Coronavirus: Is it time for us to pull out of our cruise?

[CanonGraceCruiser]

3 hours ago, sellwingri said:

Absolutely nothing.  It’s not my fault.  I’m just telling the poster what will happen.  They won’t even let those of us who can’t sail on Anthem today (hopefully tomorrow but we don’t know yet) because of the potential Coronavirus, cancel the cruise.

As I said in my OP, we are cruising with family for Thanksgiving so we can easily accept the cruise credit and apply it toward that sailing. We have yet to book that trip.

 

....and quite frankly, coming from NYC, not sure how much of a lie it would be to say we've come across Chinese nationals. I was on the subway yesterday with someone hacking a cough right next to me. I wouldn't even have to lie...

Edited February 7, 2020 by CanonGraceCruiser

[BeachChik]

Can anyone that has traveled in situations where they did extra due to illness tell me how that works? For instance how does boarding work. Do they say oh you look like you may be sick, pull you aside and take your temperature? Or is it more the honesty policy where you have to tell them you have flu like symptoms? 
 

Having small kids and it being cold season I am concerned because they could run a light fever and feel ok. 

[IrieBajan54]

3 hours ago, sdrocks said:

We board the Oasis Sunday.  Have no intention of cancelling.  We're vigilant about handwashing & just hope others

are too.  We will wipe down our airline seat area & the hotel remote - the dirtiest thing in the room, wash after touching

door handles, menus, etc.  We will sanitize our room & utilize good hand technique throughout cruise . I'm a retired nurse

and am extremely vigilant with washing hands, the first line of defense.  It is so simple, but people just disregard sometimes.

I feel you can contact any germ anywhere, so it's up to me to ensure my safety and watch where others put their germy hands.

I am disgusted with women who go to the bathroom and walk out without washing their hands.  It makes me gag to think

they are going to eat with those germy hands.  Ugh.  I could go on forever, but this is our plan.

.

 

What will you do when a dinner mate passes her phone to you to look at her cute grands? Phones aren't any cleaner than door knobs, TV remotes and salt/pepper shakers.

[mom2tcdx2]

We sail March 1 on the Harmony, no thought of cancelling on our part.  

[bboop51]

We are not cruising until the end of May and taking a short (five day) cruise from Cape Liberty to Bermuda and I'm starting to get (a little worried.) I am  immunocompromised, but that is not the biggest concern (believe it or not.) If somehow the ship were to get quarantined, for 14 days, we are sunk. I know our dog sitter has back to back bookings and we have our own business to attend to. That is why we take shorter cruises. Not to mention I wonder what happened to your medical needs after the time your trip insurance runs out, if you to get sick, out of the US. I know my regular insurance does not cover us our of the USA.   We take "any reason to cancel" trip insurance.  We'll decide as time gets closer to see how the virus progresses and how it is handled. 

 

[PhoenixCruiser]

So now we are encouraging people to lie?

 

Wow

[Another_Critic]

30 minutes ago, PhoenixCruiser said:

So now we are encouraging people to lie?

 

Wow

 

And the lying is going to go both ways:

 

1) I was in contact with a "risk zone" person when you probably were not.

2) I was not in contact with a "risk zone" person when you were.

Edited February 7, 2020 by Another_Critic

[sdrocks]

2 hours ago, IrieBajan54 said:

.

 

What will you do when a dinner mate passes her phone to you to look at her cute grands? Phones aren't any cleaner than door knobs, TV remotes and salt/pepper shakers.

My husband my only table mate so problem solved.  While we engage in conversation with others, never to the depth of viewing their grandchildren.  I guess if they insist I will let them hold the phone while I look at their pictures.  

And yes phones are germ factories so clean mine routinely and don't hand it to strangers.

Hope for an uneventful cruise in regard to viruses, but an enjoyable one otherwise.

[toxicfairy]

you could stay home , go to the grocery store, work, church ...and get the flu...stomach bug...It's always a chance you take. I took my mom to church after an hour the mass was over and the priest said " i won't be in the back shaking hands today, my throat is Killing me and I have no idea what i have" . Grrreat!  Then went to work 3 staff in the building were out due to the flue, a hand ful of students had the flu. 2 of My students had the flu and another was hospitalized with the flu and something else. I'm glad to have avoided getting sick since that all happened in January! Now I just need to survive 6 more days😬😇😁

[Iamcruzin]

Following another Coronavirus thread while I wait for the Chinese take out to be delivered. 

