Anthem News Flash

[Cruiselover0426]

48 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

They are only reimbursing for hotel stays for those who flew in from out of town.   If you live "local" no reimbursement for your travel expenses has been mentioned. 

I know for a fact that is wrong information.  I have friends that drove to the port and Royal 
Caribbean is paying for their lodging tonight.  They did not fly.

[lovescats5]

I guess be glad you are not on an airplane where you can sit next to the sick person for a period of time.  And we are lucky enough to fly thru Las Vegas on our way to Houston so who knows who will be in that airport.  My son works in the San Francisco area and 5 of the CA cases are in that area....we worry about him also.  Not sure if I would rather have a problem boarding the ship, getting stuck on the ship (at least I would not have to cook for a longer length of time, I have a bed and a balcony to sit on} or stuck in some airport because the plane cannot fly.  I hope all you waiting for the Anthem get to board tomorrow and have a virus free cruise.

[cruiserking]

2 hours ago, fred30 said:

Notice that the news states that the 4 passengers show the symptoms of Coronavirus and not that one has tested positive to Influenza A and it's been 14 days since they were in China.

 

The 4 did not show signs of Coronavirus, they were taken to be tested for cautionary purposes.

[pink845]

I am sure that this update that Royal Caribbean has put on their website today will also apply to the Anthem.  They have has issued the following statement on their website as well which I wholeheartedly agree with:

 

Wuhan Coronavirus Travel Restrictions:
 

UPDATED ON FEBRUARY 7, 2020

 

We continue to closely monitor global developments regarding the coronavirus, and we are fully focused on protecting the health and safety of our guests and crew.

After consultation with medical experts and public health authorities, and in alignment with new, stricter CDC protocols, plus changes in various countries’ requirements and regulations, along with our desire to ensure that we are able to provide a great vacation experience, while we protect our guests and crew – we are implementing the following changes.

• Through the month of February 2020, any guest that holds a Chinese, Hong Kong, or Macau passport, will be unable to board any of our ships, regardless of residency.

Additionally, we’ve tightened our 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, Hong Kong, or Macau in the last 15 days.
• Anyone that feels unwell or demonstrates flu-like symptoms.
• Any guest presenting with fever or low blood oximetry in the specialized health screening will be denied boarding.

We know that these steps are very conservative, and we apologize that they will inconvenience some of our guests. We regret to have to do this, but it is our responsibility to maintain a safe and healthy environment onboard our ships, as well as in the ports we visit.

[yogimax]

27 minutes ago, suesnake2002 said:

This is exactly what i am talking about. Very very slow communication. With no thought about how their lackadaisical approach effects the customer. 

Indeed!

 

First notification was sent at 11:23AM, after most folks had already left for the port.

[psternklar]

We were notified by RCCL while we were parked in our bus at the port (approx 11:30).  In hotel now (our expense for now but told to bring receipt onto ship).  Hopefully sail tomorrow.

[Cel_cruise]

This new update about regardless of residency is a total bummer ... but it has to be because they don’t have devices to actually track/view your passport locations - so they don’t know how to trust that you are a Chinese citizen who resides here in the states.  

[PortFees45]

7 minutes ago, Cel_cruise said:

This new update about regardless of residency is a total bummer ... but it has to be because they don’t have devices to actually track/view your passport locations - so they don’t know how to trust that you are a Chinese citizen who resides here in the states.  

How is it a bummer? It's a smart, prudent move.

[PortFees45]

Just got an email that boarding has been pushed back to even later tomorrow night. Departure now at 10pm.

[ThursdaysChild]

36 minutes ago, psternklar said:

We were notified by RCCL while we were parked in our bus at the port (approx 11:30).  In hotel now (our expense for now but told to bring receipt onto ship).  Hopefully sail tomorrow.

The 6 PM update now says check-in begins at 5 PM Saturday with the ship sailing at 10 PM (fat chance!).  Nassau is cancelled.

 

[marci22]

7 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

How is it a bummer? It's a smart, prudent move.

It's a bummer because some people in this group will not have any risk factors other than their passport, but it's probably impractical at this point to do otherwise.

