Should those with Princess Cruises booked be able to Cancel due to how this Disease was handled?

[Thrak]

32 minutes ago, tanzer22pilot said:

My point is that wrongly placed “blame” only confuses an inexperienced traveler.  Princess got handed a very bad situation and is forced to deal with it under the rules of the waters that they are in.   
 

Be glad that this is happening today and not a few hundred years ago.   Because if a “plague-ship” pulled up to another country’s shore it would have been handled much differently.  Just saying.

 

The word quarantine actually comes from the 14th century practice of not letting ships into port until they had passed a 40 day isolation to show they weren't carrying the plague. (It was actually 13 days originally but was later changed to 40 days so quarantine became the name as "quaranta giorni" means 40 days.) 14 days on a modern cruise ship with room service, TV, etc. is far better.

Edited February 20, 2020 by Thrak

[dodger1964]

1 hour ago, ExploringTheGlobe said:

A quick look at their passport will be apparent if they had been to Asia.  Every time I've been, I've gotten a stamp or a visa. 

Stamping isn't 100%, and what about the person that sat next to them on the plane that might be a carrier.  It doesn't apply to me, but if I had an underlying health issue that made getting infection potentially deadly I wouldn't be traveling right now.

[ExploringTheGlobe]

38 minutes ago, dodger1964 said:

Stamping isn't 100%, and what about the person that sat next to them on the plane that might be a carrier.  It doesn't apply to me, but if I had an underlying health issue that made getting infection potentially deadly I wouldn't be traveling right now.

NOTHING is 100% but that is a good method.  And my reponse was to the post that stated people could lie about being in Asia, nothing about sitting next to someone on a plane, etc.  There are always variables regardless if there is a current outbreak or not. 

[dodger1964]

2 minutes ago, ExploringTheGlobe said:

NOTHING is 100% but that is a good method.  And my reponse was to the post that stated people could lie about being in Asia, nothing about sitting next to someone on a plane, etc.  There are always variables regardless if there is a current outbreak or not. 

and my point is you might not have been to asia, but you still could be infected by someone that was. 

 

it wouldn't keep me home, but I don't have underlying medical issues.

[Shmoo here]

16 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

But noro can be in all sorts of environments. Our whole family got it at an island resort years ago and there have been several occasions I know of where aged care facilities have been in lock-down because of noro. It happens in any environment where people live in close quarters to each other.

I was watching a TV show a few years ago, about Conservation/rescue officers in the NE USA (I think it was Maine).  They got a call to go locate and rescue a sick, lone hiker up on a mountainside.  When they got the man back to the hospital, he was determined to have noro.  So, you can get it all by yourself out in the wilderness.

 

 

[eclue]

Why would someone blame the Noro virus on a cruise line when it came from a passenger......Princess acted admirably in this corona situation.....the original poster needs to stick with Regent , etc......We just booked a cruise on the Regal for April and the Island for August......as others have posted, this crisis situation was managed by the Japanese government and not Princess.....the people that live in constant fear should not cruise.

 

[pink845]

To the OP, Just read your post.

"So, would you want to go on a cruise next week to the Caribbean where last week Caribbean Princess had to turn around with Norovirus? And pay premium price as well? I doubt many of you would still want to go while the coronavirus is a worldwide threat. We don't know where the other guests are flying in from and if they could also have been exposed and we end up being quarantined"

 

First off COVID-19 IS NOT a worldwide threat.    I understand your frustration.  You  are not comfortable travelling with what you consider is potential doomsday in your own mind.  Then, obviously mitigate your situation and simply cut your losses and do not travel.    For that matter, cruising on a 450 passenger luxury Regent or Seabourn ship is really no safer than on a monster Oasis type ship.   It only takes one ill person to  spread that norovirus which you fear regardless of the size of the ship.  We have sailed forever and a day on most of the lines and have been on many a ship with a norovirus outbreak and have also sailed on ships later that same day delayed of course by the crew sanitizing the ship because of a norovirus outbreak.   

 

Your comment with regards to not knowing where people are flying in from, well, you can go to your local Starbucks and drink a coffee prepared by a barista who just flew in from China after visiting her elderly grandparents via London England and make every everyone in your household ill with COVID-19.  You really would have no clue.

 

Yes.  I understand your fear of quarantine.  I can be unpleasant.  A few years back I was also quarantined in Yokohama for four days by the Japanese health authorities because I became ill on the ship.   I was so SUPER SICK that I sought medical treatment.   I was kept on the ship in my cabin.  My husband was free to continue his port visits.  It was a suspected case of some kind of flu.    Insured up to the nines as I am, no insurance company could get me off that ship as I was quarantined NOT BY Princess but by  the Japanese government.    Two other passengers were also suffering similar issues and were also quarantined. 

