PRINCESS SHIPS & CORONA VIRUS

[disneycruisinsusan]

On 3/7/2020 at 2:43 AM, SakeDad said:

So originally I heard all crew and passengers on the Grand would be disembarked is a non-commercial (Navy?) port, tested and anyone infected would be put in quarantine. I just heard on CNN that now the crew will NOT be allowed off when the passengers are. I don't know if this is because of Visa issues or the US feels the crew can take care of themselves? And what about American crew onboard? Entertainers, cruise staff, etc??? Way too many questions and not nearly enough answers from those in charge...or who are at least SUPPOSED to be in charge. My heart goes out to everyone on that ship tonight having been passenger and crew.

 

I agree with you 100%! That was my thought exactly when I heard the crew has to stay onboard!  Where will the ship go? Who is treating the crew members who are sick and who is making sure it is not going to spread to other crew menbers? It is insane to keep the crew together on that ship, COVID19 positive and negative alike! Unbelievable how they are being treated. 😞😞😠😠

 

And now the Grand will HAVE to be cleaned and refurbed like the Diamond! All soft goods will have to be destroyed, the ship completely sanitized! Are they expecting the crew now still onboard to start this clean-up?  

 

We have a good friend who works onboard, my hubby's best buddy!  He says he is okay! Tomorrow we will text him to see what more is going on IF they have still have Wi-Fi With no passengers onboard, it may be very limited.... 😞😞 We have not heard much from him in 2 days...so they may be restricting their access. 

 

Our prayers are with the crew still onboard  the Grand and all the passengers who disembarked in Monday....GOD Bless them all....🙏🙏🙏🙏💙💙💙💙

 

We were supposed to be on the Grand on April 5 starting two back-to-back 15 day Hawaii cruises for the whole month of April, but not now!!!! No way! I don't think the April cruises will happen anyway with the Grand the way it is right now!  We won't be cruising for a while, til this virus is under control or gone! We do have reservations for a South Pacific cruise for October, but we shall see what happens.....

[debsjc]

For those whose cruises are still operating, I think the FCC offer is very fair. It's more than we are legally entitled to. The cruise lines could say, if you chose not to travel you lose your money. That's what is happening in a lot of other travel sectors, like hotels.

Obviously if your cruise is cancelled then you should be given a full cash refund.

 

Edited March 10, 2020 by debsjc

[disneycruisinsusan]

On 3/8/2020 at 7:39 PM, MsSoCalCruiser said:

The State Department has issued a warning to all Americans, and not just people that are sick, to avoid getting on cruise ships due to coronavirus risk. What will you do?  Are you going to cruise or cancel? This is horrible.

We will cancel our cruises on the Grand in April if Princess doesn't cancel them first! 

[disneycruisinsusan]

On 3/8/2020 at 10:06 PM, WorkerBee74 said:

 

Excellent post.  I'm starting to become a bit disgusted with those who are so blind as to say "it's just the flu, it's overhyped".  No, it's actually not - it's different.  If that was the case, why are cruise ships being quarantined?  Why do test kits exist?  Do you think Italy and China and South Korea should have just said 'oh, this is overhyped...' and done nothing? 

 

It's a pretty selfish view to assume that because the US has failed so gravely in testing (which face it, is the reason the cases are still so low) everyone needs to just act like this is status quo and put blinders on for the real risks.  For people who have cruises, plane tickets and accomodations booked, it's absolutely 'worth the hype' because we must, if we have any sense, start to consider alternatives to our travel plans, suck as it might.

 

We may actually have to start caring about other people sometimes - and those who are older or high-risk NEED us to.  

 

Hear! Hear!  The voice of common sense!!! 💙💜💛💚💖 

Excellent post! GOD Bless you! 🙏🙏💙💙

[Wehwalt]

46 minutes ago, debsjc said:

For those whose cruises are still operating, I think the FCC offer is very fair. It's more than we are legally entitled to. The cruise lines could say, if you chose not to travel you lose your money. That's what is happening in a lot of other travel sectors, like hotels.

