Norwegian Cruisers -- How are things where YOU live?

[MSUjohn]

i am an "essential worker".

 

i am a prison guard in my state's prison system.  the facility i work at handles male intake for the state there is also a prison hospital on grounds.  in an effort to contain the spread of wu-flu, all "ride outs" from  my facility to the mainline prisons has been indefinitely postponed. while ride outs have been stopped, "ride ins" (from county jails after they receive a state sentence) have continued due to county jail capacity issues.

 

my prison has a total of six housing units. prior to covid 19 only four units where in use with the two idle units being in mothballs. with the current population input, but no output situation, the two closed housing units have been activated and the onsite hospital has been accepting covid cases from prisons all over the state.

 

all of this severely exacerbated preexisting staffing problems. opening up the additional housing units requires guards as does opening up mothballed parts of the hospital. with the addition of extra staffing requirements there has actually been a reduction in the number of available guards. any staff that shows symptoms is sent home and is not allowed to return to work for at least a week (there are several), due to being "high risk" a couple people have been put on medical leave and finally several individuals who where postponing retirement basically did the "screw this" and retired now. 

 

what does all this mean? being intake, the population was never meant to stay for more than like 4 weeks. calling the recreation and amenities available here rudimentary would really be stretching it; so the longer stay is causing pressure to build in the units.

with staffing we are working 3 double shifts a week (think 16 hours on your Monday, Wednesday & Friday) which is awful and I don't think stuff has gotten bad yet on the staffing end. I think it will get much much worse.

 

I also think it is a guarantee that I will contract covid19

[LeonieC]

On 3/25/2020 at 7:30 AM, deniseatnycs said:

Hi all 

We live in mainland Spain and have been badly affected.  We are on day 11 of total lockdown, no outside visits at all except to the nearest chemist or supermarket and only one person per car.

Everyone is sticking to the curfew and helping others and its refreshing to see.   Loving life and looking forward to our cruises.  Hope everyone else is fine?

 

Denise

Hi all.  I hear on the news today that at least you are hoping in Spain to reach the apex real soon. Hang in there and keep safe.  We were due to travel to Spain this year, but I really think all cruises will be off for the forseeable future. I know in your country and also in ours Australia, the number of cruisers who have raised the case toll significantly is a real concern. 

[LeonieC]

Hello 

We live In Sydney NSW Australia.  At the moment the number of cases in NSW is twice as high as Victoria one of our neighbouring states and between the two states we together are hosting 60% of Australias  cases. At the moment our deaths are kept low and our totals are in the 8000s nationally but they expect us to increase a lot over following 2 weeks and then hopefully begin to see some lowering. We have been in shut down for 2 weeks now come tomorrow Monday.  

Over 1/3 of our cases are related to cruise ships, in particular one that refuses to leave our shores. A carnival ship had many cases and all the passengers were allowed off without testing, and we are still hearing of tramsmissions and also very unfortunately deaths linked all across the country to this ship.   Quite a few others are being refueled and restocked and being asked to continue straight to their home ports.

With news of many ships still wandering the oceans trying to get a port, I am not willing to travel that way at all this year, though I am still booked on a Norwegian cruise starting in Barcelona for October. Hoping common sense prevails and the cruise is officially cancelled especially as in our case it is for a music tour with crowded venues. 

In any case I am not sure we are allowed to leave the country.  So far there is a ban on overseas travel until further notice. 

But we are all doing okay. Our families as mainly teachers are still in employment although all lessons are conducted online. And renters at the moment are protected from any evictions in case of no work in any case.  Everyone keep safe and well. 

Edited April 5, 2020 by LeonieC

[LeonieC]

On 3/26/2020 at 1:55 PM, joejoe 59 said:

We did have 2 ncl cruises booked for the Med & Baltic waiting for cancellation. 

Stay safe & happy wherever you are. 

Hi.  We are in same boat.  Hi from NSW. I am sure common sense will prevail. Surely. Especially as ours and maybe yours is begining in Spain and mainly visitin Italy. Those countries do not need and surely wont allow any cruise ships this year at least. 

[deniseatnycs]

Hi LeonieC yes for the very fist time we have a level graph today.

