Diamond Princess passenger "tested positive for Wuhan coronavirus"

[gvre]

 

We are booked on Diamond B2B April 2nd thru the 20^th .

We are healthy in our 60’s. We have been debating should we cancel.  Why risk it. If we cancel by Wednesday we lose about a $1,000 after that it will be about $3,000.

I know this is a popular cruise for Chinese passengers.  They say about 20% of the passengers. Right now it looks like they would be denied boarding. Right?

Anyone’s thought or opinion are appreciated.

Thanks,

Rich and Deb

 

Hong Kong media are reporting on Saturday evening that an 80-year-old cruise passenger has been tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus, pending further testing.

 

Early reports are suggesting that his cruise itinerary involved a stop in Kagoshima and he had not visited mainland China the entire trip. Prior to the vacation, he had visited a local hospital for follow-up on Jan 15.

 

Ming Pao reported that the man flew to Tokyo on Jan 17 and went on the Jan 20 Yokohama > Kagoshima > Hong Kong voyage. Diamond Princess arrived and left Hong Kong on Jan 25, the first day of Lunar New Year. 

 

The man reported that he has been coughing since Jan 15 and developed a fever on Jan 30. But it is important to note for now that it cannot be concluded that if the five-night voyage was "in the loop".

 

Authorities are investigating if the old man caught the virus from his wife, who might have recently made trips to mainland China. It is now known that your healthy family member may still pass you the virus - a Taiwanese man had returned from Wuhan and infected his wife with the virus, while he has shown no symptom.

 

It is also entirely possible that he caught the virus locally in Hong Kong after the trip, as incubation period for the novel virus is believed to be 2-14 days.

 

 

 

[Coral]

Did you book Princess's insurance that allows for cancel for any reason to get a future cruise credit?

 

I understand your dilemma. I have a European cruise (which is not even close to Asia so not at the level you are at) and am somewhat worried also because no one knows what will happen in 2 months.

 

Good luck in your decision. There are probably people on your roll call with the same questions. 

Edited February 2, 2020 by Coral

[gvre]

1 minute ago, Coral said:

Did you book Princess's insurance that allows for cancel for any reason to get a future cruise credit?

 

I understand your dilemma. I have a European cruise (which is not even close to Asia so not at the level you are at) and am somewhat worried also because no one knows what will happen in 2 months.

 

Good luck in your decision. There are probably people on your roll call with the same questions. 

No we didn't 

[Coral]

I just looked at your itinerary and you have an amazing itinerary. I don't know what I would do. 

[gvre]

2 minutes ago, Coral said:

I just looked at your itinerary and you have an amazing itinerary. I don't know what I would do. 

Yeah we were excited a month ago and now not so much

[milolii]

I know 3 days is not that long, but maybe  wait and see what happens  by Wednesday. Perhaps Princess will issue a statement.  In the mean time, maybe call them and let them know the reporting out of Hong Kong?  Not saying Princess will do anything though. 
 

I can understand your disappointment.  Good luck!  Let us know your decision.  If you do go I would be interested hearing how it is going. 

[Coral]

Princess should do the right decision and issue a statement. Let people cancel with out penalty on this and similar itineraries because the future is so unknown here.

Edited February 2, 2020 by Coral

[milolii]

Coral, I agree and maybe push out final payments for a few weeks in hopes things settle down?  
 

Not sure that will happen....

[Coral]

2 minutes ago, milolii said:

Coral, I agree and maybe push out final payments for a few weeks in hopes things settle down?  
 

Not sure that will happen....

Most people on this cruise are going to be loyal passengers.

[gvre]

1 minute ago, Coral said:

Most people on this cruise are going to be loyal passengers.

This is cruise #29 & 30 with Princess

[voljeep]

15 minutes ago, Coral said:

Princess should do the right decision and issue a statement. Let people cancel with out penalty on this and similar itineraries because the future is so unknown here.

and refunds 'should' come directly from Princess on a timely basis without having to submit a claim thru insurance

[Cruiserkenn]

24 minutes ago, milolii said:

I know 3 days is not that long, but maybe  wait and see what happens  by Wednesday. Perhaps Princess will issue a statement.  In the mean time, maybe call them and let them know the reporting out of Hong Kong?  Not saying Princess will do anything though. 
 

I can understand your disappointment.  Good luck!  Let us know your decision.  If you do go I would be interested hearing how it is going. 

 

I agree with waiting three days.   I also agree about calling Princess.

PS - I have a Hawaii cruise from LA in March.  Who knows, maybe things will be better or worse by then.  Also, I live I Chicago, where there are 2 cases confirmed, so far.  Again, who knows?  I am saying this to let you know I have concerns.

[TheRabbit]

A friend just received cancellation/itinerary change on a Celebrity cruise to the area, though they were the last of 4 cruises at the same time. This one leaves in the next couple of weeks.

[dog]

Some on elite board have got notice that ports have changed for their Asia cruise. Call Princess

[Kenswing]

1 hour ago, gvre said:

 

We are booked on Diamond B2B April 2nd thru the 20^th .