 

Princess did not have give me my money back (thank you wonderful Princess for doing that - they are awesome!).    We all got better.  Would this stop me from cruising with Princess or cancelling my March cruise with another line.  No way Jose.   

 

My husband flies several times per week all over North America and Europe for business.  He never knows who he is sitting beside.  Who has the flu, who has stomach issues, etc. who might be a carrier of COVID-19.  Life goes on.  He is certainly not going to stop carrying on his business life because of the what ifs.    To end, travel is very personal, the amount of risk one is willing to take, in your case your risk level is obviously very low, so it is best obviously that you not cruise in the future because if you subscribe to the doomsday scenario, there will never be a safe time to cruise.   

[Iamcruzin]

2 hours ago, kkmiausa said:

We frequently cruise on Seabourn which has limited number of guests around 450. It is owned by Carnival.  I would be happy if we could apply the cruise credit to another Carnival owned cruise line that had fewer passengers per ship. That would be goodwill.

Oh, so it's not the cruise line it's the passenger size. Got it.

[pseudoswede]

The demographics of those that typically cruise with Regent and Seabourn are also much more likely to be susceptible to be infected by COVID-19.

 

My mom was diagnosed with leukemia this past November. We had been planning on a family trip to Asia this spring (deposit made but not final payment). After thinking about it over Christmas, but before COVID-19 broke out, my mom decided that an Alaskan cruise would be better. Fortunately, her body has responded very well with chemotherapy. As with any chemotherapy, her neutrophils/white blood cell count has fluctuated wildly. Currently, they're stable and in normal range, and her oncologist is quite confident that it will be pretty high and stable when we travel in May (after two or three more chemotherapy sessions). I implored my parents to purchase travel insurance (they never have previously), which they did. In the unlikely event that her neutrophils are dangerously low right before our trip, we will cancel our trip for medical reasons and get 100% of our trip refunded.

[CWcruisers]

2 hours ago, kkmiausa said:

We frequently cruise on Seabourn which has limited number of guests around 450. It is owned by Carnival.  I would be happy if we could apply the cruise credit to another Carnival owned cruise line that had fewer passengers per ship. That would be goodwill.

Size does not matter.  I have a friend who sails Windstar Cruises exclusively and her Tahiti cruise last year had Norovirus.  It's probably easier to contain in small numbers, but it can still happen.

[kkmiausa]

50 minutes ago, pink845 said:

To the OP, Just read your post.

"So, would you want to go on a cruise next week to the Caribbean where last week Caribbean Princess had to turn around with Norovirus? And pay premium price as well? I doubt many of you would still want to go while the coronavirus is a worldwide threat. We don't know where the other guests are flying in from and if they could also have been exposed and we end up being quarantined"

 

First off COVID-19 IS NOT a worldwide threat.    I understand your frustration.  You  are not comfortable travelling with what you consider is potential doomsday in your own mind.  Then, obviously mitigate your situation and simply cut your losses and do not travel.    For that matter, cruising on a 450 passenger luxury Regent or Seabourn ship is really no safer than on a monster Oasis type ship.   It only takes one ill person to  spread that norovirus which you fear regardless of the size of the ship.  We have sailed forever and a day on most of the lines and have been on many a ship with a norovirus outbreak and have also sailed on ships later that same day delayed of course by the crew sanitizing the ship because of a norovirus outbreak.   

 

Your comment with regards to not knowing where people are flying in from, well, you can go to your local Starbucks and drink a coffee prepared by a barista who just flew in from China after visiting her elderly grandparents via London England and make every everyone in your household ill with COVID-19.  You really would have no clue.

 

Yes.  I understand your fear of quarantine.  I can be unpleasant.  A few years back I was also quarantined in Yokohama for four days by the Japanese health authorities because I became ill on the ship.   I was so SUPER SICK that I sought medical treatment.   I was kept on the ship in my cabin.  My husband was free to continue his port visits.  It was a suspected case of some kind of flu.    Insured up to the nines as I am, no insurance company could get me off that ship as I was quarantined NOT BY Princess but by  the Japanese government.    Two other passengers were also suffering similar issues and were also quarantined. 

 

Princess did not have give me my money back (thank you wonderful Princess for doing that - they are awesome!).    We all got better.  Would this stop me from cruising with Princess or cancelling my March cruise with another line.  No way Jose.   

