Swine Flu in Mexico, is it safe to go. (Merged Threads)

[jetwet1]

For me, that many sea days would be a dream come true... :rolleyes:

 

LOL I think you and my wife must be related !

 

Ok I am going to take a CC break for 30 mins, this whole thing has me bouncing off the walls, the more I think about it the more upset I am becoming.

 

One final little rant, tongue in cheek of course.

 

I fully expect Princess to release the same press release for the next three days days, then at 4pm Saturday they will release one that allows us to cancel as long as we have not checked in :D

[Sominex]

Just keep in mind that a ship can't just pull into a port or spend extra time there unless the arrangements can be made with the port authority. I am sure Princess is doing all they can do, but I wouldn't get my hopes up for any extended stay until announcements are made by Princess. Good Luck though! Just remember, it could be worse, you could have booked a cruise that had ALL Mexican ports, and been stuck!

Yes I do know that ships just can't pull into a port without prior arrangements but we have 1 1/2 weeks before we sail and I checked our scheduled ports and we are the only ship in each. So I'm hoping that other arrangements can be made based on this availability; as with other ships we've been on there were at least 1 or more other ships in port so I know there would be space, my only concern is the the Canal would be booked with cargo ships if we went at an earlier/later time.

Som

[cruiser boo]

For sure Princess will not pole the passengers on the Sapphire or those scheduled to be on it this Saturday on where they want to go. However, if I were allowed to choose I would say head south out of LA til we hit warm weather then slow it down to a snails pace & let us enjoy the warmth & sunshine then start heading North again til we have too make the mandatory stop in Ensenada. Not a bad cruise, sure would beat Catalina & just hanging around 60 degree weather! (might be tough finding a deck chair though).

[jetwet1]

For sure Princess will not pole the passengers on the Sapphire or those scheduled to be on it this Saturday on where they want to go. However, if I were allowed to choose I would say head south out of LA til we hit warm weather then slow it down to a snails pace & let us enjoy the warmth & sunshine then start heading North again til we have too make the mandatory stop in Ensenada. Not a bad cruise, sure would beat Catalina & just hanging around 60 degree weather! (might be tough finding a deck chair though).

 

As it has now been 30 minutes :D

 

Perfect, that works for me, not going to happen, but I vote yes.

[rkdahl]

Deleted....duplicate

[pjs9876]

For sure Princess will not pole the passengers on the Sapphire or those scheduled to be on it this Saturday on where they want to go. However, if I were allowed to choose I would say head south out of LA til we hit warm weather then slow it down to a snails pace & let us enjoy the warmth & sunshine then start heading North again til we have too make the mandatory stop in Ensenada. Not a bad cruise, sure would beat Catalina & just hanging around 60 degree weather! (might be tough finding a deck chair though).

 

 

I would vote with you! San Diego is running 60 for low and 66 for high the next three days. Yuck!

[kooljamming]

That's a shame! :( I know it's for safety but isn't there anyplace else to cruise to around there?

 

Did they say anything about partial refunds or OBC?

 

This would only be fair. If this was my February cruise I would be thinking of topping myself off. It was our first cruise on Princess, first cruise without the kids, our anniversary, and first balcony. A lot of first to spend only 90 minutes from home. I live in So. California, so I would be embarrassed to say I am cursing to San Diego and Catalina:D As for Ensenda, I haven't gotten off at that port in 5 years. I am almost thinking I would rather stay home but if I was in San Diego, that would be close to being home:eek:

As for airlines, Mexicana has changed the date to rebook without a fee. You can now rebook up to May 6th. If you have air to Mexico keep checking the airline's website.

Good luck!

[STLCruiser09]

For sure Princess will not pole the passengers on the Sapphire or those scheduled to be on it this Saturday on where they want to go. However, if I were allowed to choose I would say head south out of LA til we hit warm weather then slow it down to a snails pace & let us enjoy the warmth & sunshine then start heading North again til we have too make the mandatory stop in Ensenada. Not a bad cruise, sure would beat Catalina & just hanging around 60 degree weather! (might be tough finding a deck chair though).

 

 

I would enjoy that!!!! If you are interested, check out the extended forcast for Catalina and San Diego!!! LOL, you will not be too happy. 60's for the high for the next 10 days!!!!!

:mad:

[dchip]

We were on the Star, stopped at 4 Mexican ports. Didn't go to Ixtapa because of the crime, ported in Manzanillo instead.

 

What I can tell you is 10 minutes after we left Cabo the temperature dropped from 93 to 57. It was freezing cold and bumpy all the way back to San Francisco.

