Don’t go on a cruise!

[TNcruising02]

On ‎2‎/‎26‎/‎2020 at 7:47 AM, lazybeachbum79 said:

My mom, sister, eldest daughter, and I are going on a Western Caribbean cruise in a little over a week. All of my coworkers are telling me we should cancel, but is it bad that I am not worried and still want to go? I haven't had a vacation with my mom since, well, forever. This will be the first one and I feel like, since we aren't going to any areas where it has reported outbreaks (that I know of), the risk is low. Unless the cruise line itself cancels it, our plans are still to go and have fun.

I hope you and your family have a great time!  I will be cruising in 9 days and am very excited.  I'm not concerned at all.  We are neither travelling from or travelling to a hot spot.

[ducklite]

On 2/18/2020 at 6:33 PM, lenquixote66 said:

The marathon has already been moved from Tokyo to Sapporo.

Planning out a marathon takes a lot less effort than an entire Olympics.  

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, ducklite said:

Planning out a marathon takes a lot less effort than an entire Olympics.  

Hard to believe that they are closing down schools, but will have the mass gathering that the Olympics would be.

 

I just cannot see swimmers wearing the protective masks; I mean how would they breathe?

[AlyssaJames]

2 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Hard to believe that they are closing down schools, but will have the mass gathering that the Olympics would be.

 

I just cannot see swimmers wearing the protective masks; I mean how would they breathe?

 

The Olympics are literally FIVE MONTHS away.

[Justalone]

6 minutes ago, AlyssaJames said:

 

The Olympics are literally FIVE MONTHS away.

 

And?

[ldubs]

8 minutes ago, AlyssaJames said:

 

The Olympics are literally FIVE MONTHS away.

 

I know.   I hope there is a lot of headway against this virus by then.   If not it will be interesting to see what will happen to the games.  

[mayleeman]

16 minutes ago, Justalone said:

 

And?

And the changed Marathon is the Tokyo race, taking place tomorrow, not the August race in the Olympics. I have corrected this mistake twice already. 

 

Sure would be nice if people would read before they quote incorrect posts!

[Toofarfromthesea]

1 hour ago, AlyssaJames said:

 

The Olympics are literally FIVE MONTHS away.

 

Never too soon to panic.

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, mayleeman said:

Sure would be nice if people would read before they quote incorrect posts!

LOL, Why should people here be different than anywhere else? 😛

[JasperCruiser]

 

The big news at the moment is Norwegian Cruise Line just announced that it is changing and modifying it cancellation policy in the wake of corona virus fears. I can’t figure out how to post a link but go to cruiseindustrynews.com and the article is easy to find. I suspect Carnival will follow suit. 

[DarrenM]

2 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

Never too soon to panic.

I am worried christmas will be cancelled.

 

Already in panic mode.

[MicCanberra]

6 hours ago, DarrenM said:

I am worried christmas will be cancelled.

 

Already in panic mode.

Don't worry, if they miss this year's Xmas, they will have next year.

[momofmeg]

On 2/27/2020 at 7:53 AM, Charles4515 said:

Most people have not been buying CFAR. Also since some date in late January or early February the policies don’t cover the Covid virus as a reason. 

 I am thinking of my self. What others do or not do is their decision. We have always gotten that.

 

However if the flight is canceled because  an airline makes the decision not to fly into Italy  for the time being wouldn't they refund  people or at least give them a voucher for future use?

[momofmeg]

14 hours ago, JasperCruiser said:

 

The big news at the moment is Norwegian Cruise Line just announced that it is changing and modifying it cancellation policy in the wake of corona virus fears. I can’t figure out how to post a link but go to cruiseindustrynews.com and the article is easy to find. I suspect Carnival will follow suit. 

Carnival did that some time back. The far majority of their bookings are non refundable.   It seems they only offer a few refundable ones. I  know we booked a cruise  for next summer with them, British Isles, and at first the  travel agent said non refundable so we said then we are not booking then as it is over a year away. (deposit was $900) Who knows what could happen.  Well he talked to them and  came back and they had backed down and allowed us to book and we can get that back if we cancel before final payment which is March 2021.

 

Anyway we asked was this because of corona virus and our TA said no they have had this policy for a few years now.  We had no idea as the last cruise we have done with them was 2004. 

[Charles4515]

24 minutes ago, momofmeg said:

 I am thinking of my self. What others do or not do is their decision. We have always gotten that.

 

However if the flight is canceled because  an airline makes the decision not to fly into Italy  for the time being wouldn't they refund  people or at least give them a voucher for future use?

If the airline canceled you would get a refund. I have had that happen on flights to Europe and other destinations. Also airlines often change their cancel and rebook policy when there are advisories. They waive their non refunds policy and rebook fees. Airlines are also under US and EU regulations which means they can’t be as flippant as cruise lines. 
 