 

My husband flies several times per week all over North America and Europe for business.  He never knows who he is sitting beside.  Who has the flu, who has stomach issues, etc. who might be a carrier of COVID-19.  Life goes on.  He is certainly not going to stop carrying on his business life because of the what ifs.    To end, travel is very personal, the amount of risk one is willing to take, in your case your risk level is obviously very low, so it is best obviously that you not cruise in the future because if you subscribe to the doomsday scenario, there will never be a safe time to cruise.   

Sorry but it is a potential doomsday for my husband if he were to get it. He is in the demographic most likely to have the worst outcome - his age, and his underlying leukemia with a compromised immune system.  We have taken 7 cruises in just the past 2 years. We are avid cruisers and in our lifetime have taken 20 plus cruises but this time is different - the fact that this virus has no cure at this point and the  rapid spread. Anyone traveling now could risk exposure, whether it be family members who have been to Asia, friends, or even restaurant workers, service agents, etc who have contact with those who have been in Asia.   So that is why I do not want to put us in a confined space with 3000 plus people and prefer to stay at home where we monitor where we go and what we eat.   On a good note, I did find that Princess has one smaller ship that only accommodates 800 passengers and plan to find a replacement cruise on it later in the year when this has passed or at least has more information.Yes size matters - the confinement would be more easy to maintain if something were to happen and the source could probably be more easily tracked. 

[Ombud]

I understand why you cancelled,  I don't understand why you're entitled to more than offered

Edited February 20, 2020 by Ombud

[Doug R.]

54 minutes ago, Ombud said:

I understand why you cancelled,  I don't understand why you're entitled to more than offered

I understand irrational fear but I am trying to find how it leads to irrational expectations.

[lolane1]

11 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

I live in NY and make several trips to Manhattan which is a target for terrorism, exploding manhole covers, plane crashes, falling cranes and a larger chance of coming in contact with foreign tourists who can be spreading Coronavirus.  Yet  I stand on a crowded bus practically cheek to cheek (all 4 of them) with the people who surround me.  I actually would feel safer on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. OK....... get ready to clinch your bowels and clutch your pearls......I even touch elevator buttons and handrails with my bare hands and haven't been sick.....😲

 

You have me laughing.  Also in NYC.  You didn't mention the poorly ventilated subways with people on top on one another and shoving to fit into the cars - some coughing and sneezing.  To be squashed in a subway is a rite of passage.  It could be we have healthier immune systems having dealt with much disease.  

 

One of my mottos : Never leave home without cruise insurance. I have a California coastal coming up. 

 

As far as I'm concerned, it's not a matter of "if" CoVid-19 comes, it's a matter of "when."  And the longer it takes, the more the medical community will know. I can't stop living because tomorrow, I could get hit by a taxi or a bike or worse. The WHO says 80% of cases are mild and it's likely to happen every year. 

 

[senior lady]

this could have easily happened to a smaller ship also.

I hope your husband continues to have good health

[Iamcruzin]

1 minute ago, lolane1 said:

 

You have me laughing.  Also in NYC.  You didn't mention the poorly ventilated subways with people on top on one another and shoving to fit into the cars - some coughing and sneezing.  To be squashed in a subway is a rite of passage.  It could be we have healthier immune systems having dealt with much disease.  

 

One of my mottos : Never leave home without cruise insurance. I have a California coastal coming up. 

 

As far as I'm concerned, it's not a matter of "if" CoVid-19 comes, it's a matter of "when."  And the longer it takes, the more the medical community will know. I can't stop living because tomorrow, I could get hit by a taxi or a bike or worse. The WHO says 80% of cases are mild and it's likely to happen every year. 

 

I also left out the lingering stench of urine and the having to step over the diseased homeless people.  I'm sure the germaphobes are running for the hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes as they read this.

[Aus Traveller]

5 hours ago, kkmiausa said:

 I just felt in this time frame of the few weeks due to the coronavirus unusual circumstances that instead of making us rebook with Princess in the next year that this time we could just have gotten back 75 per cent of our cruise fare without having to rebook.  Obviously that will not happen but I think the goodwill that would have provided would have been valuable to Princess.  It appears all of you would still go, so perhaps I may be the only one they would have had to make the exception for.

But you have said you don't like Princess cruises and prefer smaller ships. The goodwill that Princess would gain by refunding  money to you that they are not required to do, wouldn't flow back to Princess as future bookings. 