 

Spending the day checking incubation times for the swine flu :eek: :eek: :eek:

 

Cheers, Denise

[wrp96]

Spending the day checking incubation times for the swine flu :eek: :eek: :eek:

 

1-4 days

[jetwet1]

I would enjoy that!!!! If you are interested, check out the extended forcast for Catalina and San Diego!!! LOL, you will not be too happy. 60's for the high for the next 10 days!!!!!

:mad:

 

Thanks :rolleyes:

 

What I can tell you is 10 minutes after we left Cabo the temperature dropped from 93 to 57. It was freezing cold and bumpy all the way back to San Francisco.

 

Cheers, Denise

 

Thanks again :rolleyes:

 

I think it's time to start drinking :eek:

[STLCruiser09]

Start Drinking??? You mean you stopped????

[gofson2]

Princess is taking precautions on their own...

 

They have canceled Mexico calls for the Sapphire on the current cruise, choosing instead to stop at San Diego and Catalina.

 

I'm not a doctor either, but the best thing you could do is go, have fun, and just be diligent about washing your hands and avoid touching your eyes and mouth. Especially after coming in contact with things that everyone touches, such as elevator buttons and hand rails.

 

If you do feel yourself getting sick, head straight to the medical center on board, do not pass go, do not collect $200 on board credit. :)

 

Bon Voyage

[jetwet1]

If it comes down to it I will go, I will have fun, I will not think how I just got shafted until I get back, then I will book a cruise with another line and send the CEO of Princess a copy of the invoice, just to let him know that we did what every consumer has the right to do, spend there money else where.

 

Of course we could also be heading south, in which case I will raise a drink to the people in Sante Clarita and toast the extra grey hairs I have given myself today because of this stuff.

 

Oh, to the people who say just go have fun, if you feel like throwing me the $1800 price difference between what I paid for and a Catalina cruise (oh and that's x4 for the 4 cabins btw) I will relax a lot, enjoy myself more AND more importantly have a extra couple of drinks :D

 

Anyways, bedtime for me now, so peace and quiet on the boards for a few hours.

 

Being serious for a sec.

 

Thank you everyone for letting myself (and others) vent, the main frustration right now is the lack of communication from the cruise lines, I am reading the same thing on other boards as well, but at least on here I/we can vent and not get shouted down.

 

Thank you again.

[gofson2]

Jetwet1

 

I completely understand your point. You've paid some hard earned cash for a particular destination cruise, and due to circumstances outside your control, the ship is no longer going to the same destinations.

 

Just playing devils advocate here, look at things from the Princess point of view. The CDC has just issued a Travel Warning to Mexico due to the outbreak. Yes, the chances are slim of a passenger catching it, but what would you do? Take a chance and put 4000+ passengers and crew at risk, or play it cautious and try and make the best of the available ports in the area? It just takes one passenger to get sick, and then the negative publicity would be a nightmare. "How could they put their passengers at risk?" "What were they thinking?" "Couldn't they have scheduled other destinations?" etc, etc, etc.

 

I know San Diego and Catalina are not as exciting, or warm, as Mexico would be this time of year, but where else could the ship go in 7 days? Guaranteed, Princess is hard at work trying to find alternative shore excursions and the like for SD and Catalina. If you haven't been to the Gaslamp district of Old San Diego, I highly recommend it. Lots of great bars and places to eat. On Catalina, I'd go to the back side of the island and look for the wild Buffalo that live there. (Can you tell, I'm a native Southern Californian).

 

The communication issue is tough to address. The flu thing has blown up over the past week or so. From the Princess point of view, you'd like to keep to your original schedule due to the costs involved to change things at the last minute. I'm sure the statement about canceling the Mexican ports was sent out as soon as the other arrangements were confirmed. What else could they have done?

 

They're just trying to make the best out of a bad situation.

 

I see that RCI is still scheduling their ships to Mexico. For them, as well as their passengers and crew, I hope all goes well.

 

You know what they say, when life gives you lemons, ask for more Tequila and salt! :)

 

Sleep well.

[cruisecrasy]

If it comes down to it I will go, I will have fun, I will not think how I just got shafted until I get back, then I will book a cruise with another line and send the CEO of Princess a copy of the invoice, just to let him know that we did what every consumer has the right to do, spend there money else where.

 

Of course we could also be heading south, in which case I will raise a drink to the people in Sante Clarita and toast the extra grey hairs I have given myself today because of this stuff.

 

Oh, to the people who say just go have fun, if you feel like throwing me the $1800 price difference between what I paid for and a Catalina cruise (oh and that's x4 for the 4 cabins btw) I will relax a lot, enjoy myself more AND more importantly have a extra couple of drinks :D

 

Anyways, bedtime for me now, so peace and quiet on the boards for a few hours.