Long way from being a politician and other than being an ex e.n nurse in the U

K. certainly not a medic nor in anyway a clairvoyant but for what its worth.

My adopted country is suffering pro rata population wise the greatest at the moment unfortunately.

As the lockdown enters a new stage of 15 days from 13th March to 26th April as declared yesterday,  we see a greater tightening of the restrictions already in place and in the main adhered to and extremely well policed.

Since the 13th March no one other than essential workers have been allowed freedom of movement (rightly so)  with extremely heavy fines and/or detention for those wishing to risk it.

We now see towns being closed off to stop city dwellers accesing their holiday homes.  Many Spaniards have second homes, and as we approach Easter this is a great worry to all.

In all honesty, once this is over, which I hope will be very soon, I cannot see any cruise lines being allowed to dock in any Spanish port in 2020.

Like many others we have worked hard to pay for this cruise, and had booked 2 further ongoing cruises with NCL.  Its looking like 2021 for us hopefully without loosing any of those we love.

Take care all of you. 

[Norseh2o]

We are safe and staying home in North San Diego County, CA.  We were in Seattle the last week in February when Seattle cases were the big deal. We came home and stayed home.  Feeling healthy, maybe not wealthy, but certainly wise!  It is great to be in a state with good guidelines and with people who are serious about staying safe at home.  We are following NCL closely to see what happens to our May, 2020 cruise. 

[eileeshb]

Checking in from Ireland. We’re pretty much on lockdown here, the gardaí (police) got new powers today to charge people not obeying the current restrictions. A major concern here is people heading off to their holiday homes around the country for Easter. 
over half of all cases here have been in Dublin but people down in holiday areas started seeing the vacation regulars appearing at their holiday homes this week. The Garda commissioner came out today and told them, anyone already at their holiday home has to stay there for the remainder of the lockdown. I suspect quite a few will come to regret that decision as they discover exactly how bad the broadband is outside the main centres of population. 
my home county had some of the very earliest cases, my doctor and his family were in Italy before the covid-19 outbreak was known about. He called our health service (his employer) when the outbreak in Italy became known and they told him to go to work as normal.. a week later he and his family tested positive. 
current restrictions are 1 person per car going for groceries or medicines, exercise to be within 2km of your home. Anyone over 70 or immune compromised is supposed to stay at home and have others fetch their groceries or medicines, etc... officially no solo sports are disallowed but the various adventure sports bodies are now advising everyone to desist.

Our Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) is a qualified doctor, he hasn’t been on the medical register for 7 years but went back on the register and is now doing a shift each week to help at the frontline. He’s doing telephone assessments of patients to determine if they need covid testing or need to actually see a doctor or go to a&e. Can’t imagine there’s too many other heads of state working in their health services during this. 

[deniseatnycs]

18 minutes ago, eileeshb said:

Checking in from Ireland. We’re pretty much on lockdown here, the gardaí (police) got new powers today to charge people not obeying the current restrictions. A major concern here is people heading off to their holiday homes around the country for Easter. 
over half of all cases here have been in Dublin but people down in holiday areas started seeing the vacation regulars appearing at their holiday homes this week. The Garda commissioner came out today and told them, anyone already at their holiday home has to stay there for the remainder of the lockdown. I suspect quite a few will come to regret that decision as they discover exactly how bad the broadband is outside the main centres of population. 
my home county had some of the very earliest cases, my doctor and his family were in Italy before the covid-19 outbreak was known about. He called our health service (his employer) when the outbreak in Italy became known and they told him to go to work as normal.. a week later he and his family tested positive. 
current restrictions are 1 person per car going for groceries or medicines, exercise to be within 2km of your home. Anyone over 70 or immune compromised is supposed to stay at home and have others fetch their groceries or medicines, etc... officially no solo sports are disallowed but the various adventure sports bodies are now advising everyone to desist.

Our Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) is a qualified doctor, he hasn’t been on the medical register for 7 years but went back on the register and is now doing a shift each week to help at the frontline. He’s doing telephone assessments of patients to determine if they need covid testing or need to actually see a doctor or go to a&e. Can’t imagine there’s too many other heads of state working in their health services during this. 

