US Department of State recommendation

[cantgetin]

This afternoon, the State Department issued a recommendation that US citizens  not travel by cruise ship.  travel.state.gov
At present this is a recommendation, not a warning.

[STHCruising]

I read the full announcement and the statements issued by the CDC.  The head of the US NIAID, Dr. Fauci, was on the morning news shows and seemed to indicate this recommendation was for those who had underlying health issues.  That made sense to me, and, seemed consistent with what CDC, but not State, is recommending.

 

We are scheduled to go to Rome, and then onto Greece, in mid-June.  DCL has changed their cancellation policies such that we can cancel up to one day before the cruise and get a full cruise credit.  Our posture is “wait and see”, with hopes the coronavirus will be better contained, or at least the risk better understood, before the summer sailings.  We hope to be sailing.

 

I would be interested if Cantgetin world cruise under these circumstances as her opinions has always been ones we highly value.

[AlaskaBaked]

I’m wondering how many more quarantine situations on military bases happen before the govt pulls the plug....

[gemz]

We sadly pulled the plug on our Dream sailing today that we booked 10 mths ago.  So disappointing.  

[cantgetin]

Only because it was asked above...we were at Aulani in February.  I had some hesitation about that, but based on available information, we went and are glad we did so.  Since we just had a vacation, we don't have any cruises booked in the near future.

 

I honestly don't know what I'd do if I was cruising in the next few months.  Based on the new cancelation policy, I'd probably wait until as near the cruise as I could and then decide.    I agree that different government agencies are saying different things--the CDC policy makes complete sense while the State Department policy sounds more like "we're tired of dealing with people on cruise ships."  Given the situation, I can't say I'm any safer at home/work than on a ship as the virus has been identified in the city where I live (as of this weekend).  True that the ship is a  confined situation, but so are schools, workplaces, etc.  I guess my current opinion is that I'd make the call as close as possible to the time of the cruise based on what was happening with the virus at that time and where the cruise was.  Normally, I'd do a cross country flight in May.  I'm in a similar position on that--I'll wait to see what the virus situation is as well as what the family situation is on both ends of the flight.  If my daughter needs me, I'll be there as quickly as possible.  If it is a "you usually come to visit after the work crunch time is over," I might delay the trip.  The last thing I want is to fly on a social trip and catch something during the flight which I then spread to family.

 

Princess had issues because they move staff from one ship to another regularly; they had people from the ship quarantined in CA who had been transferred to a ship in the Caribbean prior to the quarantine.  Thus, the ship in the Caribbean didn't dock until those individuals had been tested.  Fortunately, DCL doesn't routinely do this.  There are a few people in supervisory positions who may move from one ship to another during a contract, but this is not the norm.  This would help to prevent crew carrying an illness of any sort from one ship to another.

[CalgaryMac]

We are scheduled to take the Wonder though the Panama Canal in November. Canadian health officials are also recommending not taking cruise vacations.  November is a long way off so we plan to sit and monitor. We can cancel with full refund before July 9. Otherwise we bought cancellation and medical insurance ($1400 for two of us). The insurance only applies if our physician tells either of us that we are not well enough to travel or if the government issues a statement shutting down cruise trips or Disney cancels the sailing. We are okay with the limitations as we are looking forward to going.