What happens if Princess won't allow you to board because of a cold?

[DanJ]

This talk of sniffles reminds me of Hong Kong. Prior to going ashore we were given a form asking us to indicate if we had the "snivvles" and when we disembarked all passengers were met at the bottom of the gangway with a person wielding an electronic thermometer that was then pointed at our forehead. Talk about a welcome committee!!!. :rolleyes:

 

 

That was how they screened for SARS when it was making big news in 2003. People were being checked at US cruise ports, and some airports were starting to install devices that can screen for high temperatures as you walked by. I remember back then that if you so much as coughed once in public, people looked at you funny and gave you a wide berth.

[Cruisin' Chick]

My daughter and I both suffer from hay fever and sometimes it's hard to tell if it's not a cold. Last month, I thought my daughter's sore throat was due to her allergies, until she developed a fever of 104 (usually she might have a slight fever with hay fever). So I figured it was the flu. A staff member at her school admitted to me the next week that several students and teachers have been out with the flu.

 

As far as colds, etc., unless someone is sneezing or coughing on you, you may be safe if they're past the incubation period. It's right before they start hacking, that they are the most contagious. Same thing with norovirus, I believe. Best thing is if everyone washes their hands religiously.

[custompcsys]

I'm paranoid about it too, and if I have to fly (especially internationally on long flights) to a vacation, I ALWAYS wear a mask on the plane, and even in the airport. Who cares what it looks like...if anything people might assume that I am keeping my germs to myself.

 

Having worked EMS for almost 20 years I can tell you that any enclosed space with poor ventilation is a much higher risk for transmission of airborn/droplet transmitted infection, not just an aircraft cabin. Unfortunately, unless the mask you are wearing is a particulate respirator mask that you have been fit tested for and trained how to use, its not going to provide anywhere near the level of protection you think it is providing. The airport terminal is much more open so it is a lot less of a risk than the aircraft cabin.

 

Your mask is probably doing more to protect others from you than it is protecting you from anything. In the back of an ambulance (which is about as confined and poorly ventilated a space as you can get) we would put a mask on the patient as well as ourselves if we suspected anything.

[MaryPoppinz]

Your mask is probably doing more to protect others from you than it is protecting you from anything.

 

They are useful for the wearer, too -- by keeping hands away from mouth and nose.

[riteonglor]

Just out of curiosity, how many of you would actually mark the yes box on that form knowing you would be denied boarding?

 

As we were boarding the Coral about a month ago and filling out this form.....I wondered the same thing. I doubt anyone would fill out that form with "yes" checked. You have waited a long time to go on this cruise and the thought of loosing what you paid is going to make even honest people a liar. I think the cruise ship is waste-ing valuable paper for nothing.

[Toto2Kansas]

Not too long ago we were meeting cruise friends at the port the day before boarding. We did not see them as expected for the pre-cruise stay. We met up at the pier and noticed one was not acting quite right, but we didn't ask what was wrong. Towards the end of the cruise, they finally told us that one of them had come down with some sort of bug after arriving at the hotel. Same symptoms as noro, yuck! But they filled out the paperwork that nothing was wrong at the pier, and boarded the ship as usual. They told us at the end of the cruise they didn't want anyone to know (not even us) one of them was very very sick as they were worried they would be denied boarding. :eek::eek: One had been sick for two days prior to embarkation and could barely leave the hotel room we were finally told.

I still remember the shock I felt that they would board the ship being that ill and risk infecting everyone onboard and ruining many other passengers cruise.

 

So, NO, most will not fill the paperwork out honestly, even if they are ill. It must be some type of legal thing to cover the cruise line is all I can figure, as even those who are very sick aren't about to miss the chance of getting better onboard and maybe miss their vacation, no matter what the cost to others onboard. :(

 

And that my friends is partly to blame for noro outbreaks. Yes, some don't become ill until they have boarded the ship, or a few days into their cruise. But when it is brought onboard the ship by those aware they have it, it usually spreads like wildfire!

[1 HappyCruiser]

Not too long ago we were meeting cruise friends at the port the day before boarding. We did not see them as expected for the pre-cruise stay. We met up at the pier and noticed one was not acting quite right, but we didn't ask what was wrong. Towards the end of the cruise, they finally told us that one of them had come down with some sort of bug after arriving at the hotel. Same symptoms as noro, yuck! But they filled out the paperwork that nothing was wrong at the pier, and boarded the ship as usual. They told us at the end of the cruise they didn't want anyone to know (not even us) one of them was very very sick as they were worried they would be denied boarding. :eek::eek: One had been sick for two days prior to embarkation and could barely leave the hotel room we were finally told.

I still remember the shock I felt that they would board the ship being that ill and risk infecting everyone onboard and ruining many other passengers cruise.

 

So, NO, most will not fill the paperwork out honestly, even if they are ill. It must be some type of legal thing to cover the cruise line is all I can figure, as even those who are very sick aren't about to miss the chance of getting better onboard and maybe miss their vacation, no matter what the cost to others onboard. :(

 

And that my friends is partly to blame for noro outbreaks. Yes, some don't become ill until they have boarded the ship, or a few days into their cruise. But when it is brought onboard the ship by those aware they have it, it usually spreads like wildfire!