Hi EilseeB

Thank you for the update, we hear about the U.K. but nothing much coming from Ireland on our newsfeed.  Our adopted home of Spain is suffering greatly (pro rata population). 

We have been (we moved from the U.K. to Southern Spain 16 years ago) from March 13th.  similar to your regime but not allowed outside the home at all apart from shopping or health appointments ( 1 person per car, 1 person in the nearest shop, 1 in one out)  

It is very well policed here with the Guardia Civil, the local police and even the army making sure everyone adheres to the restrictions.  Like you our, main area of cases is a large city, for us it is Madrid.  Many City dwellers have second homes here on the South East coast (Alicante area) and are heading down for the Easter break which is unbelievable .  The police and army have road blocks up and most are being fined and turned back but the odd ones are finding a way through.  The selfishness of these people is breathtaking.  Health workers, police, army, retail workers, transport workers and many others are risking their lives for us all but we are fighting a loosing battle because of this attitude

[eileeshb]

Denisatsnycs.. the joy of being from a country with a diaspora larger than our population means we hear about everything all over the world.. there’s always at least one Irish person in any given region. 
A bunch of Irish doctors, nurses and others living overseas gave up their jobs to come back to Ireland to help fight the virus on the front lines here. Various entrepreneurs have jumped in to arrange cars, accommodation and insurance for them. There’s been a group setup to fundraise and provide meals to the healthcare workers, and many other similar initiatives. 
Local sports clubs that have shutdown are turning their members into community workers helping people that have to cocoon (over 70s etc). Supermarkets that never did home delivery in the past are doing it in partnership with their local clubs or police. Butchers and bakeries are letting people order over the phone and dropping the orders into the trunk of their car. 
 

They had to shutdown public car parks at beaches and public parks here a couple of weeks ago because of the amount of idiots that went out on Mother’s Day.  There was an actual twitter campaign to get the government to close the pubs after too many idiots failed to observe social distancing the weekend before St Patrick’s Day!  The twitter reaction and Facebook comments I’m seeing from friends around the world seem to suggest Ireland’s taking a mature approach all-round. There’s been posts from Irish people in Italy and China describing the extent of their lockdown in an effort to persuade people here to obey the rules so we don’t have to go as far as they did. So far it’s been a majority public sentiment slightly ahead of the government’s actions, if this week goes haywire then those of us from holiday areas will be delighted to see the government clamp down further. We’ve only had 66 cases in my county so far, but one of the main hospitals in Dublin has a filled it’s ICU and is having to deliver ICU level of care in other units. 
oh yeah and guess where 50% of the world’s ventilators come from? Ireland! 
but even with that a research team here is developing an entirely mechanical ventilator that can be built from 3D printing. There’s school kids making PPE face masks on their school 3D printers! It’s amazing to see the levels of innovation and desire to contribute in community, when all the bar workers and others lost their jobs in the first wave of closures the medical device companies and food industry announced massive recruiting drives. The government is subsidising wages for the self employed and employees who have had to stop working, it’s up to 70%of our net wages or €410 weekly whichever is lower. Employers can decide to top up or not, but it’s to keep as many people as possible with their employer so we’re not all “jobless”. 
I work for my mother in our family business, we had to close due to the restrictions but also because both she and I would be considered high risk if we contracted the virus. Actually of the 4 of us that work there only my brother could actually work, our only non-family employee is a single mom whose own parents are high risk and all childcare is closed so she couldn’t work either. 
 

[mking8288]

Thoughts from NYC ... our US military (DOD) is supposed to be providing & sending in extra help, but Wednesday morning, a request was issued to MRC volunteers - originated from the Fatality Management Task Force, for healthcare facility mortuary surge support staff to support their operations.  "No previous medical experience is needed to perform this function"  

 

Meanwhile, AP News reported overnight that the US (federal) government's SNS (stockpile) of PPE are nearly (90%) depleted & distributed/allocated via FEMA.  Oh dear Lord, give us strength.  A few camera images this week taken not far from Elmhurst Hospital/MC in Queens (NYC) - it is deceptively quiet, peaceful and tranquil - free of traffic.  

