FLORIDA

[ronrick1943]

I think the State of Florida with the Governor Ron DeSantis hasn't handled these last cruise ships properly and mostly without caring about the people on them.  Florida gets a ton of business from the cruise industry.  I think "all" cruise companies need to sit down with the State of Florida and have a heart to heart talk.  I enjoyed the few days before our cruises in Florida, but I can tell you I'll never cruise out or into Florida again.  Governor DeSantis should have to answer to the way he's handled these ships. Just my thinking.

[mrstanley]

There are 11 cruise ships off the coasts of Australia. Big issues going on there regarding crew and passengers being allowed to disembark.

 

That situation is worse than what happened in my state.... Florida.

 

[Travelcat2]

Rick - could not agree with you more. IMHO, Florida is one of several states that did not handle the coronavirus situation well at all (allowing Spring Break for instance).  What they are doing with cruise ships is unforgivable!

[ronrick1943]

1 hour ago, mrstanley said:

There are 11 cruise ships off the coasts of Australia. Big issues going on there regarding crew and passengers being allowed to disembark.

 

That situation is worse than what happened in my state.... Florida.

 

That doesn't change what how your Governor is handling the cruise ships in Florida.  Wanting to let only Florida residents off because he doesn't want his hospitals over loaded.  Cruise lines bring a lot of revenue to Florida, I for one won't support that type of action by the Governor of Florida.  I'm only one person, but I won't be spending by money in that state, and won't be cruising from or into that state once Regent sails again.  I'll look for cruises that start and end elsewhere.  I hope Regent and other cruise lines how they are being treated by Florida..............

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

Ronrick and TC

Both HAL cruise ships docked yesterday in Ft. Lauderdale, due to federal urging. The out of state and country residents were transported to the airport. The folks with the corona virus were  transported to hospitals. 
I am a resident of South Florida and think that our governor was too late in shutting down our state. Spring break became a party on the beaches. Where were their parents and the governor?

He should have made all the above decisions much sooner! 
sheila

Edited April 4, 2020 by Bellaggio Cruisers

[Roger88]

I havent heard any news from Florida lately, how are they doing there? There are plenty of tourists in Miami, probably the place is deserted at the moment. I also wonder where the ships are parked. Probably they are at sea or at some isolated docks. In any case they should be at the same quarantine just like the rest of the East Coast. Hope they are doing alright. I wish the immigration policy is also under control there. Otherwise the situation may escalate quickly  

[cruiseluv]

I'm sure this thread will soon turn into a bashing thread. Lets keep politics out of this ok?

[ronrick1943]

2 minutes ago, cruiseluv said:

I'm sure this thread will soon turn into a bashing thread. Lets keep politics out of this ok?

It really has nothing to do with politics, it's how the State handled this period.

[Dolebludger]

This crisis has been handled poorly by several states, but Florida’s handling of cruise ships and refusal to ban large spring break gatherings is probably the worst of the lot.  And the problem of authorities not allowing cruise ships to dock and  off load passengers is not confined to the US. 

[CruisingAlong4Now]

5 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

I think the State of Florida with the Governor Ron DeSantis hasn't handled these last cruise ships properly and mostly without caring about the people on them.  Florida gets a ton of business from the cruise industry.  I think "all" cruise companies need to sit down with the State of Florida and have a heart to heart talk.  I enjoyed the few days before our cruises in Florida, but I can tell you I'll never cruise out or into Florida again.  Governor DeSantis should have to answer to the way he's handled these ships. Just my thinking.

 

I find it odd that a Californian feels so strongly about the Florida Governor. I seem to recall a Grand Princess sailing in circles off the coast of a large western state. And I think that you will be much happier sailing from Galveston or New Orleans.

[wcsdkqh]

Absolutely correct. At least Florida accepted several ships while being turned away by a multitude of other ports. They should be lauded for accepting these floating Petri Dishes. I will add Florida made a serious mistake by not closing all beaches for spring break idiots.

[JIMinNC]

On the spring break thing, in all fairness to Florida, the situation moved so quickly it's easy to forget the dates and how rapidly the whole thing evolved. Most of those pictures of spring breakers partying were the first couple weeks of March. Remember, the NBA didn't stop their games until March 11 and the NCAA canceled March Madness right after that on the 12 or 13 of March, as I recall. So the first 10 -12 days of March, not only were the kids partying on beach, but 20,000 people were still going to sports events and concerts, and restaurants and bars were still open. Even New York didn't close restaurants until around the 15th or 16th. By the weekend of March 20-22, I believe most Florida beaches had been closed. Hindsight is always 20-20, but things were moving pretty fast in mid-March. Perhaps Florida should have moved a few days sooner, but it appears their delay in taking action was really only a few days. 

Edited April 4, 2020 by JIMinNC

[Travelcat2]

2 hours ago, CruisingAlong4Now said:

 

I find it odd that a Californian feels so strongly about the Florida Governor. I seem to recall a Grand Princess sailing in circles off the coast of a large western state. And I think that you will be much happier sailing from Galveston or New Orleans.