[Aus Traveller]

2 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

I was watching a TV show a few years ago, about Conservation/rescue officers in the NE USA (I think it was Maine).  They got a call to go locate and rescue a sick, lone hiker up on a mountainside.  When they got the man back to the hospital, he was determined to have noro.  So, you can get it all by yourself out in the wilderness.

How long had the hiker been in the wilderness before he became ill? Noro is a virus so he got it from someone. 

[Shmoo here]

2 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

How long had the hiker been in the wilderness before he became ill? Noro is a virus so he got it from someone. 

I believe he'd been out there a few days, maybe a week.  Now, maybe the locations he'd been in had been visited by someone else just prior to him being there. I don't know.  Just pointing out you don't need an enclosed environment with lots of people to get it.

Edited February 21, 2020 by Shmoo here

[kkmiausa]

36 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

But you have said you don't like Princess cruises and prefer smaller ships. The goodwill that Princess would gain by refunding  money to you that they are not required to do, wouldn't flow back to Princess as future bookings. 

As I posted before Princess is owned by Carnival, it also owns Seabourn, HAL and others that have smaller ships.  I would happily travel on them so the money would go back to the same corporation.

 

[chengkp75]

22 minutes ago, kkmiausa said:

As I posted before Princess is owned by Carnival, it also owns Seabourn, HAL and others that have smaller ships.  I would happily travel on them so the money would go back to the same corporation.

 

Yet each cruise line is operated as a separate profit center within Carnival Corp, so goodwill extended by one line (cost) would not be reflected in the other.

[caribill]

9 hours ago, ExploringTheGlobe said:

A quick look at their passport will be apparent if they had been to Asia.  Every time I've been, I've gotten a stamp or a visa. 

 

Not always so quick.

 

My passport with dozens of pages with entry/exit stamps on it, many essentially unreadable due to very little ink when the stamp was made or one stamp being made on top of another. Of course they are not in any chronological order.  I would estimate it would take at least 15 minutes to look at all the stamps in my passport and figure out the location and dates on each one and some would still not be readable.

[2 cruises a year]

10 hours ago, dodger1964 said:

Stamping isn't 100%, and what about the person that sat next to them on the plane that might be a carrier.  It doesn't apply to me, but if I had an underlying health issue that made getting infection potentially deadly I wouldn't be traveling right now.

 

It may not have been stamped, or the stamp might be illegible, but it was scanned, it is "in the cloud"!!  Once scanned again, Customs will know where you have been and when.

Edited February 21, 2020 by 2 cruises a year

[CruiseCrabs]

6 hours ago, kkmiausa said:

As I posted before Princess is owned by Carnival, it also owns Seabourn, HAL and others that have smaller ships.  I would happily travel on them so the money would go back to the same corporation.

 

In all sincerity, your husband's health is a serious concern and you should discuss the risks of travel and infection with a doctor, not a cruise discussion board. Even a cold can lead to deadly complications if a weakened immune system is in play.

 

The wildcard in all travel is other people, their approach to hygiene, and whether they self-quarrantine or carry on with their travels when they show symptoms. How much people spend or how many passengers are aboard has nothing to do with the potential to catch something. Any public place has the potential for viruses and diseases that can be transmitted my surface contact or close proximity--regardless of the number of passengers a vessel, aircraft, bus, train, taxi, etc. can carry. Heck, even currency can help viri find new hosts.

 

We have managed to avoid completely noro, even when a ships reported passengers aboard had it; however, we have caught awful colds.

 

[pink845]

To the OP:  Your comment about "Your husband's age, and his underlying leukemia with a compromised immune system. "   

 

SwankyG has hit the nail on the head with the comment "The wildcard in all travel is other people, their approach to hygiene, and whether they self-quarantine or carry on with their travels when they show symptoms. How much people spend or how many passengers are aboard has nothing to do with the potential to catch something. VERY VERY TRUE.  Any public place has the potential for viruses and diseases that can be transmitted my surface contact or close proximity--regardless of the number of passengers a vessel, aircraft, bus, train, taxi, etc. can carry. Heck, even currency can help virus find new hosts.   

 

With a compromised immune system, underlying leukemia, (this obviously a pre-existing condition prior to your booking your cruises, I would not recommend travelling on any cruises at all, especially during flu season.  Best to stay home where one is safe.  I know it is hard to give up all the travel of yesteryears (my mom had to give up her love of cruising when she developed cancer - still alive and kicking at 90) but she is quite content now as she understands that her compromised immune system no longer allows those luxuries.