Corona virus RCI policy

[lr657]

1 minute ago, mayleeman said:

Even the cheapest mask can help remind people not to touch their faces and mouths. Try wearing one for a few hours and you become aware of how often you do it.

 

You are touching your face every time you put on or adjust your mask. The outside of the mask you are touching has been exposed to whatever is floating around in the air. Not a good idea to rely on a mask as prevention.

[mayleeman]

2 minutes ago, lr657 said:

 

You are touching your face every time you put on or adjust your mask. The outside of the mask you are touching has been exposed to whatever is floating around in the air. Not a good idea to rely on a mask as prevention.

 

And you missed my point. I was not talking about protection from exposure to things in the air. I was talking about the "wash your hands/don't touch your face" advice which is standard for protecting yourself from noro and flu. Since you cannot wash your hands every time you touch something like a railing, an elevator button, a door handle, or a salt shaker, a mask keeps you from absently touching your face by scratching your nose, getting out that bothersome popcorn husk, etc. It helps prevent transferrence by touch.

 

But in my last sentence I was really just emphasizing how educational it is. I learned it just from cutting my lawn. It is like wearing a bandage that immobilizes your thumb--then you learn what sets humans apart from animals that don't have one. Or try having gout in your two big toe joints and see how much you rely on those to stand up if kneeling at church!

[lr657]

4 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

 

And you missed my point. I was not talking about protection from exposure to things in the air. I was talking about the "wash your hands/don't touch your face" advice which is standard for protecting yourself from noro and flu. Since you cannot wash your hands every time you touch something like a railing, an elevator button, a door handle, or a salt shaker, a mask keeps you from absently touching your face by scratching your nose, getting out that bothersome popcorn husk, etc. It helps prevent transferrence by touch.

 

But in my last sentence I was really just emphasizing how educational it is. I learned it just from cutting my lawn. It is like wearing a bandage that immobilizes your thumb--then you learn what sets humans apart from animals that don't have one. Or try having gout in your two big toe joints and see how much you rely on those to stand up if kneeling at church!

 

I think everyone will decide what works best for them. As an RN, I have needed to wear masks at hospital at certain times. The masks can shift and move and do require adjustment on your face if they shift too much.  My point was that adjusting the mask will likely cause you to touch your face. Just something to keep in mind and be careful about. 

[reverie4401]

Now on Royal's US Web Site.

 

Wuhan Coronavirus Travel Restrictions:
 

UPDATED ON FEBRUARY 2, 2020

 

 

 

After consultation with medical experts and public health authorities, regardless of nationality, any guest or crewmember traveling from, to, or through mainland China or Hong Kong less than 15 days prior to their sailing will be unable to board any of our ships.

Additionally, we’ve tightened our secondary health screening requirements and the following guests will need to undergo extra screenings to ensure safety at the cruise terminal:
 

• ∙ Anyone that has been in contact with individuals that have traveled from, to, or through mainland China or Hong Kong in the last 15 days.
• ∙ Anyone that holds a Chinese or Hong Kong passport – regardless of when they were there last.
• ∙ Anyone that feels unwell or demonstrates flu-like symptoms.

 

These measures will help reduce the potential for the virus to further spread, and will ensure the health of our guests and crew. We thank everyone for their patience and understanding.

 

David

[toxicfairy]

9 hours ago, ubarpants said:

 

I'm curious about this too; they didn't even stamp our passports on our last Hong Kong layover (and we left the airport!) so it may not be easy for them to tell, and I'm not sure a cruise line would get ready access to a governmental system like immigration data.

But don't they ask what flight you came in on?

[toothy26]

We canceled! Im really sad but my husband is happy. We have another booked for October so I hope this mess is straightened out by then!

 

[alistairg]

Is a flight connection in Hong Kong airport considered being in Hong Kong?

 

I would guess that the policy means that if you went through immigration into Hong Kong you couldn't board, otherwise there is no way to tell from your passport that you were in Hong Kong airport for a connection.

 

This could of course be covered by the secondary screening requirements for people who have come into contact with people from China.

 

It is not clear if the OP just transmitted in the airport or actually went into Hong Kong.

 

 

[kernow]

9 minutes ago, alistairg said:

Is a flight connection in Hong Kong airport considered being in Hong Kong?

 

I would guess that the policy means that if you went through immigration into Hong Kong you couldn't board, otherwise there is no way to tell from your passport that you were in Hong Kong airport for a connection.

 

This could of course be covered by the secondary screening requirements for people who have come into contact with people from China.

 

It is not clear if the OP just transmitted in the airport or actually went into Hong Kong.

 

 

After consultation with medical experts and public health authorities, we’ve decided that regardless of nationality, any guest or crewmember traveling from, to, or through mainland China or Hong Kong less than 15 days prior to their sailing will be unable to board any of our ships.

 

This is the wording in the email. I think the word 'through' covers flight connections. People on our cruise who were travelling 'through' Hong Kong have been told to change their flights. Just walking through the airport could potentially put you in contact with locals who may have the virus. RCL are being super cautious.

[lovesthebeach2]

S: Important information for your upcoming Royal Caribbean International cruise
After consultation with medical experts and public health authorities, we've decided that regardless of nationality, any guest or crewmember traveling from, to, or through mainland China or Hong Kong less than 15 days prior to their sailing will be unable to board any of our ships. We regret to have to do this, but due to the recent increase of coronavirus cases around the world, this precaution will help avoid the spread of this virus. If you or someone in your stateroom has traveled from, to, or through mainland China or Hong Kong, please contact your Travel Advisor immediately, or contact us. We've sent you an email with additional details. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this unique circumstance.