 

So you're saying they if it were you that were sick you would choose not to board the ship in consideration of all the other cruisers & go home.

[Toto2Kansas]

So you're saying they if it were you that were sick you would choose not to board the ship in consideration of all the other cruisers & go home.

 

If I were that sick? Yes! That is what insurance is for! ;)

[pekachryn]

Your mask is probably doing more to protect others from you than it is protecting you from anything.

 

That's right. As an immunosuppressed, triple-organ transplant recipient, I am particularly susceptible to infection. I have two of the special masks that do prevent the massage of organisms through them (model number slips my mind right now), and I always wear them on international flights or if someone is sniffling or hacking near me. The only time I've gotten sick after an international flight was when I didn't wear it. I was sick for half of my 2-week cruise.

 

Also, I always use the antibacterial solution after I go through the buffet line, as well as before.

[1 HappyCruiser]

If I were that sick? Yes! That is what insurance is for! ;)

 

Well I'm sorry, even if I were sick with a virus I'll take my chances on boarding & avoid contact with other people as well as can be helped. The virus usually only lasts a couple of days anyway & since I've invested the money & time to reach the ship, I'm going. Not all people have insurance.

[captainron]

Hi,

Remember if you are sick and denied boarding, your travel insurance might be able to cover the costs of lost airfare and cruise.

 

Check your travel insurance/cancellation insurance policy carefully prior to purchasing so that you benefit from a policy that provides maximum coverage.

 

If you decide to lie and go ahead with your cruise, I'd encourage you (once onboard) to frequently use the abundant hand sanitizers that are provided around the vessel so the rest of us don't catch what you've got.

 

This is what causes many of the NORO outbreaks onboard ships.

 

Ciao for now!!!

[custompcsys]

Well I'm sorry, even if I were sick with a virus I'll take my chances on boarding & avoid contact with other people as well as can be helped. The virus usually only lasts a couple of days anyway & since I've invested the money & time to reach the ship, I'm going. Not all people have insurance.

 

Well, since I doubt you are going to confine yourself to your cabin for 2-3 days, the thought of possibly making the rest of us sick doesn't phase you. You might want to think about it this way then - if by some chance it ends up you had more than a simple GI bug, the medical facilities on board are equivalent to your local urgent care walk-in clinic. If you need additional care you will end up hospitalized in one of the ports on you cruise, which, depending on your itinerary, might not be a place you want to be if you are really sick. Ever been to a hospital in Mexico or in some places in the Caribbean? Better you than me :D

[riteonglor]

Well, since I doubt you are going to confine yourself to your cabin for 2-3 days, the thought of possibly making the rest of us sick doesn't phase you. You might want to think about it this way then - if by some chance it ends up you had more than a simple GI bug, the medical facilities on board are equivalent to your local urgent care walk-in clinic. If you need additional care you will end up hospitalized in one of the ports on you cruise, which, depending on your itinerary, might not be a place you want to be if you are really sick. Ever been to a hospital in Mexico or in some places in the Caribbean? Better you than me :D

 

You are right on, how could you possibly know what you may be coming down with or have. Just the thought of ending up in some hospital in some foreign country would be enough for me to do myself and everyone else a favor and stay off the ship. Way worse then missing the cruise would be to end up in a hospital far from home and having to pay the horrific expense of getting us back home again. Not to mention I sure would not be....being fair to all the other cruiser's onboard. We do always take out trip insurance but who knows that that would cover all expenses that may occur.

 

I know a couple from our town that 5 years ago went on a cruise, she was experiencing severe headaches when she boarded the ship. To make a long story short she died on the ship a day into the cruise. Talk about a nightmare for her husband....I can't even imagine.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Having worked EMS for almost 20 years I can tell you that any enclosed space with poor ventilation is a much higher risk for transmission of airborn/droplet transmitted infection, not just an aircraft cabin. Unfortunately, unless the mask you are wearing is a particulate respirator mask that you have been fit tested for and trained how to use, its not going to provide anywhere near the level of protection you think it is providing.

DH was an EMT and Army medic, and he said the same thing about the masks you can buy at Walgreens. He did the research and got me what he thought I needed...because his vacations were at stake too. Unforunately, it doesn't pack small, but it's always in my carry-on for use on flights.

[Colo Cruiser]

Well, since I doubt you are going to confine yourself to your cabin for 2-3 days, the thought of possibly making the rest of us sick doesn't phase you. You might want to think about it this way then - if by some chance it ends up you had more than a simple GI bug, the medical facilities on board are equivalent to your local urgent care walk-in clinic. If you need additional care you will end up hospitalized in one of the ports on you cruise, which, depending on your itinerary, might not be a place you want to be if you are really sick. Ever been to a hospital in Mexico or in some places in the Caribbean? Better you than me :D

 

 

Think its one of those "Its my cruise and I'll do what I want". :rolleyes: