Sailing tomorrow March 8th - can't cancel..

[bp traveler]

Received the letter from the NCL president that starting on Tuesday you can cancel your cruise.

I am so disappointed that it is excluding those of us who sail tomorrow, even Carnival had their policy in place and did not exclude this weekend's cruises.

This is so awful of NCL!!

 

Must of had to have the revenue from these sailings, pathetic NCL!

 

Anyone have any luck contacting them directly?

[BirdTravels]

There is another thread taking about the same thing. 
 

Yup. It will take them a few days to get set up for this. Since you “have to cancel”, you probably have a valid reason for cancellation You can cancel and file an insurance claim. 

[JamieLogical]

26 minutes ago, bp traveler said:

Received the letter from the NCL president that starting on Tuesday you can cancel your cruise.

I am so disappointed that it is excluding those of us who sail tomorrow, even Carnival had their policy in place and did not exclude this weekend's cruises.

This is so awful of NCL!!

 

Must of had to have the revenue from these sailings, pathetic NCL!

 

Anyone have any luck contacting them directly?

 

Did Carnival change their policy since yesterday morning? Last I saw it, it started on the 9th and therefore excluded this weekend's sailings...

[Gershep]

It's a shame you can't cancel without penalty. If you go on your cruise try to have a good time and hope all remain healthy.

[bbixler18]

36 minutes ago, bp traveler said:

Received the letter from the NCL president that starting on Tuesday you can cancel your cruise.

I am so disappointed that it is excluding those of us who sail tomorrow, even Carnival had their policy in place and did not exclude this weekend's cruises.

This is so awful of NCL!!

 

Must of had to have the revenue from these sailings, pathetic NCL!

 

Anyone have any luck contacting them directly?

Ever hear of norovirus?  Maybe the cruise lines should just close up shop...I mean no one should travel at their own risk! LOL! Get a grip....this is so awful!

[parmus]

panic has set in and obviously people are running to the boards and the ferver makes it spiral out of control.  Yes, Norwegian stepped up.  Obviously their start date was to give them time to implement the barrage of cancellations I see forthcoming.  If they aren’t set up to deal with this until the 10th then unfortunately those sailing this weekend are foreclosed on a decision to cancel and get fcc.  Everyone else needs to take a step back before jumping ship (pun intended) and rationally walk through the pros and cons for YOURSELF and not based on what everyone else is doing...

[Ptroxx]

More toddlers have died (139) from the flu so far this year than Covid19 in the US.  Why aren’t they talking about that.   
Our news sucks.
 

 

 

go enjoy your vacation. Don’t listen to the news.  And do things like you would.  
normal hygiene is key. But doesn’t everyone do that anyway?  

[wampuscat7]

44 minutes ago, Ptroxx said:

More toddlers have died (139) from the flu so far this year than Covid19 in the US.  Why aren’t they talking about that.   
Our news sucks.
 

 

 

go enjoy your vacation. Don’t listen to the news.  And do things like you would.  
normal hygiene is key. But doesn’t everyone do that anyway?  

There are stories every single year about the flu and how many people and toddlers have died. I've read probably a dozen flu-related stories from various media sources in the past month or two, including several that say it's not too late to get a flu shot. The flu happens every year and there is a vaccine that is discussed every year. COVID-19 is new. 

 

Also, I don't know your source, but the story I read yesterday said 136 children has died as of the flu as of the end of Feb. Children does not equal toddlers. 

 

Influenza has a death rate of 0.1% of those infected. Coronavirus is estimated somewhere between 2-3%. Coronavirus is just starting to spread in the U.S. It's impossible to say how many people may die from it.

 

[ColeThornton]

57 minutes ago, Ptroxx said:

go enjoy your vacation. Don’t listen to the news.  And do things like you would.  
normal hygiene is key. But doesn’t everyone do that anyway?  

 

 

Unfortunately there are many guests whose personal and public hygiene practices leave a lot to be desired.

[Ptroxx]

14 minutes ago, wampuscat7 said:

There are stories every single year about the flu and how many people and toddlers have died. I've read probably a dozen flu-related stories from various media sources in the past month or two, including several that say it's not too late to get a flu shot. The flu happens every year and there is a vaccine that is discussed every year. COVID-19 is new. 

 

Also, I don't know your source, but the story I read yesterday said 136 children has died as of the flu as of the end of Feb. Children does not equal toddlers. 

 

Influenza has a death rate of 0.1% of those infected. Coronavirus is estimated somewhere between 2-3%. Coronavirus is just starting to spread in the U.S. It's impossible to say how many people may die from it.