[ARandomTraveler]

I have an Asia cruise booked this summer and am spending 2 weeks in Asia beforehand. I have no plans to cancel, and if my cruise was next week I would still plan to go, and I have cancel-for-any-reason insurance and could cancel if I wanted to. 

 

The extra precautions are to slow or contain the spread, not because everyone is going to get the virus. I may feel differently if I had a poor immune system, but I’m a healthy person and not worried about dying if I got this virus. If something changes and the virus starts killing a majority of healthy people and a huge percentage of the population is getting it, I’d probably change my mind, but I’m not worried about it right now.

 

I definitely wouldn’t be worried about taking a cruise that leaves from America, that fear seems a little paranoid to me.

Edited February 8, 2020 by ARandomTraveler

[lbjen]

13 hours ago, Ivy86 said:

I’m cruising next week also and now because this situation with the anthem of the seas in New Jersey I’m having second thoughts 🤔 this is getting out of hands !!! Why cruise lines are allowing Chinese nationals on their cruises!!!!! 

 

I have dual citizenship (not Chinese) and I haven’t visited one of the countries I am a national of in over 13 years! Imagine banning me from freely moving around simply because of my nationality! Meanwhile my American friend who just got back from Hong Kong this week can do what she wants? 

[xpcdoojk]

12 hours ago, Btank said:

19 million Americans have caught the flu this year, hospitalizing 140,000 and killing 10,000.  The cruise lines don't seem too worried about it.  🤨  One thing to remember: screening for the flu is as simple as having the nose swabbed and waiting a few minutes for the test results... so they could determine pretty quickly if a patient was sick from the flu.

 

You mentioned in your later post that you're immunocompromised... I'm going to guess that you're probably in better shape than others, since you're probably more diligent at taking precautions!  ("Washie-washie, washie-washie!")   My advice would be to enjoy your cruise.

 

      --bruce T.

 

 

I was swabbed for the flu about 10 years ago, and I didn’t know the results for several days.  I don’t think it is quite that simple

 

jc

[ccsclean21]

While in my travels early last year I noticed that pretty much all the airports I called into in the Asia areas had set up temperature monitoring station at the airports and pulling passengers aside who had a temperature and a lot of Asians were wearing masks even the Authorities at the airports, now what was that all about, was it for the common cold don't think so. I think there was something going on back then.

As for cancelling a cruise I would with in a heart beat and I don't think you'd be covered for travel insurance if you went and got sick. you might be covered if you got caught out in the rain so to speak but to go out in it when it has been raining then you are at fault when you could have avoided it by not going.  If you do go and your ships gets an infected person on board you can look forward to an extended cruise for who knows how long. 

[ccsclean21]

21 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

 

I was swabbed for the flu about 10 years ago, and I didn’t know the results for several days.  I don’t think it is quite that simple

 

jc

Yeah test can be wrong as I had a annual blood test to see my health and I got put into hospital with blood clot to lungs and when they did cat scans and more blood tests and heart monitors they found nothing so yeah they can be wrong and I went through the rigger at the hospital wasting hospitals time and money when I was fine.  When I was a kid the health department would come to the school and screen for TB Tuberculosis and some kids tested positive to the test scaring the life out of their parents and us too only to find it was a false reading. Years ago I had a blood test for a flu bug I had and it came back I was fine but yeah I was still sick with the bug and nothing showed up.  

[Another_Critic]

2 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

Following another Coronavirus thread while I wait for the Chinese take out to be delivered. 

 

I see a FCC or full refund in your future.  😉

Edited February 8, 2020 by Another_Critic

[ccsclean21]

6 hours ago, CanonGraceCruiser said:

I thought that too. Then I read about conditions on the Diamond. That doesn't like fun. No water, delayed food and lousy quality. People hacking across the hall. And literally being stuck in your room with your family members for an indefinite period of time, using shampoo to wash your clothes. These are but a few of the stories I read about in the Diamond right now.

Drink lots and lots of Alcohol kills bugs

[vacationlover_mn]

22 hours ago, molly361 said:

If you don't feel comfortable don't go

Exactly this!