Obviously if your cruise is cancelled then you should be given a full cash refund.

 

The hotels are in a different situation and do not labor under a negative public perception from coronavirus as cruise lines do. Such a position as you mention would not have been well received by public or government, both of whose good graces the cruise lines need right now. 

 

You are right, it is fair. But they could not have offered less than fair and escaped unscathed. 

Edited March 10, 2020 by Wehwalt

[SakeDad]

41 minutes ago, disneycruisinsusan said:

 

I agree with you 100%! That was my thought exactly when I heard the crew has to stay onboard!  Where will the ship go? Who is treating the crew members who are sick and who is making sure it is not going to spread to other crew menbers? It is insane to keep the crew together on that ship, COVID19 positive and negative alike! Unbelievable how they are being treated. 😞😞😠😠

 

And now the Grand will HAVE to be cleaned and refurbed like the Diamond! All soft goods will have to be destroyed, the ship completely sanitized! Are they expecting the crew now still onboard to start this clean-up?  

 

We have a good friend who works onboard, my hubby's best buddy!  He says he is okay! Tomorrow we will text him to see what more is going on IF they have still have Wi-Fi With no passengers onboard, it may be very limited.... 😞😞 We have not heard much from him in 2 days...so they may be restricting their access. 

 

Our prayers are with the crew still onboard  the Grand and all the passengers who disembarked in Monday....GOD Bless them all....🙏🙏🙏🙏💙💙💙💙

 

We were supposed to be on the Grand on April 5 starting two back-to-back 15 day Hawaii cruises for the whole month of April, but not now!!!! No way! I don't think the April cruises will happen anyway with the Grand the way it is right now!  We won't be cruising for a while, til this virus is under control or gone! We do have reservations for a South Pacific cruise for October, but we shall see what happens.....

Disney PLEASE keep us updated. It's amazing here how often the crew is dismissed and forgotten....as former crew I am all to aware of it. Let your friend know there are MANY here that care about them and understand the TOTAL disconnect between shoreside and on-board. Sometimes it's HOPELESS to expect help...but I pray they are not forgotten or abused in this.

 

[Deborahw58]

15 hours ago, kkmiausa said:

This is what happened to me. I chose not to sail on the February 25 sailing of the Crown Princess since my husband has high risk if he were to catch the virus. I had a Vista suite and it was over $6000, I had the basic Princess insurance to cancel for any reason, and rebook at 75 per cent of what I had paid and had to do by next year.   I do not want to cruise again with this virus now but I will lose all my money if I don't cruise again!  They should at least let you sell your cruise to someone else.

We should have been on the Sapphire on the 23rd of February going to Asia. It was cancelled and we got a full refund and 50 %Fcc. We booked with a travel agent and it was covered by Abta. 

[hunt182644]

Some people need to keep updated by reading and watching news reports. Just my opinion whether you agree or not. The one thing to remember tho is that the sky is not really falling. Have a good day , wash your hands, keep hands off of face and keep fingers out of mouth.

[Iamcruzin]

5 hours ago, caribill said:

 

 

 

But the virus is also being spread via other methods of transportation from subway trains to Uber cars to airplanes. The cruise ships get the bad publicity. But there is just as much spreading of the virus other ways. Just look at all the cases that can be traced to one NYC lawyer.

 

 

The difference is that a cruise ship isn't a means of transportation. It's leisure travel that can be eliminated where the other forms of transportation are a necessity. 

Edited March 10, 2020 by Iamcruzin

[chamima]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

 

There is only one way to be assured that boarding passengers are 99.9% virus free and it is completely impractical.

 

Since people can have the virus and not show symptoms yet, everyone would need to be in isolation 17 days before embarkation. After a 14 day period, everyone would need to have samples taken with the results coming back within the three days left until embarkation.

 

There might be some false positives, so within that three day period there needs to be enough time for a second test to verify the first one.

 

The reason I said 99.9% instead of 100% is that there might also be some false negatives.

 

Anything short of this does not have a good chance of keeping the ship free of passengers with the virus.

 

As I said, it is impractical.

