC Cruises has been closely monitoring the public health and safety situation in each of the regions its ships sail. The company has been consulting with international and local health authorities to follow their advice and recommendations

 

While this is a good step to take to protect guests on the cruise, it leads to the possibility of guests not being able to travel because they have a temperature (not necessarily caused by the new coronavirus or any contagious disease). I am more concerned about getting to Miami on Feb 15 and being refused boarding due to me or my wife having a temperature of 38 or above. This would leave us in Miami a week away from our scheduled flight home and with no accommodation.

 

Is there any precedent for this? If you booked through a tour operator like us and your cruise is part of a package where would you stand regarding a refund and also costs incurred by either staying in Miami for a week or rearranging your flight home?

Edited February 1, 2020 by Liverzeb

[BermudaBound2014]

Yeah, This site is not real time (sorry about that).

 

Today's report: 11.3K infected with 259 deaths.

[Fogfog]

56 minutes ago, Liverzeb said:

 

While this is a good step to take to protect guests on the cruise, it leads to the possibility of guests not being able to travel because they have a temperature (not necessarily caused by the new coronavirus or any contagious disease). I am more concerned about getting to Miami on Feb 15 and being refused boarding due to me or my wife having a temperature of 38 or above. This would leave us in Miami a week away from our scheduled flight home and with no accommodation.

 

Is there any precedent for this? If you booked through a tour operator like us and your cruise is part of a package where would you stand regarding a refund and also costs incurred by either staying in Miami for a week or rearranging your flight home?

 

Many sailings we have done in the last 15 yrs has had a health questionaire...yes people can lie--and if they fall ill--that lie is a Federal offense in the US

there is also precedent related to public health risks...

[SirWolf]

We would never board a ship having fever or symptoms of being sick, would head straight to my doctor to have it checked. We don’t see the point of being sick in bed in a small cabin on a cruise ship. We had a flight, rental car and hotel in Las Vegas cancelled because my wife fell sick the night before the trip. It turned out to be nothing serious but we didn’t want to be on a plane with the risk of infecting others.

 

It is a different story if I have no fever and no symptoms of being sick and a cruise company refuses me to embark just because my temperature is slightly high due to stress level, carrying luggage or hot temperature outside.

[Beardface]

1 hour ago, Liverzeb said:

 

While this is a good step to take to protect guests on the cruise, it leads to the possibility of guests not being able to travel because they have a temperature (not necessarily caused by the new coronavirus or any contagious disease). I am more concerned about getting to Miami on Feb 15 and being refused boarding due to me or my wife having a temperature of 38 or above. This would leave us in Miami a week away from our scheduled flight home and with no accommodation.

 

Is there any precedent for this? If you booked through a tour operator like us and your cruise is part of a package where would you stand regarding a refund and also costs incurred by either staying in Miami for a week or rearranging your flight home?

 

See this is where I'm worried.  I'm schedule to be on the Seaside on the 29th.  My daughter is 2 and in the first year of preschool.  She has the common cold pretty much constantly right now, which leads me to a point where I'm still fighting off the residual effects of having a sinus infection from Christmas through the first week of the new year.

 

I don't have a fever but I still have a cough every once in a while, and cold air gives me the sniffles.  Am I going to be denied boarding because some of these appear to be symptoms of the coronavirus if I happen to have a residual cough triggered in the terminal?  What about anyone with allergies?

[jkgourmet]

1 hour ago, Liverzeb said:

 

While this is a good step to take to protect guests on the cruise, it leads to the possibility of guests not being able to travel because they have a temperature (not necessarily caused by the new coronavirus or any contagious disease). I am more concerned about getting to Miami on Feb 15 and being refused boarding due to me or my wife having a temperature of 38 or above. This would leave us in Miami a week away from our scheduled flight home and with no accommodation.

 

Is there any precedent for this? If you booked through a tour operator like us and your cruise is part of a package where would you stand regarding a refund and also costs incurred by either staying in Miami for a week or rearranging your flight home?

 

You purchased insurance that would cover you if you had a health related cancellation, right?  

[SirWolf]

3 minutes ago, Beardface said:

I don't have a fever but I still have a cough every once in a while, and cold air gives me the sniffles.  Am I going to be denied boarding because some of these appear to be symptoms of the coronavirus if I happen to have a residual cough triggered in the terminal?  What about anyone with allergies?

Good point. Unfortunately there is no quick test available for on-site testing. Tests for Corona Virus are part of Respiratory Pathogen Profile and the tests can take 1 to 3 days depending on laboratory and capacity. 

[Liverzeb]

25 minutes ago, jkgourmet said:

 

You purchased insurance that would cover you if you had a health related cancellation, right?  

I do have travel insurance but that won't help me book transatlantic flights or pay for accommodation - I will not get instantly reimbursed.

[Liverzeb]

32 minutes ago, Beardface said:

 

See this is where I'm worried.  I'm schedule to be on the Seaside on the 29th.  My daughter is 2 and in the first year of preschool.  She has the common cold pretty much constantly right now, which leads me to a point where I'm still fighting off the residual effects of having a sinus infection from Christmas through the first week of the new year.

 

I don't have a fever but I still have a cough every once in a while, and cold air gives me the sniffles.  Am I going to be denied boarding because some of these appear to be symptoms of the coronavirus if I happen to have a residual cough triggered in the terminal?  What about anyone with allergies?

I hear you. I also suffer with my sinuses. This is in no way contagious or likely to cause a temperature but the symptoms could be alarmingvtobpeople or staff in a heightened state of virus awareness.

[nikkiw60]

I am prone to sneezing fits, I have an allergy to something. I have narrowed it down to something beginning with “ch”!

i can have as many  as 13 sneezes in a row after having either chilli, chocolate, Chardonnay and champagne and am not being facetious! 

so for people who don’t know me and they are next to me in a queue or at an adjoining table...

[jkgourmet]

6 minutes ago, Liverzeb said:

I do have travel insurance but that won't help me book transatlantic flights or pay for accommodation - I will not get instantly reimbursed.

 

I guess I don't understand.  With a few exceptions for hospital expenses, travel covered items are reimbursements.  One uses a credit card for flights, meals, accommodations, etc and gets reimbursed from the insurance company.  

 

If the credit limit on the CC isn't enough to cover, call them.  They will almost certainly increase it temporarily.   You might consider calling them before you travel to get the increase organized