 

 

Edited February 29, 2020 by Charles4515

[Joebucks]

On 2/26/2020 at 7:30 AM, drsheryl said:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/thenational/will-coronavirus-become-a-pandemic-1.5476256

"1 in 5 will become seriously ill", and of those, 1 in 5 will not recover from it".

 

Fancy way of bringing hysteria to a 4%ish death rate.

 

https://www.livescience.com/new-coronavirus-compare-with-flu.html

 

Even so, the death rate for COVID-19 varied by location and an individual’s age, among other factors. For instance, in Hubei Province, the epicenter of the outbreak, the death rate reached 2.9%; in other provinces of China, that rate was just 0.4%. In addition, older adults have been hit the hardest. The death rate soars to 14.8% in those 80 and older; among those ages 70 to 79, the COVID-19 death rate in China seems to be about 8%; it’s 3.6% for those ages 60 to 69; 1.3% for 50 to 59; 0.4% for the age group 40 to 49; and just 0.2% for people ages 10 to 39. Nobody 9 and under has died of this coronavirus to date.

 

Imagine if the flu was "new"

 

 

 

[momofmeg]

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

 

Fancy way of bringing hysteria to a 4%ish death rate.

 

https://www.livescience.com/new-coronavirus-compare-with-flu.html

 I am concerned and yes I did get the flu almost  3 years ago after we had a bad outbreak on our Norwegian Pearl Canadian cruise  back  in October 2017. 

However I am more concerned I could get here at home. I am 65 almost 66 and have had diabetes 30 plus years so the risk for me is  higher. However, both upcoming cruises we have booked are in late spring/early summer when the risk should be minimal. So right now I am more worried about getting it at the grocery store. How do I know if Joe Blow that  I passed in the aisle was not in Italy last week? My feeling is yes we need to be cautious but that does not mean we should stop enjoying life.

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

 

 

Imagine if the flu was "new"

 

 

 

 

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, momofmeg said:

However I am more concerned I could get here at home. I am 65 almost 66 and have had diabetes 30 plus years so the risk for me is  higher. However, both upcoming cruises we have booked are in late spring/early summer when the risk should be minimal. So right now I am more worried about getting it at the grocery store. How do I know if Joe Blow that  I passed in the aisle was not in Italy last week? My feeling is yes we need to be cautious but that does not mean we should stop enjoying life.

 

 

It would be great if the the risk in late spring/early summer is minimal but that is wishful thinking at this piont. Not enough is known. Also I personaly would rather it be here at home where there are very good medical facilities and I have a great doctor than on a cruise ship. I would suggest in your case that you might consult your doctor. 

[mayleeman]

3 hours ago, momofmeg said:

How do I know if Joe Blow that  I passed in the aisle was not in Italy last week?

 

Shop at WalMart. Keeps the odds relatively low of running into random world travelers! 

 

More seriously, you point out an important issue. With the incubation period so long, it is possible that thousands of people could get infected without any clue of how or when or by whom. Keeping some distance when in public will be a good idea for quite some time.

 

Cruising? We are scheduled for Nov and Feb. We will see. 

 

At least it gives us Americans something different to see on TV besides the incessant election ads...

[MicCanberra]

9 hours ago, momofmeg said:

 I am thinking of my self. What others do or not do is their decision. We have always gotten that.

 

However if the flight is canceled because  an airline makes the decision not to fly into Italy  for the time being wouldn't they refund  people or at least give them a voucher for future use?

Yes they would, I suppose most people have more than just flights booked.

[ducklite]

44 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Yes they would, I suppose most people have more than just flights booked.

Getting to any port in Italy by train is quite easy from a number of neighboring countries.  I'd have a plan B if I had an inkling that my flight could be cancelled.

[MicCanberra]

Always good to have a contingency plan.

[momofmeg]

22 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Yes they would, I suppose most people have more than just flights booked.

Well I already discussed having insurance that you can cancel for any reason.  But surely most tourist hotels and tour companies in Italy are refunding people hotel deposits and tours deposits.   However, yes, sometimes you  may have to eat the cost. sometimes we may have to say "I've lost money but I would rather not chance my health."

[momofmeg]

On 2/29/2020 at 12:47 PM, mayleeman said:

 

Shop at WalMart. Keeps the odds relatively low of running into random world travelers! 

 

More seriously, you point out an important issue. With the incubation period so long, it is possible that thousands of people could get infected without any clue of how or when or by whom. Keeping some distance when in public will be a good idea for quite some time.

 

Cruising? We are scheduled for Nov and Feb. We will see. 

 

At least it gives us Americans something different to see on TV besides the incessant election ads...

 Lol I shop at Walmart and I have been all over Europe.

[ldubs]

57 minutes ago, momofmeg said:

 Lol I shop at Walmart and I have been all over Europe.

 

Same here.  And other parts of the world too.