 

But the virus is also being spread via other methods of transportation from subway trains to Uber cars to airplanes. The cruise ships get the bad publicity. But there is just as much spreading of the virus other ways. Just look at all the cases that can be traced to one NYC lawyer.

 

 

 

 

And, as far as I know, they still don't know how he was infected!

 

As far as the crew - most or all of them are significantly younger than 50 or 60 (the age where the mortality rate goes up) and so far the severity of the illness in younger people seems to be much less.

Hopefully the medical staff on board will be able to treat those who become ill.

[Mikey0368]

13 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

White House discussing cruise ship shutdown. 
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/09/azar-cruise-ship-shutdown-coronavirus-124645

Anyone know if we're likely to get a decision on this today (Tuesday)?

[WonderMan3]

48 minutes ago, SharkieRools said:

Of course now Dr. Anthony Fauci who is the director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (Part of the NIH) said when asked what those who are booked on a cruise should do: "If you are a healthy young person, there is no reason if you want to go on a cruise ship, go on a cruise ship", VP Pence then followed up saying advice to avoid vacations at sea was targeted to older people with “serious underlying conditions.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/douggollan/2020/03/09/fauci-says-cruising-is-ok-if-you-are-healthy/

The problem really isn’t healthy people being able to get through it, it’s that even if one person onboard is identified with the virus it could shut down the entire ship and force all passengers into a 14 day quarantine; not an ideal vacation for anyone. Just because you have mild symptoms does not mean you can’t pass it on to someone who could die from it.

[Reader0108598]

1 hour ago, WonderMan3 said:

The problem really isn’t healthy people being able to get through it, it’s that even if one person onboard is identified with the virus it could shut down the entire ship and force all passengers into a 14 day quarantine; not an ideal vacation for anyone. Just because you have mild symptoms does not mean you can’t pass it on to someone who could die from it.

THIS!!

 

[arabrab]

I don't know where he's getting the fatality rate of 6 from on DP.  Since the vessel was evacuated, at least 1 more (maybe two) patient died in the US after being transferred, 1 died in Australia, and 1 died in Japan. None of those deaths have been reflected in the DP numbers on Worldometer.  Others are still critically ill and their outcomes are yet to be determined.

Edited March 10, 2020 by arabrab

[DCGuy64]

1 hour ago, WonderMan3 said:

The problem really isn’t healthy people being able to get through it, it’s that even if one person onboard is identified with the virus it could shut down the entire ship and force all passengers into a 14 day quarantine; not an ideal vacation for anyone. Just because you have mild symptoms does not mean you can’t pass it on to someone who could die from it.

I don't agree with this.

[Reader0108598]

14 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I don't agree with this.

Just curious what don't you agree with? If a healthy young adult picks up the virus has supper sitting next to and talking to a older person who may have other issues you don't believe they can give them the virus ? I could have your post all wrong maybe you are disagreeing with the 14 day day quarantine.

 

 

Edited March 10, 2020 by Reader0108598

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, Mikey0368 said:

Anyone know if we're likely to get a decision on this today (Tuesday)?

They are so wishy washy that none knows if they will ever make a decision. I would guess they won’t do anything unless/until another ship has positive cases. 

[Lauraa88]

Is there any point in people arguing about this? Let’s all just be nice to each other and use this thread to share useful information about princess ships & coronavirus. None of us are exactly experts on this (that I know of) 😆. It’s a difficult time for everyone at the moment and bickering won’t help. 

[HalifaxUKFirstTimers]

29 minutes ago, Lauraa88 said:

Is there any point in people arguing about this? Let’s all just be nice to each other and use this thread to share useful information about princess ships & coronavirus. None of us are exactly experts on this (that I know of) 😆. It’s a difficult time for everyone at the moment and bickering won’t help. 

Totally agree Laura. It is a horrible situation for everybody who is either on a cruise ship such as the Grand (and others) and those who are thinking of cancelling a cruise and potentially losing money along with a holiday.

 

The situation is all very fluid and will continue to be so for a while yet. Meanwhile people are dying of the virus and that will have an impact on their loved ones.

