How can the the Queens get back to cruising ?

[SargassoPirate]

I don't need to cruise, it's the cruise lines that need me to cruise.  To that end, my cruise plans for the future are on hold until there is a worldwide vaccine in use.  I do not need to go on a cruise with enforced distancing or restricted movements.

 

It's time to break out the road atlas and plan a road trip or two.

[david,Mississauga]

9 hours ago, lissie said:

Gawd I want to move to Canada!  The ONLY pre-existing conditions covered automatically in NZ are things like asthma (onset under 60) high blood pressure (but no cardiac issues) and similar "simple" things. As soon as you have anything that relates to major organs (lungs, heart), joint replacements, diabetets, joint replacements, organ replacements etc etc - its a lottery if you will get insurance. My partner has afib and a valve replacement - his specialist is very happy with his progress. He can get expensive insurance for most of  the world - but nothing for North America. Once he his 70 in 2 more years - its going to be even more difficult. Many of us have to travel without insurance or not travel.   This is nothing to do with cruising - just travel in general. 

 

Sorry, I should have elaborated more. Although coverage for pre-existing condions is common, not all insurance companies will accept everyone who applies.  The more popular and reasonably-priced ones can be choosy. Depending on answers to the questionnaire, the applicant may be rejected. A friend who is in fairly good health found many insurers would not accept him because for a few years he took furosemide. Others will reject an applicant who takes six or more (and sometimes fewer) medications. It is common that people under 50 and sometimes 55 do not need to answer a questionnaire.

 

We are fortunate to have an annual policy - medical, cancellation and trip interruption, lost luggage - with  a guaranteed renewal without a questionnaire. The definition of stable can be tricky, but our policy is fairly straight-forward. As long as the pre-existing condition has not had new symptoms or a change in medication it is covered. There are a few other conditions, such as awaiting the outcome of a test. The cost of our policy almost doubled when we turned 70, but it is still reasonable.

[DaKa2002]

24 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

I don't need to cruise, it's the cruise lines that need me to cruise.  To that end, my cruise plans for the future are on hold until there is a worldwide vaccine in use.  I do not need to go on a cruise with enforced distancing or restricted movements.

 

It's time to break out the road atlas and plan a road trip or two.

We agree exactly!  

[Colin_Cameron]

10 hours ago, lissie said:

Administered to the patient who has to produce an official record of same. Same as yellow fever has been for decades 

Hi Lissie,

 

I wasn't thinking so much about getting on the ship but more about getting off it. Are ports/countries around the world going to allow visitors on condition that they have a 'vaccination certificate', or are they going to want to wait until some proportion of their own population is vaccinated in case some infected visitor does slip through the net?

 

And, even if you are vaccinated, are cruise companies going to take you (or would large numbers of people want to go) to places where few people (or nobody) have been vaccinated?

 

Just thinking out loud.

[exlondoner]

2 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

I don't need to cruise, it's the cruise lines that need me to cruise.  To that end, my cruise plans for the future are on hold until there is a worldwide vaccine in use.  I do not need to go on a cruise with enforced distancing or restricted movements.

 

It's time to break out the road atlas and plan a road trip or two.

 

And how does that avoid social distancing or restricted movements, unless you are camping in the wilderness in complete isolation? Oh, that would be socially distanced too.

[IB2]

4 hours ago, david,Mississauga said:

 

Sorry, I should have elaborated more. Although coverage for pre-existing condions is common, not all insurance companies will accept everyone who applies.  The more popular and reasonably-priced ones can be choosy. Depending on answers to the questionnaire, the applicant may be rejected. A friend who is in fairly good health found many insurers would not accept him because for a few years he took furosemide. Others will reject an applicant who takes six or more (and sometimes fewer) medications. It is common that people under 50 and sometimes 55 do not need to answer a questionnaire.

 

We are fortunate to have an annual policy - medical, cancellation and trip interruption, lost luggage - with  a guaranteed renewal without a questionnaire. The definition of stable can be tricky, but our policy is fairly straight-forward. As long as the pre-existing condition has not had new symptoms or a change in medication it is covered. There are a few other conditions, such as awaiting the outcome of a test. The cost of our policy almost doubled when we turned 70, but it is still reasonable.