 

Live smartly and stay healthy, this is a ninja enemy on a global scale. 

 

[dexddd]

Thinking of you couple times a day MKing and your DW.  Thanks for the updates and contributions.

[penutbutterjelly]

I am a healthcare worker, I am exhausted mentally and physically and feel as though I'm in the "Twilight Zone"  we have no N95 masks to use not one!  We're being told a surgical mask/face shield is enough?  Really, because I can blow out a candle with that but ok.  I'm so disappointed by the lack of PPE (Personal Protective Gear) and even more so disappointed by the hoarders that have bought up all stock in Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware so that the healthcare workers that don't even have one can get it.  I know I took an oath and that I will do my job but I'm scared.  I have a family and grandchildren I don't want to die by being put on the "front lines".  

NY Healthcare workers your ANGELS.  What you've had to endure and continue to endure is beyond words.  Compared to have you all have it I shouldn't complain, honestly your amazing, NY Healthcare workers ROCK!!!!

People in general are still out and about, acting like nothing.  There are those that say "my freedom is mine" well what about the rest of us that your exposing, what about the policeman, the fireman, the EMT's, the drive thru staff, the grocery workers, the healthcare workers just trying to get to work For God sake stay home!!!!!

[jancl57]

Boston area here.  We are in our early to mid 60's, recently retired.  We have been "sheltering in place" since March 14 only heading out to grocery store or pharmacy. But I am the one that ventures out.  We are in good health other then my husband having type 2 diabetes, which puts him at an even higher risk.  One of our daughters is a nurse and one of our son-in-laws is a Boston Firefighter.  So we are always worrying about them.  We drove to visit our grandchildren and waved to them from the street.  

 

I pray that all our first responders and healthcare workers stay safe and that this invisible enemy will leave us sooner rather then later.  

[mking8288]

On 4/9/2020 at 10:29 AM, dexddd said:

Thinking of you couple times a day MKing and your DW.  

 

Happy belated Easter Sunday & Passover to you and all. Don't worry.  Dusted off earlier handbooks, guides & response template like the 2008-09 pandemic flu (NYC DOH) for a refresher.  Bracing in NY for the next phrase, PTSD, and it is here.  Plenty of pro bono work on all fronts for everyone, including other early retirees and me on the healthcare battleground. 

 

Behind the sets of numbers and high curves on the plateau today for NY region are the most vulnerable, already isolated for months in nursing & group homes - someone's spouse, partner, parents, grandparents, siblings, neighbors & friends.  They're in the planning "play books" in the disaster/crisis protocols.  As someone in between, I salute all the first responders and the last responders. 

 

Step back for a moment, I too can dream of better days ahead (well, months).  It is going to be a long and winding road to recovery and rebuilding.  

 

Edited April 13, 2020 by mking8288

[krittykat]

Hi from Washington state.....the original ground zero for the states. Starting on week 4 of Stay at home. Grocery stores starting to slowly return to more normal stocks though more have limited how many can be in store at any given time. Even saw toilet paper on shelves last weekend.  

My elderly parents live about 20 miles away...can't see them no church on Easter..very weird. My daughter moved back home with her 2 dogs. She lives alone...currently telecommuting and needed company due to her anxiety issues.

I took early retirement 2 years ago due to health issues so this is not a lot of change for me..though I need my hair cut. Hubby is essential and is our biggest concern for exposure.

We wear masks when we are out as directed by the state.  

Today we should have been in Cozumel on my birthday cruise...sigh

[MSUjohn]

want to edit (clean up) some of my post 😞

Edited April 16, 2020 by MSUjohn
h

[MSUjohn]

On 4/12/2020 at 8:46 AM, penutbutterjelly said:

I am a healthcare worker, I am exhausted mentally and physically and feel as though I'm in the "Twilight Zone"  we have no N95 masks to use not one!  We're being told a surgical mask/face shield is enough?  Really, because I can blow out a candle with that but ok.  I'm so disappointed by the lack of PPE (Personal Protective Gear) and even more so disappointed by the hoarders that have bought up all stock in Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware so that the healthcare workers that don't even have one can get it.  I know I took an oath and that I will do my job but I'm scared.  I have a family and grandchildren I don't want to die by being put on the "front lines".  

NY Healthcare workers your ANGELS.  What you've had to endure and continue to endure is beyond words.  Compared to have you all have it I shouldn't complain, honestly your amazing, NY Healthcare workers ROCK!!!!

People in general are still out and about, acting like nothing.  There are those that say "my freedom is mine" well what about the rest of us that your exposing, what about the policeman, the fireman, the EMT's, the drive thru staff, the grocery workers, the healthcare workers just trying to get to work For God sake stay home!!!!!

 

im a prison guard. I had to work 29 hours in two days in an impromptu covid 19 isolation unit. I was given a "surgical mask" made out of inmate uniforms (every inmate and guard has received 2, and yes they are made from the fabric of existing stocks of inmate uniforms) and a smock made out of inmate uniforms.

 

I am pretty sure that neither of these devices does any function other than make me uncomfortable; and I am resigned to that fact that I am going to contract covid19.

[eileeshb]

Update from Ireland

our version of a lockdown has been extended to May 5th, and mass gatherings (over 5,000) banned until at least September which will wipeout the summer festivals as well as all sports events.

Our health minister has already speculated that pubs may not reopen at all this year.

My local council has issued an orange level fire warning for the whole of this week, there were 2 bushfires already and another today. Wildfires are not really something people associate with Ireland, but it’s been oddly dry weather since the lockdown began. 
 

The EU has extended the border closures to non-essential travel until May 15th, this is highly likely to be extended further. Here is the EU page on travel and transport.

 

 

[deniseatnycs]

18 hours ago, eileeshb said:

Update from Ireland

our version of a lockdown has been extended to May 5th, and mass gatherings (over 5,000) banned until at least September which will wipeout the summer festivals as well as all sports events.

Our health minister has already speculated that pubs may not reopen at all this year.

My local council has issued an orange level fire warning for the whole of this week, there were 2 bushfires already and another today. Wildfires are not really something people associate with Ireland, but it’s been oddly dry weather since the lockdown began. 
 

The EU has extended the border closures to non-essential travel until May 15th, this is highly likely to be extended further. Here is the EU page on travel and transport.

 

 

My adopted home of mainland Spain has also extended its "State of Alarm"  until the 9th May making two full months of very strict lockdown which is being in the main adhered to.  Read the other day that most people in Spain are more afraid of the penalties of breaking the laws than they are of catching the virus!

There are many reports in the International press of the lightening of our restrictions which are, in the main, not based on fact.   As of this Monday children under the age of 14 are allowed to go for a walk with a parent and construction workers are allowed to work on unoccupied buildings.  Together with restaurants being allowed to deliver takeaways (again with restrictions) this in essence is the total of the new relaxed regime.

 

There is talk in the political papers, but nothing passed in law, that the schools may reopen in September and there will be no travel in or out of Spain for tourist purposes in 2020.  Like many others we have saved and planned for our May Baltic, November Transatlantic, December Caribbean and Christmas and New Year cruises.  Obviously, the May Baltic from Copenhagen is to be cancelled any day, but in all honesty I (and its my personal take on this ) cannot see our Government opening up the port of Barcelona to cruise ships this year.     

[stjohnbeachlover]

My husband and I are both retired and in our 60's. We live about 20 miles south of St. Louis, Missouri. Today marks one month since we returned from a 21 day cruise through the South Pacific (which was extended by 4 days because we were unable to disembark in 4 different ports). The time on our cruise was great (but anxiety increased as we were turned away by more countries during the last 7 days of the cruise). We ended up having 20 sea days. We are adjusting to the conditions here in Missouri. Only trips to essential businesses are allowed. We were walking at parks (with 6 feet social distancing) but the parks in St. Louis City and County have now been closed about two weeks. Our house is on an acre of property so we have been doing a lot of outdoor activities in our yard. We are hoping to reach our plateau soon but are not in any big hurry to go into any crowded area. I have only been to the grocery store twice but both times the store was stocked with all necessities. We did have a lot of empty shelves but I think that was during the first two weeks of the lock down while we were still on our cruise. Sending prayers out to all healthcare workers and other essential workers!