We are healthy in our 60’s. We have been debating should we cancel.  Why risk it. If we cancel by Wednesday we lose about a $1,000 after that it will be about $3,000.

I know this is a popular cruise for Chinese passengers.  They say about 20% of the passengers. Right now it looks like they would be denied boarding. Right?

Anyone’s thought or opinion are appreciated.

Thanks,

Rich and Deb

 

Hong Kong media are reporting on Saturday evening that an 80-year-old cruise passenger has been tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus, pending further testing.

 

Early reports are suggesting that his cruise itinerary involved a stop in Kagoshima and he had not visited mainland China the entire trip. Prior to the vacation, he had visited a local hospital for follow-up on Jan 15.

 

Ming Pao reported that the man flew to Tokyo on Jan 17 and went on the Jan 20 Yokohama > Kagoshima > Hong Kong voyage. Diamond Princess arrived and left Hong Kong on Jan 25, the first day of Lunar New Year. 

 

The man reported that he has been coughing since Jan 15 and developed a fever on Jan 30. But it is important to note for now that it cannot be concluded that if the five-night voyage was "in the loop".

 

Authorities are investigating if the old man caught the virus from his wife, who might have recently made trips to mainland China. It is now known that your healthy family member may still pass you the virus - a Taiwanese man had returned from Wuhan and infected his wife with the virus, while he has shown no symptom.

 

It is also entirely possible that he caught the virus locally in Hong Kong after the trip, as incubation period for the novel virus is believed to be 2-14 days.

 

 

 

We're also on that same 18 day cruise.  Hoping he caught it after the cruise. 

 

Since we're still two months away I'm going to take a wait and see approach.  If it becomes a problem on the Diamond Princess we should know by then.  They will undoubtedly be forced to quarantine the entire ship. If that happens they will have no choice but to issue refunds. 

[Kenswing]

21 minutes ago, dog said:

Some on elite board have got notice that ports have changed for their Asia cruise. Call Princess

What is the Elite board?

[dog]

Someone posted a link re. Princesses position of virus. Cancelled, changes to cruises. Go to Princess website to read current situation

[gvre]

8 minutes ago, dog said:

Someone posted a link re. Princesses position of virus. Cancelled, changes to cruises. Go to Princess website to read current situation

Updated January 31, 2020

Although the risk to our guests and crew is low, we are closely monitoring the evolving situation with respect to Coronavirus originating in mainland China. Our medical experts are coordinating closely with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to implement enhanced screening, prevention and control measures for our ships globally.

Measures we are implementing include:

• Guests who have traveled from or through mainland China (including Hubei Province) in the past 14-days* will not be cleared for boarding the ship. This does not apply to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
• Pre-Boarding medical evaluations, including temperature checks, for persons whom, for any reason, appear or identify as symptomatic (respiratory or fever symptoms); and
• For all guests, our standard pre-boarding health reporting advising of their reporting obligations for any illness or symptoms of an illness
• Medical screening for Coronavirus on all guests who visit our onboard Medical Center with symptoms of any respiratory illness
• Reporting to local and national health authorities of all cases of fever and respiratory illness, and any patients with suspected Coronavirus infection
• Crew members from mainland China will be delayed from joining any ship until further notice. Crew members from other regions of the world who may have been scheduled to connect on flights through China have been rerouted.
• Additional environmental disinfection onboard will be performed in addition to our regular stringent cleaning and sanitation protocols.

The above is subject to change at any time based on the interests of health and safety of our guests and crew. Any other requirements that may be imposed by local authorities.

Additionally, as the safety of our guests and crew is always our highest priority, Princess Cruises has amended the following voyages:

Voyage H013 will now arrive in Tokyo, Japan (Yokohama) instead of Shanghai on May 2
Voyage H014 will now depart from Tokyo, Japan (Yokohama) instead of Shanghai on May 2
Voyage H015 will now arrive in Tokyo, Japan (Yokohama) instead of Shanghai on June 3

Princess Cruises has also cancelled the following voyages sailing roundtrip to Shanghai on Sapphire Princess:

June 3, 2020 and June 11, 2020.

We are also looking to remove the transit calls to Shanghai on May 1 and July 17 on Sun Princess, replacing with Japan ports of calls (actual ports to be announced).

*14-days is the accepted standard incubation period of Coronavirus recognized by the WHO and US CDC

[Coral]

9 minutes ago, dog said:

Someone posted a link re. Princesses position of virus. Cancelled, changes to cruises. Go to Princess website to read current situation

I posted it but it doesn't help OP:

 

 

 

Coronavirus Statement from Princess Cruises 

Although the risk to our guests and crew is low, we are closely monitoring the evolving situation with respect Coronavirus originating in mainland China. Our medical experts are coordinating closely with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to implement enhanced screening, prevention and control measures for our ships globally. 

 

Measures we are implementing include:

• Guests who have traveled from or through mainland China (including Hubei Province) in the past 14-days* will not be cleared for boarding the ship.  This does not apply to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
• Pre-Boarding medical evaluations, including temperature checks, for persons whom, for any reason, appear or identify as symptomatic (respiratory or fever symptoms)
• For all guests, our standard pre-boarding health reporting for all guests advising of their reporting obligations for any illness or symptoms of an illness
• Medical screening for Coronavirus on all guests who visit our onboard Medical Center with symptoms of any respiratory illness
• Reporting to local and national health authorities of all cases of fever and respiratory illness, and any patients with suspected Coronavirus infection
• Crew members from mainland China will be delayed from joining any ship until further notice. Crew members from other regions of the world who may have been scheduled to connect on flights through China have been rerouted.
• Additional environmental disinfection onboard will be performed in addition to our regular stringent cleaning and sanitation protocols.

 

The above is subject to change at any time based on the interests of health and safety of our guests and crew. Any other requirements that may be imposed by local authorities.

 

*14-days is the accepted standard incubation period of Coronavirus recognized by the WHO and US CDC.

Guests sailing to the Bahamas who have come from or visited mainland China in the past 20-days will not be permitted to disembark at ports in this country.

Additionally, as the safety of our guests and crew is always our highest priority, Princess Cruises has amended the following voyages:

Voyage H013 will now arrive in Tokyo, Japan (Yokohama) instead of Shanghai on May 2

Voyage H014 will now depart from Tokyo, Japan (Yokohama) instead of Shanghai on May 2

Voyage H015 will now arrive in Tokyo, Japan (Yokohama) instead of Shanghai on June 3

 

Princess Cruises has also cancelled the following voyages sailing roundtrip to Shanghai on Sapphire Princess – June 3, 2020 and June 11, 2020.

We are also looking to remove the transit calls to Shanghai on May 1 and July 17 on Sun Princess, replacing with Japan ports of calls (actual ports to be announced).

 

PRINCESS CANCELLATION POLICIES

Cancellation and Pricing Policy for Sapphire Princess Amended Voyages (H013 – H015)Voyage H014 will now depart from Tokyo, Japan (Yokohama) instead of Shanghai on May 2 

1. If guests cancel their booking, they can submit claims through their travel insurance providers.
2. Guests with Princess Vacation Protection may cancel and submit their claim to AON per terms of the plan.
3. For guests who incur charges for non-refundable expenses (including air change fees for guests with independent air), Princess will provide up to $250 in airline change fees.  Visit www.princess.com/refund-request for a list of reimbursable expenses and details on submitting a refund request.
4. For any other cancellations for itineraries other than cruises Sapphire Princess (H013-H015), the standard cancellation fees shall apply.

 

Edited February 2, 2020 by Coral

[dog]

Chrylis in thread itineraries that include China was able to post the link. Go to Princess website for updates. 

[pablo222]

1 hour ago, gvre said:

This is cruise #29 & 30 with Princess

I don't know if this applies, or is still true.

 

But, if used to be that if you were elite, and booked basic insurance, you got upgraded to

the better insurance than included 'cancel for any reason'.

 

[gvre]

No travel insurance at all.

Only medical.

[Coral]

13 minutes ago, pablo222 said:

I don't know if this applies, or is still true.

 

But, if used to be that if you were elite, and booked basic insurance, you got upgraded to

the better insurance than included 'cancel for any reason'.

 

My point is that this type of sailing is attracted by well traveled individuals who are probably pretty loyal to Princess. The OP posted that yes, she has traveled extensively with Princess.

 

I don't think Princess wants to make loyal passengers angry and IMO - should do something such as give them a longer cancellation time period, etc....

 

IMO - Princess insurance is crappy when you travel far from home because their medical coverage is subpar. Though it does allow for cancel for any reason which would help the OP here. I would never advise anyone traveling that far to use Princess's insurance for medical.

Edited February 2, 2020 by Coral

[gvre]

1 hour ago, Kenswing said:

We're also on that same 18 day cruise.  Hoping he caught it after the cruise. 

 

Since we're still two months away I'm going to take a wait and see approach.  If it becomes a problem on the Diamond Princess we should know by then.  They will undoubtedly be forced to quarantine the entire ship. If that happens they will have no choice but to issue refunds. 

32 minutes ago, pablo222 said:

 

 

I wonder if they will quarantine those on that cruise that return to US?

[Kenswing]

1 minute ago, gvre said:

I wonder if they will quarantine those on that cruise that return to US?

Italy quarantined an entire ship with all passengers onboard until it was determined whether or not a single passenger was infected.  

 

If anyone on a ship presents symptoms consistent with the Corona Virus I suspect the entire ship will again be quarantined until it's confirmed whether anyone is actually infected.  If a positive test is confirmed I would guess that everyone on that ship will be quarantined onboard or moved to an isolation facility.

 

All of the people that the U.S. has flown out of Wuhan are being held at March AFB in California for two weeks.