 

One must keep in mind that the west coast of the U.S. does not have a major cruise ship port (such as they have in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, FL).  While they are trying to make Seattle a major cruise ship port, it has not as yet happened.  At the time that the Grand Princess was trying to find a place to dock, I remember thinking that maybe they could tender somewhere on the west coast that is near a hospital.  It could be that tendering, in this situation, was not an option.  At that exact point in time, Seattle had the most cases of coronavirus in the U.S., so, it was definitely a poor option (it would be like unloading thousands of passengers in New York today).  

 

For those of you in Florida, it may be interesting to know that the "news" on the west coast is pretty critical of Florida.  When the Spring Breaker's were partying on the beaches in Florida, we (on the west coast) had already closed beaches, parks, etc. (which could by why the president and others have used Washington state as an example of what to do in this horrible crisis).  It would not have taken much to break up the parties but no one chose to do so.  

 

In my opinion, the governors of California, Washington and New York are doing an amazing job (and this is not a political statement).

[RJB]

15 hours ago, JIMinNC said:

On the spring break thing, in all fairness to Florida, the situation moved so quickly it's easy to forget the dates and how rapidly the whole thing evolved. Most of those pictures of spring breakers partying were the first couple weeks of March. Remember, the NBA didn't stop their games until March 11 and the NCAA canceled March Madness right after that on the 12 or 13 of March, as I recall. So the first 10 -12 days of March, not only were the kids partying on beach, but 20,000 people were still going to sports events and concerts, and restaurants and bars were still open. Even New York didn't close restaurants until around the 15th or 16th. By the weekend of March 20-22, I believe most Florida beaches had been closed. Hindsight is always 20-20, but things were moving pretty fast in mid-March. Perhaps Florida should have moved a few days sooner, but it appears their delay in taking action was really only a few days. 

Did the best they could with info. they had at the time.  

[EAGLESLOVER]

10 minutes ago, RJB said:

Did the best they could with info. they had at the time.  

The information was there in February. Starting at the top it was ignored 

[Flgreg]

Personally, we live under 10 miles from a popular Florida beach and were appalled at the Spring Break activity. The County we live in closed the beaches before they were closed State wide and we still felt it was too late.

[mrstanley]

Georgia beaches have reopened. STUPID!!!
 

[orvil]

As a Georgia resident and native, I am in full agreement.  The reopening of the Georgia beaches is a stupid action by the Governor of Georgia.  Local authorities had closed the beaches earlier.  The new order overrides the local authorities and reopens the beaches  The Department of Natural Resources is supposed to  be patrolling the beaches to prevent gatherings.    

 

The good new is there are no lifeguards on the beaches.  If you are stupid enough to get yourself in trouble, there won't be anyone to save you.  Culling the herd.  I urge the Governor of Georgia to go for a swim.

Edited April 5, 2020 by orvil

[GrJ Berkshire]

3 minutes ago, orvil said:

As a Georgia resident and native, I am in full agreement.  The reopening of the Georgia beaches is a stupid action by the Governor of Georgia.  Local authorities had closed the beaches earlier.  The new order overrides the local authorities and reopens the beaches  The Department of Natural Resources is supposed to  be patrolling the beaches to prevent gatherings.    

 

The good new is there are no lifeguards on the beaches.  If you are stupid enough to get yourself in trouble, there won't be anyone to save you.  Culling the herd.  I urge the Governor of Georgia to go for a swim.

Which planet is the idiot Governor of Georgia on?

Surely should be removed from office for potentially being party to mass murder!!!!!!

[TrulyBlonde]

3 hours ago, RJB said:

Did the best they could with info. they had at the time.  

This was from March 9 2020. Similar to Spring Breakers

“If you are a healthy young person, there is no reason if you want to go on a cruise ship, go on a cruise ship.” 

Anthony Fauci, Director of NIAID

[seaknots]

20 hours ago, wcsdkqh said:

............. these floating Petri Dishes

this sensatonal description good for tabloids, bad for cruise trade

[wcsdkqh]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. If you don’t like mine, who cares. 

[ronrick1943]

4 hours ago, RJB said:

Did the best they could with info. they had at the time.  

No they had the information, just didn't do anything---business was more important that life I guess.

[ronrick1943]

19 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

One must keep in mind that the west coast of the U.S. does not have a major cruise ship port (such as they have in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, FL).  While they are trying to make Seattle a major cruise ship port, it has not as yet happened.  At the time that the Grand Princess was trying to find a place to dock, I remember thinking that maybe they could tender somewhere on the west coast that is near a hospital.  It could be that tendering, in this situation, was not an option.  At that exact point in time, Seattle had the most cases of coronavirus in the U.S., so, it was definitely a poor option (it would be like unloading thousands of passengers in New York today).  

 

For those of you in Florida, it may be interesting to know that the "news" on the west coast is pretty critical of Florida.  When the Spring Breaker's were partying on the beaches in Florida, we (on the west coast) had already closed beaches, parks, etc. (which could by why the president and others have used Washington state as an example of what to do in this horrible crisis).  It would not have taken much to break up the parties but no one chose to do so.  

 

In my opinion, the governors of California, Washington and New York are doing an amazing job (and this is not a political statement).

100% in agreement--

[sierrafloridacruiser]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/23/us/california-stay-at-home-beach-goers/index.html