[dmdiver]

I'm 60, been retired almost 2 years.  Hubby still working, thank goodness.  He works from home & as long as business rolls in, he should keep his job.  Our 27 year old son got furloughed 2 weeks after moving into an apartment by himself.  Not knowing if the furlough would turn into a layoff, he used stimulus money to help pay out for breaking his lease & moved back home.  This was more our idea than his, but we were concerned about his emotional health as well.  His girlfriend had also just broken up with him & he had to give up his dog (kind of a long story there).  Anyway, we are hoping things will return to normal before all these businesses start failing.  

 

We've been taking advantage of ordering groceries online & picking up.  However, there are items that you just can't order through the grocery app, so we still end up going into the store occasionally.  We have done a lot of yard work at home - just wearing bandanas when we go to Lowe's or Home Depot for supplies.  Gas prices have fallen - saw a guy today filling up multiple 5-gallon containers at the gas station.  

 

Our daughters are both teachers, so they are still employed, just online now.  Our son-in-laws are both firefighters in Dallas.  I worry for their safety all the time, but now I have concerns for their health.  We did help our daughter & her family move recently. I feel for the buyers of their old house.  It was purchased due to a job transfer & now the transfer has been delayed.  I hope they are able to manage until they can get to Texas from California.

 

We were supposed to go to Alaska next month but now planning on 2021 instead.  Surely things will be right by then.

[dmdiver]

So, here we are nearing the end of April.  Lots of people out riding bikes, walking, jogging, golfing, doing home improvements.  Restaurants are to-go only since 3rd week or so of March, but May 1 they are allowed to open, but at 25% capacity is my understanding.  The stores I've been to all have markings on the floor to help with social distancing.  Plexiglass shield is between pharmacy staff and customers.  Still no hair or nail salons open, but May 1, tanning salons are allowed to be open.  I suppose it's easier not to make contact with another human in a tanning salon than the others.  Anyway, it surprised me to read that.  Had a couple of storms come through this week.  Some people had good-sized hail.  I don't think we got any at our house or if we did, it was small.

 

As far as covid is concerned, I don't think our town has had a whole lot, maybe 40? and I think 1 death.  While numbers may be a small percentage, if one of your friends or family members is in that percentage, it is pretty significant to you.  So, I just try to keep that in mind.  

 

The more people I talk to, the more I am hearing that they think covid was already here.  A while back, over 100 students were out sick at one of our elementary schools.  My grandson was one of them.  One of my granddaughters and her dad were also sick with a lingering upper respiratory as well.  A few neighbors had long-lasting illnesses earlier this year/late last year.  All these were fever and cough, but tested negative for flu & strep.  So, I don't know - could be something to that.

 

 

[eileeshb]

Latest update from Ireland, lockdown extended to May 18th. 2 slight easings to the restrictions kick in on Tuesday (its a holiday weekend here): over 70s are allowed leave their homes for exercise as long as they stay away from other people, the exercise can be within 5km of your home instead of 2km.

 

There’s also a 5 phase plan to ramp down from lockdown, each phase currently scheduled for 3 week intervals which are subject to change depending on how the virus progresses. 
if you’re curious about it Here’s the official page.

 

The last stage is August 10th at which point things within Ireland revert to near normal.. everything open but with social distancing still in place. It’s only at that point us “mainlanders “ can start to visit our islands again, though other tourism elements are projected to reopen July 20th.

[cruiser4801]

There will be no cruises this year as there can be no social distancing in a petri dish cruise ship.  Unless necessary, no one will book a flight.  Few will go to restaurants when they reopen.

 

NCL has the worst customer service in an already horrible industry for customer service.  

 

 

[Cee_Jay]

I feel ANY timetable revealed at the moment will be unlikely to run its course. OR the definition of normal should read "new" normal. Crowds as in sports events, concerts etc will be very unlikely to open by July in Ireland. There will still be no or extremely limited  international travel. Social distancing may well still be in place and as 4801 above I feel even if restaurants and bars open there may well be very few customers for a long while.

 Still, we all live in hope.......