Corona virus RCI policy

[banzaii]

10 hours ago, kernow said:

RCL seemed to change their policy for Hong Kong late on Thursday after the WHO anouncment of a global emergency.

It still doesn't seem logical to include HK in the restrictions.  Especially for RCCL bottom line.

 

Most North American and European travelers have to transit HK, HNL or SIN just to join their Australian or New Zealand cruise.  Its not something that is easily changed at short notice and is currently out if step with the airline policies and the relevant countries travel warnings.

 

This is puzzling!

Edited February 2, 2020 by banzaii

[Mary&Jim]

We just received an email, also. Sailing 2/9 & 2/15 on Adventure.

[not-enough-cruising]

13 minutes ago, banzaii said:

This is puzzling!

Why is it puzzling? Hong Kong has the 4th most reported cases of any country outside of Mainland China (of which it shares a border)

[CruiseKeeper]

Rec’d two emails and our son who is our emergency contact, got a text too.   We are sailing on the Oasis for a b2b on 2/15.  

Edited February 2, 2020 by CruiseKeeper

[banzaii]

Just now, not-enough-cruising said:

Why is it puzzling? Hong Kong has the 4th most reported cases of any country outside of Mainland China (of which it shares a border)

What restriction are being placed on the 2nd and 3rd most reported countries.

[lovesthebeach2]

1 hour ago, pineapple666 said:

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

Tomorrow.....Brilliance from Tampa.....this was the text, also received a detailed email.

Edited February 2, 2020 by lovesthebeach2

[BunnyHutt]

2 hours 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.

 

 

When you enter the US, you have to go through customs immediately after exiting the aircraft which flew you in from foreign soil. Once through customs, you can continue on to your connecting flight. I would imagine the same would be true for HK and therefore absolutely tied to the passport. 

[kernow]

23 minutes ago, banzaii said:

It still doesn't seem logical to include HK in the restrictions.  Especially for RCCL bottom line.

 

Most North American and European travelers have to transit HK, HNL or SIN just to join their Australian or New Zealand cruise.  Its not something that is easily changed at short notice and is currently out if step with the airline policies and the relevant countries travel warnings.

 

This is puzzling!

Hong Kong still has an open border with China which the authorities are refusing to close despite many there calling for it. I read a report in the South China Morning post a couple of days ago that said they were expecting up to 300 000 Hong Kong citizens to return from the holidays in China in the next few days. They are worried that they will get a massive increase in cases of the virus.

 

We were easily able to change our BA flight returning from Hong Kong in just over 3 weeks time, they let us move it to Singapore with no charge.

[lovelife]

Got the text - no e-mail.  Departing on Allure 2/16.

[banzaii]

9 minutes ago, kernow said:

We were easily able to change our BA flight returning from Hong Kong in just over 3 weeks time, they let us move it to Singapore with no charge.

Thanks for the information.

 

Singapore has more reported cases than Hong Kong!

Edited February 2, 2020 by banzaii

[kernow]

1 minute ago, banzaii said:

Singapore has more reported cases than Hong Kong!

Yes but them seem to have much better prevention policies in place and they are banning entry to anyone coming from China. 

[banzaii]

11 minutes ago, kernow said:

Hong Kong still has an open border with China which the authorities are refusing to close despite many there calling for it.

This will more to do with the civil unrest and the ability to move forces in if necessary.  Can't have the protesters getting the upper hand.

 

From what I have just read, the border isn't as "open" as usual.

[ONECRUISER]

50 minutes ago, PhoenixCruiser said:

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

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 

Agree. Can imagine someone not telling Truth, get ill(or not) and whole ship is Quarantined with everyone for 14days

Edited February 2, 2020 by ONECRUISER

[sfaaa]

3 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

Agree. Can imagine someone not telling Truth, get ill(or not) and whole ship is Quarantined with everyone for 14days

As long as RCCL continues to honor my free drink package, I am ok with the 14 days quarantine requirement.

[alistairg]

20 minutes ago, BunnyHutt said:

When you enter the US, you have to go through customs immediately after exiting the aircraft which flew you in from foreign soil. Once through customs, you can continue on to your connecting flight. I would imagine the same would be true for HK and therefore absolutely tied to the passport. 

 

This is an unusual rule in the USA. In the vast majority of countries you only have to go through customs and immigration if you are connecting to a domestic flight. Usually when you enter a country you have to go through customs and immigration at your port of entry.

 

But in most countries if you are transiting through the airport to another international flight then you don't usually have to go through customs and immigration, usually you just go through security and back into departures assuming that the layout of the airport allows for this.

[grouchomarx]

Got text and email. Anthem 2/23 Cape Liberty.

[silviaeaston]

Just read that a cruise ship was barred from entering "Saint Lucia turns away cruise ship due to multiple cases of “upper respiratory tract infections?

[Jmulks]

We are scheduled on Harmony in two weeks from today- we are watching closely as the incubation period looks to be about 14 days. My wife is pretty upset that a vacation is causing un do stress. We will make a last second call depending on the severity of the out break in two weeks. I do have faith in RCCL to do the right thing. I would like to think they are using all the power they have to keep ships clean and safe. 

[not-enough-cruising]

15 minutes ago, silviaeaston said:

Just read that a cruise ship was barred from entering "Saint Lucia turns away cruise ship due to multiple cases of “upper respiratory tract infections?

Seems St Lucia has a very short fuse on these kinds of things, last year they barred a ship from docking due to chicken pox, i believe.

