New Travel Warning

[Stumblefoot]

Tonight, the U.S. State Department AND U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a proclamation urging all U.S. citizens to "defer all cruise ship travel worldwide."  Considering industry leaders met with the Administration’s Corona virus task force led by Vice President Pence yesterday, this announcement comes as a surprise.

[spinnaker2]

Stumble

How so?

[Stumblefoot]

2 minutes ago, spinnaker2 said:

Stumble

How so?

All the networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) reported on it, as well as the releases are on the respective department websites.  Here is the CDC’s which also references the State Department’s statement.

[spinnaker2]

Sorry my post was unclear.

I meant why the surprise at this announcement?

[QueSeraSera]

Can only speak for myself, but I was surprised too.  I was expecting an announcement from the VP meeting yesterday.  When none came, I didn't expect a significant announcement today.  But things are changing fast - keep having the feeling some data is not being shared (with no proof that is so).

[fdnycruiser]

The cruise industry this Spring is now officially dead !


Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Stumblefoot]

4 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

I meant why the surprise at this announcement?

Oh.  Sorry I misunderstood.  Ditto to QueSeraSera’s explanation.

 

Based on yesterday’s new conference, I would have not imagined such a change in direction found in today’s recommendation.

[BeeMinor]

I watched the Fauci interview on Meet the Press yesterday, and my sense from it in context was that cruising was a high risk activity for people we all already know are people at high risk--older people and especially older people with complicating conditions. He delivered that message as part of an array of measures people could/should take to protect their health, along with avoiding things like sporting events or air/train travel. It was also, if I recall correctly, in response to a direct question. It wasn't like he sat down and right off the bat said, "So Chuck Todd, the reason I am here today is to tell everyone about the dangers of cruising."

 

I take the later State Dept/CDC to be more of a heads up that those who cruise do so at their own risk. The US government will not guarantee that it will be able to evacuate you from a foreign country if you are on a ship that is quarantined or stuck at sea. Those are, I'm sure, expensive and time consuming efforts on the part of the government, so I'm not surprised to see them seek to deter that eventuality. It also seems like a direct response to the Grand Princess situation. This is a shift in policy after the government arranged from the evacuation of U.S. citizens from Wuhan some weeks ago and from the Diamond Princess when it became obvious the quarantine was being mishandled there.

 

What all these announcements seem to be lacking is a time frame--to be fair something that I doubt anyone can provide. It's apparent that the federal government thinks it's a bad plan for people to go on cruises, like, this week. But with as rapidly as the situation is evolving it's not clear at all whether they are suggesting people cancel their plans for six weeks or six months from now. It's also a blanket statement. There is a clear difference between a 300- or 500-passenger Silversea ship and 2500-6500 passenger liner on Princess or Royal Caribbean. More people=more risk of a negative outcome.

 

 

[Dolebludger]

I agree with the BeeMinor’s statement above, that small, spacious, and uncrowded ships like those of Silversea  present a much smaller risk of infection than those mega ships that put passengers in huge crowds.  In short, I think it is really the crowded environment, and not merely being on a ship, that is the problem. 
 

It seems the CDC missed part of the point by not advising against  going through large, crowded airports where the  exposure is at least as great as any cruise ship, and far greater than a Silversea cruise. If I were booked on a Silversea cruise that did not require me to fly to and from the cruise, I think I would go on the cruise.

[Lois R]

I agree that the larger ships are much more prone to having this virus show up but I am still quite conflicted so

I am probably going to postpone my upcoming "retirement celebration cruise" and after speaking with my

Dr (had radiation treatment that finished up 2 weeks ago)….well, he did not say "don't go" but he didn't give it

a big thumbs up either.  My cruises are a b2b....and that totals 28 days away.   I am more sad than anything

else.   Not really afraid of catching it but if ONE person is inflicted--then the rest of would be in our cabins for

2 weeks (or more). 

[Dolcevita Diva]

18 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

I agree with the BeeMinor’s statement above, that small, spacious, and uncrowded ships like those of Silversea  present a much smaller risk of infection than those mega ships that put passengers in huge crowds.  In short, I think it is really the crowded environment, and not merely being on a ship, that is the problem. 

 

Agreed. And that so many on the larger ships use the buffet for many of their meals.

[Stumblefoot]

I just saw an interview with the President of CLIA.  The industry has submitted its proposed prevention, detection and care plan to the U.S. government.  

1. Prevention deals with who the industry allows to board any of the roughly 400 ships in the cruise industry.  
2. Detection is about testing for Covid-19 onboard a ship.
3. Care plan is focused on how to distinguish between risk levels, i.e. who needs to be quarantined vs. who needs to be sent to an urgent care facility.

 

CNBC is reporting that CLIA’s proposal included denying embarkation to all passengers aged 70 and over.  The CLIA President refused to confirm this report stating he first wanted to give the government a chance to review and respond to the proposal.

[spinnaker2]

Yikes.

That means the decision taken out of the hands of the 70 and over group.

 

I will wait for it but it's pretty draconian.

 

And will the other shoe drop soon?

Just hoping shoe wearer is not a millipede.

 

 

 

 

[milepig]

I'm interested in thoughts on how the cruise industry has become the scapegoat for the current situation. It began in Wuhan - firmly landlocked in the middle of China and while I can't find a firm list, it seems to have found it's way into relatively few cruise ships while it works it's way around the world.

 

I'm posting here on SS, because the post is here, but most of our experience is with WindStar - with similarly sized ships - and their constant attention to keeping things clean is pretty amazing. Far from being a "petrie dish" everything is constantly wiped down - even during normal periods. When I'm up and about early in the morning there's an army of crew out wiping down everything, polish the brass, every handrail, every public rest room, you name it. The hot tubs are drained, scrubbed and refilled at least daily. Clean, clean clean. We toured the kitchen and  their standards are superlative - certainly better than most land-based restaurants that I've seen. We had a long talk with the chef about life in general and he couldn't top talking about all the rules that he and his kitchen staff follow - 100%, always. Everything is spotless. If someone sees you taking a used plate back to the buffet they run over to take it away from your. At the bars you always get a fresh glass. Sanitation is the word of the day. Their ships may be one of the safest places to be.

 

As someone said upthread, I'm more concerned about the plane trip to get to the port.

Edited March 11, 2020 by milepig

[Stumblefoot]

1 hour ago, spinnaker2 said:

I will wait for it but it's pretty draconian.

Agreed.  According to USA Today in the past hour, passengers 70+ years of age would only be allowed to embark with a note from their doctor verifying their fitness for travel on a cruise ship.  So, THAT seems to be a mighty big loophole that most passengers of that age should be able to navigate quite easily.

[Stumblefoot]

Viking has announced tonight they are suspending worldwide operations effective immediately for its entire fleet of more than 70 river ships and six ocean ships as current sailings come to an end.  The suspension will last until May at this time.