 

Maybe I miss heard the story this am. I was working out at. The same time.    139-136 toddlers or children. Really makes no difference.  
 

but this is from a few days ago. 
you may have your decimal point in the wrong spot.  
 

100 cases of CoronaVirus with a population in the USA of 343,536,000 = 0.0000003 %

The flu. 

US Flu Cases Increased by 4 Million Over the Last Week

FEB 05, 2020 | MICHAELA FLEMING
New data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that influenza activity in the United States has increased over the last 2 weeks.

The most recent statistics, collected through the week ending January 25, 2020, report that there have been 19 million cases of influenza during US 2019-20 flu season. This is an increase of 4 million cases since the last report.

Additionally, the CDC has recorded 180,000 hospitalizations and 10,000 deaths from the flu thus far. Based on these figures, severity is not considered high at this point in the flu season.

Over the past week the percentage of deaths attributed to pneumonia rose to 6.7% but remains below the epidemic threshold of 7.2%. Additionally, the hospitalization rate rose from 24.1 per 100,000 to 29.7 per 100,000, which is considered to be consistent with this time of year from recent seasons.

However, FluView statistics indicate that hospitalization rates are higher in children and young adults than at this time in recent seasons. At this time the highest rate of hospitalizations have been recorded in adults aged >65 years, followed by children aged 0-4 years, and adults aged 50-64 years.

Of 1108 adults hospitalized for influenza with information available, 91.5% had at least 1 reported underlying medical condition, most commonly cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorder, obesity and chronic lung disease.

Among 216 hospitalized women between 15-44 years with information on pregnancy status, 26.4% were pregnant.

Additionally, of 271 hospitalized children with information available, 46.5% had at least 1 underlying medical condition, with asthma reported most commonly.

Over the last reporting week, 14 new pediatric influenza-associated deaths were recorded, bringing the seasonal total to 68. According to CDC, of these 14 deaths, 8 were associated with influenza B—1 of which was determined to be a B/Victoria virus— and 6 were associated with influenza A, all of which were found to be A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses.

Outpatient influenza-like illness and laboratory data remain elevated and increased again this week. The number of jurisdictions experiencing high influenza-like-illness activity increased from 37 last week to 44 this week. Additionally, the number of jurisdictions reporting regional or widespread influenza activity increased to 51 this week.

Nationally and in some US regions, the proportions of influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 are increasing compared with influenza B viruses.

Nationally, influenza B viruses are the most commonly reported influenza viruses among children age 0-4 years (58% of reported viruses) and young adults 5-24 years (72% of reported viruses). On the other hand, A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses are the most commonly reported influenza viruses among adults 25-64 years (50% of reported viruses) and those 65 and older (57% of reported viruses).

According to FluSight forecasting, as of January 27th, forecasts indicate that flu activity is likely to remain elevated through the rest of the month of February.

The CDC notes that estimates on flu vaccine effectiveness are not available for the 2019-20 US flu season yet, but vaccination is always the best way to protect against the flu and associated complications.

Based on the current status of the flu season and the forecast for the rest of the month, the CDC is reminding Americans that antiviral treatments are effective when initiated soon after onset of illness.

Antivirals, when started within 2 days of becoming ill, can lessen fever and flu symptoms and reduce the duration of illness. Additionally, antivirals can reduce the risk of complications such as ear infections in children and reduce complications that require antibiotics and hospitalization in adults.

Edited March 7, 2020 by Ptroxx

[JamieLogical]

I think the vast majority of people wanting to cancel their bookings are far more afraid of being quarantined than they are of getting sick. Not everyone can afford to be away from home/work for 2-4 weeks longer than planned.

[put me on a ship]

4 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

I think the vast majority of people wanting to cancel their bookings are far more afraid of being quarantined than they are of getting sick. Not everyone can afford to be away from home/work for 2-4 weeks longer than planned.

You would be correct. We leave tomorrow. We wanted to cancel. Since we are not willing to lose so much money, we accept the risk.

[wampuscat7]

42 minutes ago, Ptroxx said:

Maybe I miss heard the story this am. I was working out at. The same time.    139-136 toddlers or children. Really makes no difference.  
 

but this is from a few days ago. 
you may have your decimal point in the wrong spot.  
 

100 cases of CoronaVirus with a population in the USA of 343,536,000 = 0.0000003 %

 

No, I don't have my decimal in the wrong place. I was not talking about the percentage of people who contract the disease. It's far, far too early to give a number on that (although a WSJ article this morning features scientists who estimated conservatively that 10 million people will contract it over the next two years - which would be less than the number who catch influenza).

