Will Corona Virus Stop You Cruising?

[AnnemarieC76]

We are on the Equinox sailing 22-February-2020 - I see no reason to not continue to completely look forward to our vacation - I will say that about 9 years ago we sailed when the "swine flu" was discovered my son tested a false positive for it on day 2 and we were quarantined to our cabin for the duration of the cruise...did it suck ? sure did? Were we still treated well?- sure were - do we continue to cruise? Sure do - my son had a high fever due to being out in the sun the high fever triggered a positive result - was 100% fine after Motrin was given; however, there was nothing we could do - The cruiseline was protecting others on the ship - unfortunately the cruiseline refused to restest him but hey they did the best they could 

Pointless to live in fear or live in the past - 

[TeaBag]

34 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

PS.  A good reason not to take an inside or oceanview cabin!  I would go nuts!

I agree.

[Denny01]

1 hour ago, Mainiac II said:

Not us! Look, it seems that some pandemic pops up every year, it’s Sika, it’s Saars, , its Noro, it’s well you get it. Not saying these are not serious, but if we knee jerked reaction at every one of these things (and next year’s to come) , we would all stay home in a bubble. Live life, take precautions  and trust In God!

 

Just to keep things straight, none of those were or are ‘pandemics’. 

 

Den

[Cruise a holic]

15 minutes ago, AnnemarieC76 said:

We are on the Equinox sailing 22-February-2020 - I see no reason to not continue to completely look forward to our vacation - I will say that about 9 years ago we sailed when the "swine flu" was discovered my son tested a false positive for it on day 2 and we were quarantined to our cabin for the duration of the cruise...did it suck ? sure did? Were we still treated well?- sure were - do we continue to cruise? Sure do - my son had a high fever due to being out in the sun the high fever triggered a positive result - was 100% fine after Motrin was given; however, there was nothing we could do - The cruiseline was protecting others on the ship - unfortunately the cruiseline refused to restest him but hey they did the best they could 

Pointless to live in fear or live in the past - 

Agree however one must use good judgment and try not to take unnecessary risks.  my DH developed norovirus the last day of a Disney cruise.  He was very ill as we are over 55. We were supposed to go to Disney world for a few days after the cruise.  We spent the days in our hotel.  Flying back would have been a bad idea.  Ironically my DH is immaculate to a fault and he contracted this!    

[AnnemarieC76]

3 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

Agree however one must use good judgment and try not to take unnecessary risks.  my DH developed norovirus the last day of a Disney cruise.  He was very ill as we are over 55. We were supposed to go to Disney world for a few days after the cruise.  We spent the days in our hotel.  Flying back would have been a bad idea.  Ironically my DH is immaculate to a fault and he contracted this!    

OH I 100% agree that good judgement comes into play - please do not misunderstand me - if we were cruising in Asia - I would not be going - I LOVE cruises - but not playing with fire  - I think good judgement and education/knowledge of the situation = the right choice - cruising to the Caribbean? Heck yes Cruising to Asia? ehh not for me right now - but someday 😉 

 

[Pickels]

A BIG FAT NO!  We're always diligent when on vacation but, next cruise will be more diligent, washing hands, using Lysol, anti-bacteria wipes on everything!  Like one other poster said, bringing extra RXs just in case!

[Cruise a holic]

1 minute ago, AnnemarieC76 said:

OH I 100% agree that good judgement comes into play - please do not misunderstand me - if we were cruising in Asia - I would not be going - I LOVE cruises - but not playing with fire  - I think good judgement and education/knowledge of the situation = the right choice - cruising to the Caribbean? Heck yes Cruising to Asia? ehh not for me right now - but someday 😉 

 

We are sailing to the Caribbean mid march.  Will bring a medicine chest of antibiotics.  However no treatment yet for corona virus.  Of course we wipe down everything we touch on the plane and do not touch the recycled magazine 

 

also wipe down things including the remote and phone in our cabin.  We try our best but the only guarantees are death and taxes!!

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, Mainiac II said:

Not us! Look, it seems that some pandemic pops up every year, it’s Sika, it’s Saars, , its Noro, it’s well you get it. Not saying these are not serious, but if we knee jerked reaction at every one of these things (and next year’s to come) , we would all stay home in a bubble. Live life, take precautions  and trust In God!

 

 

11 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

Just to keep things straight, none of those were or are ‘pandemics’. 

 

Den

This 2015 article provides an excellent and easy to understand explanation of the differences between outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics. It also explains endemic, emerging and reemerging diseases.

 

https://research.usask.ca/our-impact/highlights/the-conversation-canada/explainer-whats-the-difference-between-an-outbreak-and-epidemic.php

[airlink diva]

Will I cruise yes.  No offense but prior to this anyone who has traveled or even in daily contact have seem some nasty folks out there.  People who go to the bathroom and don't wash their hands, wipe their noses, don't co er a cough,etc.  On one cruise years ago, another passenger  and I had to get a crew member  because this other woman stuck her finger in two different  dressing to taste and walked  off.

I always take wipes and mini Lysol to wipe hotel and cabins down.  Keep anti bio wipes and gel on me.

Also the flu has killed more people in our country on a yearly basis than this virus.   

I do feel for these folks in such a situation because of a few, all are being made to deal with it.

[4774Papa]

6 hours ago, farawayatsea said:

It will for me.  Just too much risk involved and it's impacting cruise ships far more than other holiday options. If one passenger on a cruise anywhere in the world is diagnosed (or even suspected) the ship will be quarantined. A cruise ship is a lovely place for a holiday when alls well but must turn into a horror show if quarantined. No cruises for us this year.