 

At times like this, hard as it seems, there are actually more important things than getting  worked up about something we can’t control. People are losing their lives and I for one would rather stay alive and healthy than lose some money.

[Reader0108598]

46 minutes ago, Lauraa88 said:

Is there any point in people arguing about this? Let’s all just be nice to each other and use this thread to share useful information about princess ships & coronavirus. None of us are exactly experts on this (that I know of) 😆. It’s a difficult time for everyone at the moment and bickering won’t help. 

I agree but nothing wrong with a respectful discussion. 🙂

[Rufford155]

58 minutes ago, Lauraa88 said:

Is there any point in people arguing about this? Let’s all just be nice to each other and use this thread to share useful information about princess ships & coronavirus. None of us are exactly experts on this (that I know of) 😆. It’s a difficult time for everyone at the moment and bickering won’t help. 

Well said Laura, maybe it takes us Brits to see the wood from the trees.

 

We cancelled our pre-paid excursions this morning.

We have until 14th April now to see what transpires.

[Taseko]

15 minutes ago, HalifaxUKFirstTimers said:

Totally agree Laura. It is a horrible situation for everybody who is either on a cruise ship such as the Grand (and others) and those who are thinking of cancelling a cruise and potentially losing money along with a holiday.

 

The situation is all very fluid and will continue to be so for a while yet. Meanwhile people are dying of the virus and that will have an impact on their loved ones.

 

At times like this, hard as it seems, there are actually more important things than getting  worked up about something we can’t control. People are losing their lives and I for one would rather stay alive and healthy than lose some money.

I believe we can decrease our likelihood of getting the virus and continuing its spread through our decisions and actions.  It means cancelling travel and close socializing, working from home, staying home if not feeling well, washing hands and consciously avoiding touching your face, extra surface cleaning in your environment, covering coughs and sneezes and properly disposing of tissues...  Perhaps the idea of having a preventive vaccine or post infection medication seems easier, but all the personal steps are cheap and achievable. We do have control.  Don’t give up.   We’ve got this!

[musicgal]

The coronavirus is really like a forest fire.  I am not resigned to catching it, by no means. But, was talking with my sister the other day and told her it was like trying to hold back a wave with your body.  There are just too many variables and unknown contact points, both on and off ships and now, just in general life.  For example- I sing in a group where the leader was sick this past week.  He is married to a nurse who works in one of the biggest hospitals in Houston. There is also an active case in Conroe a few blocks away from where they live. If she is unknowingly exposed, then he is exposed.  He does setup for the band so his hands touch everything... mikes, keyboard, guitars, ipads, stands.  I started wiping down things that I touched frequently about two weeks ago, but CV is so contagious all it takes is a cough aimed in the wrong direction at the wrong time.  Add that to the fact that they are still practicing intinction at our local church for communion which is totally the wrong thing to do anyway, regardless of a pandemic.  (Intinction is the practice of dipping a piece of the communion bread in a common cup of wine/juice. Many people end up sticking their fingers into the cup accidentally). I am out of pocket for the next two weeks for Spring Break, stay-cationing with our grandkids here at the house.  We should, as a country- really know if this is escalating exponentially in 14 more days.  For all of our sakes, I hope it doesn't- and that warmer weather will put the Kabosh on it.  If not- we do what we can in the meantime, especially where it pertains to exposure.  Every person on these boards loves to cruise, me included.  I hope that the industry can survive this hit.

[2cruizinfools]

FYI State of Emergency declared in Broward County

3 of the 4 confirmed cases in Broward work at Port Everglades.

 

https://wsvn.com/news/local/state-of-emergency-declared-in-broward-county-after-4th-case-of-covid-19-confirmed/

[LoriPhil]

With a vaccine and new treatments likely a year or so away, we’re thinking of this in terms of a marathon and not a sprint.  Being mindful of keeping paws off the face, washing our hands first thing when we get in the house... so many everyday tasks to modify but figure they will be good discipline when we hope on a ship - hopefully for our November cruise!