Edited February 2, 2020 by lovesthebeach2

[time4u2go]

Existing thread discussing this:

 

 

[alistairg]

I think the official term for travelling through an airport is "transiting".

 

It may well be that RCI means this by saying "through" but they could probably be clearer.

 

I would consider that I had travelled through "Hong Kong" to mean that I actually went through immigration and into Hong Kong for some time then came back. If I just switched planes and stayed airside I would not consider that I had been to Hong Kong. I know that you could say I was being pedantic, but this is the kind of official notification that needs to be exact.

 

No doubt once eventually this will be clarified when someone actually tries to get on a ship.

[kernow]

10 minutes ago, alistairg said:

I think the official term for travelling through an airport is "transiting".

 

It may well be that RCI means this by saying "through" but they could probably be clearer.

 

I would consider that I had travelled through "Hong Kong" to mean that I actually went through immigration and into Hong Kong for some time then came back. If I just switched planes and stayed airside I would not consider that I had been to Hong Kong. I know that you could say I was being pedantic, but this is the kind of official notification that needs to be exact.

 

No doubt once eventually this will be clarified when someone actually tries to get on a ship.

Going forward I would think anyone still planning to transit through Hong Kong or China would need to check very carefully with RCL if it's allowed. As I said people on our cruise have already changed their flights because they read it as I do. 

 

Hopefully the OP will come back and tell us the official policy in practice.

[ARandomTraveler]

17 minutes ago, alistairg said:

I think the official term for travelling through an airport is "transiting".

 

It may well be that RCI means this by saying "through" but they could probably be clearer.

 

I would consider that I had travelled through "Hong Kong" to mean that I actually went through immigration and into Hong Kong for some time then came back. If I just switched planes and stayed airside I would not consider that I had been to Hong Kong. I know that you could say I was being pedantic, but this is the kind of official notification that needs to be exact.

 

No doubt once eventually this will be clarified when someone actually tries to get on a ship.

I would assume that by saying “through” Hong Kong they mean passing through on a flight connection, because anything else (going through customs, going outside) would be counted as “to” Hong Kong. 

 

If I had a flight connection in Hong Kong or China on my way to a cruise and got that email, I’d probably ask for written confirmation that I was or was not going to be allowed on the ship, that way if I got denied boarding I’d have proof that I was told I would be allowed to board and would have an easier time getting my money back. 

 

This is where having travel insurance comes in handy because you can get reimbursed for having to pay for a hotel if denied boarding, and get reimbursed for flight changes to get back home early if needed etc. The cruiseline should be more clear, but travelers could do themselves a favor by having the extra security of insurance in case things don’t pan out “fair” with the cruise or airline. 

[Another_Critic]

14 hours ago, Chiliburn said:

Just got this

 

I just received the same email.  Sailing from Baltimore later this month.

[pineapple666]

42 minutes ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

S: Important information for your upcoming Royal Caribbean International cruise
After consultation with medical experts and public health authorities, we've decided that regardless of nationality, any guest or crewmember traveling from, to, or through mainland China or Hong Kong less than 15 days prior to their sailing will be unable to board any of our ships. We regret to have to do this, but due to the recent increase of coronavirus cases around the world, this precaution will help avoid the spread of this virus. If you or someone in your stateroom has traveled from, to, or through mainland China or Hong Kong, please contact your Travel Advisor immediately, or contact us. We've sent you an email with additional details. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this unique circumstance.

Thanks for sharing. May I know what date of your cruise? I didn’t get one...

[ARandomTraveler]

10 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

 

I just received the same email.  Sailing from Baltimore later this month.

The problem with this is that it requires some element of self-reporting from people who were in contact with anyone that traveled to or through those places, or to report they have flu like symptoms. 

[Snit13]

There were updates from World Health Organization and Center for Disease Control on TV this morning.  I also saw Delta is cancelling flights in the area.  

[Colorado Babe]

WE received this information by email an hour or so ago. We are sailing on the Liberty out of Galveston on 2/23/20.  

[molly361]

17 minutes ago, pineapple666 said:

Thanks for sharing. May I know what date of your cruise? I didn’t get one...

Got a text and email  we leave Feb 21

[Heatherco]

We just got one too.  We leave Friday on the Explorer.  Cannot wait!,

 

[pineapple666]

Thanks. We will be sailing in March, haven’t got one yet. 

[cmsjab]

We got one, Rhapsody Feb 15th.

 

[arkking]

We sail on February 16 and just got both a text and email 

[Marilyn Johannes]

Waiting to her what happens to our Shanghai to Shanghai cruise March 21st. Airlines notified us they cancelled our flights. Waiting to see what Royal tells. 

[PhoenixCruiser]

To be honest I would turn up to the port on Wednesday and see what they have to say, if no one can get their communications right then it’s not your fault. Did you depart the airport in Hong Kong?  Have you been unwell ? Could you visit a doctor in Australia and mention that you have been via Hong Kong and get a clearance certificate?
 
As others have said Hong Kong has imposed very strict policies themselves.
 
 

This is horrible advice. Sometimes symptoms don't appear for up to two weeks.

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