 

However, I was talking about the mortality rate for those who do catch it. The WHO has estimated a 3.4% mortality rate for coronavirus. (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-death-rate/) Talking about the number of deaths related to the number of cases in the U.S. right now is ridiculous, because there are very few people who have recovered. Almost all cases are active. That's like taking the score at the end of the first quarter and calling it the final. For people who get pneumonia or complications, it may take a month or more to recover.

 

BTW, a few days ago, the U.S. may have had 100 cases. Now we have 376 confirmed cases.  https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

 

P.S. - I found this article on why you can't compare the flu to COVID-19 pretty interesting. Although it's a week old and already many numbers and percentages have changed. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/why-its-too-early-to-compare-covid-19-with-the-flu

Edited March 7, 2020 by wampuscat7

[IrieBajan54]

1 hour ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Unfortunately there are many guests whose personal and public hygiene practices leave a lot to be desired.

.

You are correct. I just got off a cruise and it is the same every time. Not just pax but also some of the crew. At the Meet & Greet, the lead officer (GM) cough several times in his hands while addressing the group. You would think that officers would know better. However, at the Latitudes Party the officers weren't shaking hands when I passed by, so that was a plus. As for pax, I saw some people almost everyday picking up cookies with their hands. Saw one guy eating his french fries right next to the food on display while waiting for a cook to finish frying hamburger patties. It only takes one to infect many. Some people are just plain dirty and/or the sanitation rules don't pertain to them.

Edited March 7, 2020 by IrieBajan54
word

[Njkrewzer]

46 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

I think the vast majority of people wanting to cancel their bookings are far more afraid of being quarantined than they are of getting sick. Not everyone can afford to be away from home/work for 2-4 weeks longer than planned.

You are 100% correct Jamie. I know that I most likely won't contract the virus, and if I do, I probably won't die from it. My worries is that in the ship of 5000 people, all it takes is one person to exhibit symptoms and your 1 week vacation just turned into a 4 week nightmare. Of course you will always have the usual NCL cheerleaders where NCL could go #2 on their heads and they would say thanks for the hat. We aren't asking for a refund, just the ability to rebook at a later date. And bbixler, youre all over every thread comparing coronavirus to norovirus and telling everyone to get a grip, but I don't think you get how ridiculous that sounds. Get a grip because there are 15000 of us who want the same courtesy that was extended to the other 100000? When you go to a restaurant, the waiter comes over to the table and takes everyones order no? same concept here, its not that difficult.

[smplybcause]

27 minutes ago, wampuscat7 said:

No, I don't have my decimal in the wrong place. I was not talking about the percentage of people who contract the disease. It's far, far too early to give a number on that (although a WSJ article this morning features scientists who estimated conservatively that 10 million people will contract it over the next two years - which would be less than the number who catch influenza).

 

However, I was talking about the mortality rate for those who do catch it. The WHO has estimated a 3.4% mortality rate for coronavirus. (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-death-rate/) Talking about the number of deaths related to the number of cases in the U.S. right now is ridiculous, because there are very few people who have recovered. Almost all cases are active. That's like taking the score at the end of the first quarter and calling it the final. For people who get pneumonia or complications, it may take a month or more to recover.

 

BTW, a few days ago, the U.S. may have had 100 cases. Now we have 376 confirmed cases.  https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

 

P.S. - I found this article on why you can't compare the flu to COVID-19 pretty interesting. Although it's a week old and already many numbers and percentages have changed. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/why-its-too-early-to-compare-covid-19-with-the-flu

 

The problem is the number is looking at incomplete data. It's well known that the virus causes very mild symptoms in most healthy people under 60 - so most wouldn't have been tested. Also the US is woefully short of tests - last I saw was under 2000 have been tested. 

 

I think South Korea is probably the best place to look for real stats, unless there's something about their demographic I'm not aware of. They've tested 100k and so far only 5k have been positive with 30 deaths. That morality rate is lower than the flu. 

 

In any country that only tests those with the more severe symptoms it's going to understate the statistics. 

[Mom2kmo]

1 hour ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Unfortunately there are many guests whose personal and public hygiene practices leave a lot to be desired.

Amen!!!!!

[Maleficent's Dad]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

I think the vast majority of people wanting to cancel their bookings are far more afraid of being quarantined than they are of getting sick. Not everyone can afford to be away from home/work for 2-4 weeks longer than planned.

Jamie is spot on.  Sure I don’t want to get sick while on vacation, but that fear wouldn’t stop me from traveling.

DW and I simply cannot be away from work any more than the week we’d already be away.  And we have 2 college kids in tow with us.  They definitely can’t be missing an extra week or two of classes after spring break.  Thus, the FCC is hugely appealing to us, and we’re grateful that NCL is permitting cancellations!

[haolenate]

Im on the Pearl right now and everything is great.... ship is super clean, no one sick...  