[soremekun]

6 minutes ago, ThursdaysChild said:

The 6 PM update now says check-in begins at 5 PM Saturday with the ship sailing at 10 PM (fat chance!).  Nassau is cancelled.

 

As long as they leave before 11:59 pm they won't have to refund another day.

[PortFees45]

1 minute ago, marci22 said:

It's a bummer because some people in this group will not have any risk factors other than their passport, but it's probably impractical at this point to do otherwise.

Their passport is a risk factor. Anyone with a Chinese passport has a reasonably higher chance of having been in contact with someone from mainland China than someone who doesn't. This is just a fact. 

[soremekun]

If someone has a hotel for the night, what time does the hotel expect you to check out the next day?

[Another_Critic]

5 minutes ago, marci22 said:

It's a bummer because some people in this group will not have any risk factors other than their passport, but it's probably impractical at this point to do otherwise.

 

I'm not sure how a China/Hong Kong/Macau passport holder residing in the UK, US, EU is any more risky than an ethnic Chinese holding a UK, US, EU passport holder.

Edited February 7, 2020 by Another_Critic

[ThursdaysChild]

Just now, soremekun said:

If someone has a hotel for the night, what time does the hotel expect you to check out the next day?

Checkout at nearly every local hotel is 11:00 AM. RCCL should pay those out of town for an extra day hotel charge.

 

[PortFees45]

2 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

 

I'm not sure how a China/Hong Kong/Macau passport holder residing in the UK, US, EU is any more risky than an ethnic Chinese holding a UK, US, EU passport holder.

A UK, US or EU passport holder can't travel to and from China nearly as easily as someone with a Chinese passport. 

[marci22]

2 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

 

I'm not sure how a China/Hong Kong/Macau passport holder residing in the UK, US, EU is any more risky than a UK, US, EU passport holder.

People can debate this all day. No one knows the answer. They picked a parameter. They'll go with it until conditions direct them otherwise.

[yogimax]

15 minutes ago, ThursdaysChild said:

The 6 PM update now says check-in begins at 5 PM Saturday with the ship sailing at 10 PM (fat chance!).  Nassau is cancelled.

 

I don't think they're giving us the full story here.  Is it delayed until 5PM because they need more time for cleaning or because they are waiting for the last results of testing?

 

Not that I will miss Nassau, but isn't it interesting they didn't cancel Coco Cay, their biggest profit driver?

[toad455]

Are they giving the option to cancel with a refund at this point? 

[ThursdaysChild]

1 minute ago, yogimax said:

I don't think they're giving us the full story here.  Is it delayed until 5PM because they need more time for cleaning or because they are waiting for the last results of testing?

 

Not that I will miss Nassau, but isn't it interesting they didn't cancel Coco Cay, their biggest profit driver?

Exactly what I was thinking. 

If they started the deep clean/sanitize after everyone was off the ship today, 2 PM Saturday embarkation makes sense.  Another 3  hours?  Odd.  But local and NYC news is reporting the ship has been cleared. I don't think we are getting the whole story either.

[Merion_Mom]

20 minutes ago, soremekun said:

As long as they leave before 11:59 pm they won't have to refund another day.

 

They are refunding two days.

[Merion_Mom]

9 minutes ago, yogimax said:

I don't think they're giving us the full story here.  Is it delayed until 5PM because they need more time for cleaning or because they are waiting for the last results of testing?

 

Not that I will miss Nassau, but isn't it interesting they didn't cancel Coco Cay, their biggest profit driver?

 

I think that if you took a poll, far more people would choose CocoCay over Nassau than vice versa.

[robmtx]

21 minutes ago, soremekun said:

As long as they leave before 11:59 pm they won't have to refund another day.

They've already upped it to 2 day refund. 

[Jimbo]

Getting to almost the point now with all this uncertainly if we were on this cruise I rather just not go and go another time. I would think leaving 2 days late or later they should just cancel the whole cruise and give everyone their money back.  

 

I would hate boarding a ship that might be effected, even at this point if they say  the ship  is cleared.

Edited February 8, 2020 by Jimbo