Takeaways GWV and the Coronavirus

[mariner]

Eagerly awaiting to hear comments of the GWV passengers as they return from an unanticipated flights halfway around the world. But from reading various blogs from AMSTERDAM and other ships, it seems there are a few takeaways worth considering.

 

Has the GWV gotten too grand? They never used to last this long and there seem to be some ports with such a low rate of success of reaching that one is left to wonder why they are even on the list.

 

Is a medical inspection needed to determine the health of a boarding passenger before the ship departs from its first port?

 

Is booking own excursions really a good thing?

 

Did Carnival quickly create and implement a fleetwide plan for handling all its brands when it became clear there was a worldwide crisis? Did it wait too long to recognize what was happening?

 

What could have been done better?

 

Why the delay in shipping luggage home? Couldn't arrangements be made to offload the ship?

 

Should passengers who booked their travel plans independently expect HAL to take over and complete them?

 

Was compensation fair?

 

Could Orlando have blunted some of the criticism in the media by reminding people his family was aboard?
 

Was the old adage, "ship happens," lost on everyone?

 

Some things to consider. Hopefully the industry, once this crisis passes, never has to face another like it. Sadly, no guarantees.

[CruiserBruce]

All second guessing. Very easy to have 20-20 hindsight. Too many people have unrealistic expectations on some of these issues.

[mariner]

Not myopic for those who lived it. And their reality will be what we sail with in the future. IMO.

 

[CruiserBruce]

And now they have their own thread on their trip home.

[cat shepard]

My former organization used to conduct “after action reviews” after any abnormality. We wanted to capture what went well, so we could repeat it. And any lessons learned, so the next time could be better. 
 

Once our main office was flooded and we had to relocate 3,000 people - fast. In the middle of our busiest season. And one key organization did not have laptops, so we had to scurry to find them desktop computers as well as offices to set them up. Boy did we learn some lessons then.

 

i imagine every business will have to learn some lessons from this event, as will many travelers.

[Roz]

One thread in particular should make us all seriously evaluate our physical and mental capabilities.  If my cruise were interrupted in a faraway foreign port, would I have the capacity to figure out how to get myself home, and the physical stamina to make the trip independently?

 

I always leave contact information and my itinerary with 2 of my sisters, including my cabin number and trip insurance policy. Apparently others don't do this.  

 

Food for thought.

[Scrapnana]

It does not seem that Carnival Corp.  had a fleet wide plan since Cunard and Princess allowed a few passengers to sail back while HAL did not.

 

As to the FedEx luggage, I would wait far longer because it was such a relief not to have to worry about getting all those bags home by myself.

 

Each passenger should evaluate their capabilities.  Although this was (hopefully) a once in a lifetime situation, anyone at any time could have a situation which would force them to fly home from far away.

 

[CruisinAway123]

Cat Shepard - Chicago?  😉

[cat shepard]

10 minutes ago, CruisinAway123 said:

Cat Shepard - Chicago?  😉

D.C.

[CruisinAway123]

Hm, parallel flood experiences it seems.

[cat shepard]

2 hours ago, CruisinAway123 said:

Hm, parallel flood experiences it seems.

2006 flash flooding. It was called the “100 year flood”. But D.C. had another horrible flood last year.