The bottom line is that travel insurance companies make their living out of pricing up people’s medical risks should they travel abroad.

 

Making insurance a compulsory requirement for taking a cruise will automatically exclude those whose medical history indicates they shouldn’t be travelling in the first place, and those who can’t afford the quoted premiums and therefore wouldn’t have the means to cover the potential costs of their treatment should they fall ill on board.

[Trevor33]

In reality there needs to be a vaccine as it is impossible to go on a cruise ship based on the fact that cruise ships are not able to have 2 metres social distancing. Simply passing someone in the narrow corridors means social distancing is not possible. We have all heard the cruel term that ships are like "Floating Petri dishes" - whether you believe the term or not it has stuck in some quarters. Sadly I cannot see cruising happening for the best part of a year and in one way this may would help the industry because the first case of coronavirus after cruising resumes will potentially kill the cruise industry for much longer than anyone would wish.

[hypercafe]

Travel is changing. Saw yesterday that jet blue now requires all passengers and crew to wear a mask for the entire trip. Also some talk of not selling the middle seats. I am sure cruise lines will also change when they go again. Not sure it's worth the trouble for now.

[longton]

I agree with Trevor33. Social distancing is impossible on a cruise ship.

 

It may be possible to wear a mask on a flight of a few hours but I can't imagine wearing a mask on a ship. For most people, that wouldn't be a holiday.

 

I won't be cruising again until there is an effective vaccine. Cruise companies will need to ensure everyone has had the vaccination prior to embarkation. There will need to be a vaccination card or certificate confirming this. (I have a card confirming I have had a yellow fever shot.)

 

And everyone must have comprehensive medical insurance and prove they have it prior to boarding. Or the cruise company arranges insurance for all passengers and adds the cost to the fare.

[Germancruiser]

I would not say it is impossible to practice social distancing on board a ship- but extremly difficult and uncomfortable.,

Only tables for two in the Dinning Rooms and so such things- doable - but again-  not everybody´s idea of a nice cruise experience with meet and mingle!

[Ray66]

Here's what P&O have planned:

 

Passengers travelling with P&O Cruises will face "rigorous" medical checks before they are allowed to board when ships begin to sail again, the firm has announced.

The UK's biggest cruise line operator said it is developing plans to introduce a series of "stringent measures" to ensure it adheres to international health guidelines once operations are resumed.

Other changes being considered include reducing the capacity of ships, scrapping self-service buffets and implementing one-way systems on board once the coronavirus pandemic is under control.

 

https://www.itv.com/news/2020-04-29/cruise-passengers-to-face-rigorous-medical-checks-before-being-allow-to-travel/

[SargassoPirate]

22 hours ago, exlondoner said:

 

And how does that avoid social distancing or restricted movements, unless you are camping in the wilderness in complete isolation? Oh, that would be socially distanced too.

 

We'll be watching as our states reopen and what their restrictions are.  No need to practice social distancing in the car since She Who Must Be Obeyed and I are already co-habitating.  Fuel stops shouldn't be a problem.  Hotel check-in procedures will be a bit different.  We don't usually seek out crowded venues in the more popular national parks, so once the parks reopen we should be OK there.  A friend sent me this:

 

We all have Schrodinger's Virus now.

Because we cannot get tested, we can't know whether we have the virus or not.

We have to act as if we have the virus so that we don't spread it to others.

We have to act as if we've never had the virus because if we didn't have it, we're not immune.

Therefore, we both have and don't have the virus. Thus Schrodinger's Virus.

If you don't get this joke, Google Schrodinger's Cat.

[Trevor33]

Does anyone think it safe to get on a cruise ship with thousands of people before a vaccine has been discovered, mass produced and everyone innoculated?   

[Fairgarth]

On 4/30/2020 at 6:34 AM, SargassoPirate said:

 

We all have Schrodinger's Virus now.

Because we cannot get tested, we can't know whether we have the virus or not.

We have to act as if we have the virus so that we don't spread it to others.

We have to act as if we've never had the virus because if we didn't have it, we're not immune.

Therefore, we both have and don't have the virus.

 

 

That is brilliant!!  Very clever, thank you.

[exlondoner]

16 hours ago, Trevor33 said:

Does anyone think it safe to get on a cruise ship with thousands of people before a vaccine has been discovered, mass produced and everyone innoculated?   

 

There are clearly three risks.

1. Catching the pesky thing.

2. Becoming seriously ill with it.

3. Being quarantined.

 

As I am white, female, under 70, and have no (known) underlying conditions, I'd risk 1 and 2. 3 is the tricky one.

Edited May 4, 2020 by exlondoner

[laktex]

3 hours ago, exlondoner said:

 

There are clearly three risks.

1. Catching the pesky thing.

2. Becoming seriously ill with it.

3. Being quarantined.

 

As I am white, female, under 70, and have no (known) underlying conditions, I'd risk 1 and 2. 3 is the tricky one.

Is not death "clearly" a risk!? 

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, exlondoner said:

 

There are clearly three risks.

1. Catching the pesky thing.

2. Becoming seriously ill with it.

3. Being quarantined.

 

As I am white, female, under 70, and have no (known) underlying conditions, I'd risk 1 and 2. 3 is the tricky one.

Of course, your willingness to risk No.1 and No. 2 appears to be your business - but to the extent that accepting those risks necessarily increases the likelihood of others having to accept all three risks, you might want to reconsider that willingness.

[exlondoner]

7 minutes ago, laktex said:

Is not death "clearly" a risk!? 

 

But there are lots of ways of dying. Some more likely than coronavirus. Death is a risk of life, and one has to assess how risky it is, and for me the answer is probably not very at present, but who knows?

[exlondoner]

7 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Of course, your willingness to risk No.1 and No. 2 appears to be your business - but to the extent that accepting those risks necessarily increases the likelihood of others having to accept all three risks, you might want to reconsider that willingness.

 

That is why I tied it to my personal state. None of the personal factors I mentioned, except ethnic background, applies to my travelling companion, and that would obviously influence my view in reality. 

[hypercafe]

20 hours ago, Trevor33 said:

Does anyone think it safe to get on a cruise ship with thousands of people before a vaccine has been discovered, mass produced and everyone innoculated?   

I don't and will not go until there is a vaccine. The airlines here in the US are starting to require face covering for all and not selling all seats. Cruise ships will probably start off the same, doesn't sound like a relaxing vacation. Besides catching the virus by big fear is case's on the ship causing it to become a flying Dutchman.

[navybankerteacher]

37 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

 

That is why I tied it to my personal state. None of the personal factors I mentioned, except ethnic background, applies to my travelling companion, and that would obviously influence my view in reality. 

I was not just referring to your traveling companion - but to everyone else you might come in contact with during and after your engaging in the unavoidable close contact involved in an unnecessary activity like cruising. 

[happy cruzer]

Maybe Crossings will be the a niche to open?  Air travel is in trouble.  Some already did longer vacations that depend on crossings as part of it.  Still many months away but may be a market.

[resistk]

21 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

Maybe Crossings will be the a niche to open?  Air travel is in trouble.  Some already did longer vacations that depend on crossings as part of it.  Still many months away but may be a market.

 

I'd say based on my observatios over more than 2 dozen crossings, maybe 5-10% of the QM2 Trans Atlantic passengers were already people who could not fly comfortably due to preexisting medical conditions.  The problem is those people and ones like them who would ot want to fly now are exactly the sort of passengers most at risk for COVID complications, so it is a Catch 22.

[Trevor33]

Are there enough potential passengers that would get on a cruise ship along with a couple of thousand other people at this time or within the next year? Seriously? Has the UK not got enough problems with the highest number of deaths and contagion in Europe? I think some believe that by setting sail they think Coronavirus would be left behind? You can have the check before Cunard let you board and all seems great but you can have the virus and not show symptoms - what happens then?. It is great to dream about cruising again but are some thinking everything is okay? I have a 4 month cruise booked and although I dont like the "Floating Petri Dish" comment a cruise at the moment would not be very relaxing. 

[resistk]

19 hours ago, Trevor33 said:

Are there enough potential passengers that would get on a cruise ship along with a couple of thousand other people at this time or within the next year? Seriously? Has the UK not got enough problems with the highest number of deaths and contagion in Europe?

 

Good point, out of the frying pan into the fire.  No one want to go to either NYC or London, both full of plague.