No, just cruising in the Far East for a while.

[Fouremco]

3 minutes ago, 4774Papa said:

No, just cruising in the Far East for a while.

No, just NOT cruising in the Far East...???

[4774Papa]

2 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

No, just NOT cruising in the Far East...???

Right, NO cruising in the FAR EAST for a while.  

[portofrome]

No, it will not!

[dani negreanu]

45 minutes ago, 4774Papa said:

No, just cruising in the Far East for a while.

 

Same here 😎

[Georgia_Peaches]

Won’t stop us. We set sail on Feb 29 and then again in April. Just booked 2 more cruises yesterday for the end of the year. Like most people I’m sorry about how the virus is impacting the world as a whole and cruising in particular but I won’t live in fear of what might happen or could happen. If I did that I’d never leave the house. Totally respect those who feel differently. 

[DrKoob]

Yesterday I was discussing with a good friend the coronavirus situation. He was a little worried about it because of all the current news coming down about cruise ships. Not necessarily about the cruise he and I are sailing on next week but for the long run.I have heard some of the same things from other friends who cruise. To them, I want to point out the following:

• The ships we see in the news that are quarantined predominately sail in Asian markets and the cruises on those ships are being sold primarily to Asians.
• There are a few Westerners who take those cruises because that is when they can cruise but our news media knows that we relate better to people who look like us, so they cover those Americans and Canadians. This makes it look like there are bunch of Westerners on board when there are actually very few.
• The ships with problems originally sailed and visited Chinese ports before anyone knew there was a coronavirus. That's why we are seeing so many people on that Princess ship with cases. You should note that there have been no other ships with that number of cases. That's because there is a 14 day incubation period and it is barely 14 days since this all started. 
• Just heard from someone at the CDC on the radio this morning that all current US cases were either someone who had been in China or was closely related and living with someone who came back from China.

So I am not surprised that two friends and the others who boarded and sailed on Reflection a few says ago had so few problems. Once they establish you have not traveled in China in the past month, you should be good to go.

 

Jim

[mkcurran]

Not at all. If this results in more people not opting to cruise, I'm okay with any possible discounts that may or may not happen to fill ships. 

[Pushka]

No but I’m not cruising in the risk areas unless that changes. I’m not worried about the actual illness, because the flu can strike some compromised people down as well. And I’ve never caught the flu. 
 

However, the issue for me is being held in quarantine after the cruise when I need to get back to work and dealing with all that quarantine involves. We always have a balcony so that isn’t an issue but I feel so sorry for the Diamond passengers right now. 
 

We have suffered financially from this too as our original flights had us going through for just a couple of hours in Hong Kong and only in transit. This is a very common through route from Australia to Europe. And it cost us a few thousand dollars to change with cancellation penalities and cost of flights had increased. 

Edited February 12, 2020 by Pushka

[Jim_Iain]

7 hours ago, BigAl94 said:

Here's a link to an article on the UK law re substantial destination changes and refund entitlement some might find useful https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/coronavirus-news-latest-princess-cruises-iglu-package-travel-regulations-a9331066.html

Interesting article.   I know that package tours are much more common than in the U.S. but wonder how many UK travelers book it as a package as oppose to booking air and cruise separately.  

 

The other thing that comes to mind is whether the Cruise By Celebrity booked along with a cruise would constitute a Packaged Tour. 

[jelayne]

We have 6 cruises booked, including a TP and 2 Asia sailings.  We have no plans to cancel or change any of them.

[sfaaa]

Going on a May cruise because of NRD penalties and can't back out. Otherwise, I will hold off and take a wait and see approach for now.

[Jim_Iain]

I also have no plans on cancelling any of our cruises.    Our next cruise will be 21 days in the Caribbean about a month from now.   Personally I feel you have a much higher chance of getting the Flu or Noro than the Coronavirus.     I will as usual on a ship - wash hands frequently, don't touch things like railings and elevator buttons and sanitize when I can.

 

 

 

[Denny01]

Just listened to an interview of Dr Gupta on CNN and he was asked a number of Corona virus questions. Go and take a quick listen. Excellent.

 

His professional opinion (still an opinion since this is a ‘nova’, ie. ‘New’ virus) was, he wouldn’t restrict himself or recommend people to stop traveling even to Asia. He would stay out of Wuhan China and watch and agreed travelers from there required full screening (not quarantine), and if any other area became a high risk area, but the rest of Asia is relatively safe. He disagrees with the blanket passport restrictions of all Chinese, HK and Macao, says we need to watch this closely but stop the wholesale restrictions. 

 

He thinks, he feels (opinon based on previous virus outbreaks and the 2.5% death rate of Corona) that this could well become another flu-cold type virus that is spread but not a pandemic as what occurred with millions dying in 1919 and so on.

 

But he stressed we need to watch it closely and see how it transitions. He also said the big plus was they came up with a relatively quick test if a person is carrying the virus. One thing I would have liked to ask was, what was the ‘false-positives’, ie, how many would show they had the viruse but didn’t, of the test. You wonder with 100’s being diagnosed on the ship in Yokohama. 

 

Den 

[jelayne]

3 minutes ago, sfaaa said:

Going on a May cruise because of NRD penalties and can't back out. Otherwise, I will hold off and take a wait and see approach for now.

 

With a non-refundable deposit you forfeit $100pp and the remainder of the deposit is converted to a FCC which you have a year to use. 

[sfaaa]

2 minutes ago, jelayne said:

 

With a non-refundable deposit you forfeit $100pp and the remainder of the deposit is converted to a FCC which you have a year to use. 

Also booked air. Double penalties.