Good for them for taking the safety of their citizens so seriously

[PhoenixCruiser]

1 hour ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Seems St Lucia has a very short fuse on these kinds of things, last year they barred a ship from docking due to chicken pox, i believe.

Good for them for taking the safety of their citizens so seriously

 

It was the measles

 

https://www.npr.org/2019/05/02/719452016/st-lucia-quarantines-cruise-ship-after-measles-case-occurs-onboard

[ONECRUISER]

15 hours ago, mochuck said:

I have no idea. It is certainly not in line with US's or Australia" policy.  I also think its very unfair to people who have transited through HK airport on their way to Australia.

Safety first. Things are changing by the day and hr in many Countries... In US Homeland Security just announced if they find out you were in China/HK in last 14days they may reroute US bound Flight while in the air. Best always be honest up front and ready for rapidly changing rules and procedures...

[BuckeyeMan]

My email I received from RCI also included Hong Kong.  

[SeaHunt]

Last week I was following the 2/1 Celebrity Millennium sailing roll call to see what was happening in real time. That roll call and the one for the 2/15 sailing have a lot of info - here's some short notes from the roll call there (sister line) of what transpired after people had layovers in HK: 

 

(Ship sailing on Saturday 2/1)

 

Thursday by happycruisenut "We have been informed that we cannot embark the ship tomorrow because we flew through Hong Kong (4 hour layover) on 1/27".

 

Friday by cindivan "But to call 24 hours before and tell us of the change in itinerary but not tell us if we went through HK we couldn’t board. They sent our travel agent that information, but it was 8 pm US time. How in the world did they think that our travel agent would forward that to us. So we changed our flights. And then we found out we can’t cruise  because we went through Hong Kong.   And  then our contact acted so shocked that we were actually in Singapore 24 hours before the cruise and not back home in the states. So change our flights another time. More money".

 

"We are Hong Kong waiting to board flight back home. We realized our passport was never stamped in Hong Kong on the way over so not sure how that would have been enforced. 
 

Our TA said celebrity told him we have to go to port to show them our HK passport stamp or we couldn’t get full refund. He told us he talked them out of it because he sent them our flight confirmation. So you don’t want us on the ship but you want us to get near you for a short time to look at our passport which doesn’t have a HK stamp anyway??  So many different stories from different people. Lots of confusion for sure".

 

*Some also mentioned the B2B'ers who were allowed to stay on the ship even though being in HK the week before.

 

Saturday onboard by jo-b:

"Fair amount of chaos onboard. Some people only found out at the terminal about the changes".

"Some people are wanting to cancel now and there were some very upset people haranguing the Customer Relations lady who was trying to help".   

 

Lexmiller Re transit through HK "Captains Club FB some are saying that it was an honesty thing, that ship's staff asked the passengers during the boarding process if they'd been to Hong Kong/transited through Hong Kong, so it was an "honor" thing for the passenger to be truthful and then they'd have been forbidden boarding - but others think that Celebrity has a record of your travel available to them through your passport number."

 

Today cwaj45 returned to US : "We had to travel through Hong Kong as we’re booked on Cathay Pacific. The only place our temperature was visibility taken was in transit at the Hong Kong Airport. No one asked us a thing. We do have global entry which might have helped". 

 

This has taught me a big lesson though - viral epidemics are NOT covered by most travel insurance, and from now on I'm only buying "Cancel For Any Reason" trip insurance!

 

https://www.aarp.org/travel/travel-tips/safety/info-2020/insurance-coronavirus-coverage.html

Edited February 3, 2020 by SeaHunt

[barb65]

Just received the following e-mail from Royal Caribbean re: our upcoming cruise on Symphony in February. Kudos to RC for taking action/precautions about the Coronavirus.

Dear Guest,

We’re looking forward to welcoming you aboard! Before you embark on our adventure, we have some important information to share with you.

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. We take this very seriously and have a responsibility to maintain a safe and healthy environment onboard our ships, as well as in the ports we visit.

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:

• Guests or crewmembers that have 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.

While these measures are conservative, our responsibility is to reduce the spread of coronavirus, in an effort to keep our ships safe and to ensure you are able to enjoy your time with us.

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 at 1-800-256-6649 or visit www.RoyalCaribbean.com/contactus for your local Royal Caribbean International office phone number.

Your vacation and your health are very important to us, so in an abundance of caution, we’ve taken numerous proactive steps to maintain high health standards onboard our ships. This includes:

• Thoroughly sanitizing the cruise ship terminal before and after every sailing,
• Special sanitizing of high traffic areas onboard multiple times a day,
• Adding extra medical staff on each sailing, 
• Providing complimentary consultations with medical experts for all guests & crew,
• Plus, the Captain will make two daily announcements during your cruise reminding everyone of how to stay healthy onboard.

And, you can do your part too! To ensure we all have an enjoyable cruise, here are some important tips to help keep you healthy and prevent colds, flus, and stomach viruses – both onboard and on land. 

• After using the bathroom and before any meal or snack (it’s a cruise; we know there’s lots of that), make sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
• If you happen to sneeze, cover your nose and mouth with a tissue (or with your upper sleeve). Avoid sneezing or coughing into your hands or without covering your nose and mouth.
• Use hand sanitizer as often as possible. Rub the gel thoroughly, and in-between your fingers, until your hands are dry.

And remember, if you don’t feel well while you’re onboard, it’s imperative that you immediately visit our medical facility on Deck 2 for a complimentary checkup. Our onboard doctors and nurses are always ready to assist. Your safety and wellbeing are always our top priorities, but we also want you to have an amazing time. Stay clean, stay healthy, stay happy

[Palmetto Pilot]

got an email and text