[MommaBear55]

9 hours ago, xpcdoojk said:

 

I was swabbed for the flu about 10 years ago, and I didn’t know the results for several days.  I don’t think it is quite that simple

 

jc

The rapid flu test takes under 30 minutes to get results. The blood test takes a few days. Medicine has come a long way in 10 years. 

[MommaBear55]

23 hours ago, CanonGraceCruiser said:

Sigh. So we are leaving on the Symphony next weekend, out of Florida. Part of me thinks: warm air, out of the NY area (thanks Anthem!) and no Chinese nationals etc so it's probably ok. 

 

Another part of me thinks, even if no coronavirus situation, someone might get the flu and get us all quarantined.

And then there is the small voice that says to tell them we were in contact with Chinese nationals (not true but maybe true--have been all over NY). If we can cancel, I can use the credit for later this year to cruise again. We have a place to go in Miami--and we have a cruise with our family at the end of the year.

My biggest fear is not getting the virus: my biggest fear is getting stuck on board. Between now and Feb 22, just wondering how much will change.

Thoughts?

There have been no cases of coronavirus in the US "in the wild", so no risk there. You are at risk for the flu, but they don't quarantine ships for that. Either go and enjoy yourself or stay home and be reassured, but please don't lie, there's no need for that. I do understand your health concerns, as I am also immunocompromised. Coronavirus was new news when I flew back from Hawaii last month, and I just wiped down my area with wipes and hoped for the best. 

[xcell]

10 hours ago, lbjen said:

 

I have dual citizenship (not Chinese) and I haven’t visited one of the countries I am a national of in over 13 years! Imagine banning me from freely moving around simply because of my nationality! Meanwhile my American friend who just got back from Hong Kong this week can do what she wants? 

 

I received an email from RCCL for my upcoming Anthem cruise (March) that says if you have traveled in asia in the last 14 days you won't be getting on -- or something to that nature.

 

In regards to the Ops original question -- only you can decide what are comfortable with and regardless there will be doubts if you made the right decision or not. But as others have posted, I think you have a greater chance of getting the flu, noro, stomach bug, etc... than coronavirus.

 

 

[freetalkfreelaugh]

Hopefully a lot of people got the flu vaccine. That should help!

[Wanna Be Retired]

22 hours ago, CanonGraceCruiser said:

I should mention that part of the decision making is the fact that I am immunocompromised....So that's not helping!

Still--I usually do just fine on cruises though and I take precautions. Still..... I can get over the norovirus and I get the flu shot but a different coronavirus knocked me out last year and it knocked my dad out, too.

My husband had a stem cell transplant in September.  He has no immune system.  His transplant doctor cleared him to go on Enchantment March 25th which is his birthday.  We plan to go.  I am taking lots of wipes and cleaner.  Royal waived room service charges and they said everyone on the ship will know to teat his food and his room with caution.  I have made no plans to cancel.  We have a junior suite and we will spend lots of time relaxing on our balcony.  Unless something drastic happens we will be there and have an awesome time!

[lbjen]

18 minutes ago, xcell said:

 

I received an email from RCCL for my upcoming Anthem cruise (March) that says if you have traveled in asia in the last 14 days you won't be getting on -- or something to that nature.

 

In regards to the Ops original question -- only you can decide what are comfortable with and regardless there will be doubts if you made the right decision or not. But as others have posted, I think you have a greater chance of getting the flu, noro, stomach bug, etc... than coronavirus.

 

 

But that assumes people who have traveled through Asia will be honest and forthcoming about the fact. Simply banning all nationals of one country outright is kind of ludicrous to me. 

[xcell]

Just now, lbjen said:

But that assumes people who have traveled through Asia will be honest and forthcoming about the fact. Simply banning all nationals of one country outright is kind of ludicrous to me. 

 I'm assuming their passport would have been stamped (haven't traveled to Asia so can't really comment if this true or not) so when checking in at the cruise terminal, I'd assume that they would see that you were in Asia or not.

 

As an Asian from Canada, I have never seem them riffle through my passport, just look to confirm the picture but of course, this is before all this. I am assuming my upcoming March trip will be much more strict in terms of looking over my documents.