 

 

[cruisinmeme]

2 hours ago, wampuscat7 said:

No, I don't have my decimal in the wrong place. I was not talking about the percentage of people who contract the disease. It's far, far too early to give a number on that (although a WSJ article this morning features scientists who estimated conservatively that 10 million people will contract it over the next two years - which would be less than the number who catch influenza).

 

However, I was talking about the mortality rate for those who do catch it. The WHO has estimated a 3.4% mortality rate for coronavirus. (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-death-rate/) Talking about the number of deaths related to the number of cases in the U.S. right now is ridiculous, because there are very few people who have recovered. Almost all cases are active. That's like taking the score at the end of the first quarter and calling it the final. For people who get pneumonia or complications, it may take a month or more to recover.

 

BTW, a few days ago, the U.S. may have had 100 cases. Now we have 376 confirmed cases.  https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

 

P.S. - I found this article on why you can't compare the flu to COVID-19 pretty interesting. Although it's a week old and already many numbers and percentages have changed. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/why-its-too-early-to-compare-covid-19-with-the-flu

 

 

The fact there happens to be prescribed medication for the flu helps a lot. My son in law took the flu shot (no vaccine for corona virus) and once he got some Tamiflu going in his system was 100% better in 24 hours.  It is like my doctor said with the corona virus you admit people to hospital , give them IV fluids and hope they are alive in 12 days. If people actually seek help when they have the flu their outcome may be different but at lease the medical world knows what they are dealing with.

maybe this is all a media blitz to scare us to death but some many people want to compare this to a pimple on their butt and say it is no big deal.

[wampuscat7]

1 hour ago, smplybcause said:

 

The problem is the number is looking at incomplete data. It's well known that the virus causes very mild symptoms in most healthy people under 60 - so most wouldn't have been tested. Also the US is woefully short of tests - last I saw was under 2000 have been tested. 

 

I think South Korea is probably the best place to look for real stats, unless there's something about their demographic I'm not aware of. They've tested 100k and so far only 5k have been positive with 30 deaths. That morality rate is lower than the flu. 

 

In any country that only tests those with the more severe symptoms it's going to understate the statistics. 

True. The lack of mild cases being counted definitely skew the data. The spread will also depend on the preventative measures taken in each society. Even in South Korea, the virus has only been there since February,  and although the number of new cases has slowed, it is still growing. The country is up to more than 7K cases now, and yes only 44 deaths, but also only 135 people are considered "recovered." I sincerely hope that South Korea is a more accurate model, but I don't think the WHO is putting out percentages just to scare people either. 

[Trimone]

2 hours ago, IrieBajan54 said:

.

You are correct. I just got off a cruise and it is the same every time. Not just pax but also some of the crew. At the Meet & Greet, the lead officer (GM) cough several times in his hands while addressing the group. You would think that officers would know better. However, at the Latitudes Party the officers weren't shaking hands when I passed by, so that was a plus. As for pax, I saw some people almost everyday picking up cookies with their hands. Saw one guy eating his french fries right next to the food on display while waiting for a cook to finish frying hamburger patties. It only takes one to infect many. Some people are just plain dirty and/or the sanitation rules don't pertain to them.

Why don’t they make you scrub your hands on leaving the Garden Cafe? You are handling spoons, serving utensils that anyone who sneezed on their hands could have used? Common sense 

[Trimone]

Latest 

[david_sobe]

3 hours ago, IrieBajan54 said:

.

You are correct. I just got off a cruise and it is the same every time. Not just pax but also some of the crew. At the Meet & Greet, the lead officer (GM) cough several times in his hands while addressing the group. You would think that officers would know better. However, at the Latitudes Party the officers weren't shaking hands when I passed by, so that was a plus. As for pax, I saw some people almost everyday picking up cookies with their hands. Saw one guy eating his french fries right next to the food on display while waiting for a cook to finish frying hamburger patties. It only takes one to infect many. Some people are just plain dirty and/or the sanitation rules don't pertain to them.

Huh?  The officer did the proper thing and coughed into his hands.  What would you expect him to do.  No hand shaking at latitudes parties has existed at least half a decade.  I remember my 2015 Getaway cruise and the latitudes party invite said in all caps NO HANDSHAKING with the crew or captain.  THANK YOU.

[cruisinmeme]

57 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

Huh?  The officer did the proper thing and coughed into his hands.  What would you expect him to do.  No hand shaking at latitudes parties has existed at least half a decade.  I remember my 2015 Getaway cruise and the latitudes party invite said in all caps NO HANDSHAKING with the crew or captain.  THANK YOU.

 

The proper thing to do is cough in your elbow.