 

Being serious for a sec.

 

Thank you everyone for letting myself (and others) vent, the main frustration right now is the lack of communication from the cruise lines, I am reading the same thing on other boards as well, but at least on here I/we can vent and not get shouted down.

 

Thank you again.

 

How did u get shafted?

Did Princess cancel your ports or cruise for any reason not related to protecting u & other pax from the 'swine flu'?

 

I agree, great place to 'vent' & of course, u cld also 'vent' to a higher power who caused the flu in the first place!! Likely won't change much but u do tend to feel better... :)

 

Have happy cruisin'!

[RickEk]

If it comes down to it I will go, I will have fun, I will not think how I just got shafted until I get back, then I will book a cruise with another line and send the CEO of Princess a copy of the invoice, just to let him know that we did what every consumer has the right to do, spend there money else where.

 

Of course we could also be heading south, in which case I will raise a drink to the people in Sante Clarita and toast the extra grey hairs I have given myself today because of this stuff.

 

Oh, to the people who say just go have fun, if you feel like throwing me the $1800 price difference between what I paid for and a Catalina cruise (oh and that's x4 for the 4 cabins btw) I will relax a lot, enjoy myself more AND more importantly have a extra couple of drinks :D

 

Anyways, bedtime for me now, so peace and quiet on the boards for a few hours.

 

Being serious for a sec.

 

Thank you everyone for letting myself (and others) vent, the main frustration right now is the lack of communication from the cruise lines, I am reading the same thing on other boards as well, but at least on here I/we can vent and not get shouted down.

 

Thank you again.

 

Jet, I understand your frustration, but you need to deal with the fact that something unforeseen has happened and the cruise line is doing it's best to deal with it. Would you rather that they ignore the CDC's warnings, take you on your planned cruise and then someone in your family gets sick? They must err on the side of caution especially when a governmental agency is advising them to do so. If you went and someone got sick and died, well, then you'd be suing them for putting your family in danger. They are definitely in a no-win situation. They certainly didn't plan on "shafting" you.

 

Hopefully, in the next few days, the situation/hysteria will ease and itineraries will return to normal. And, at the very least, even though they don't have to, Princess will hopefully provide some kind of recompense for the inconvenience.

 

And, of course, I think taking a Catalina cruise onboard the Sapphire would be infinitely better than Carnival's Paradise. :p

[Clutterlady]

Understanding everyone's frustrations and disappointments, but all the cruise lines are doing the same thing not just Princess. They are all being very couscous and thinking of passenger safety.

[SeattleCruiselover]

1-4 days

 

Actually per CDC and Health Department guidelines be on the lookout for 7-10 days.

[wrp96]

I see that RCI is still scheduling their ships to Mexico. For them, as well as their passengers and crew, I hope all goes well.

 

Actually RCCL has just announced it has cancelled all its Mexico ports of call. In fact Mariner of the Seas will now do a Canada and US West Coast itinerary. And the complaints have already started by the people that WANT to do a San Diego, Catalina, Ensenada itinerary instead.

 

There's even a few mad because RCCL cancelled their Mexico stops at all.

[californiagirl]

This is my frustration: If they change to So. Cal ports this is a total change in cruise destination and I would like for Princess to give us the option to cancel or rebook another cruise. There are other options for us to take and I don't want to lose the money I spent on this cruise and pay for another vacation. I also do not want to have spent several hundred dollars and a week of valuable vacation time to stay in California! I live here. I could go to the Gaslamp district any day. I have been to Catalina several times before and there is not much to do there in the summer let alone when it is overcast and chilly. I understand that they are trying to make the best of this situation. If they were changing one port it would be one thing, but if we do a So. Cal coastal it is an entirely different trip.

 

I appreciate that some of you would enjoy a cruise to nowhere for a week. My husband and I do not enjoy that and we did not pay for that kind of cruise. I also appreciate that we are fortunate to be taking a vacation during this economy, but I worked hard for the money to pay for this trip and feel I have the right to be disappointed that it looks like it is not the trip I paid for!

 

I would like for Princess to communicate better any changes they are planning and offer the choice to passengers to cancel or rebook.

[erinpdx]

We are scheduled to go on the Sapphire this Saturday. I think the frustration for us is that there has been no communication. We called this afternoon and were told they will make a decision either later today or tomorrow in regards to where our ports will be. Coming from Oregon, we would rather spend 7 days out a sea off of the coast of Mexico than San Diego where it was a high of 62 today. I feel sorry for the people on the boat this week who did not have any heads up. Can you imagine packing a bunch of shorts and swim suits only to be in 50-60 degree weather for the week? My guess is that there are a lot of unhappy people on that boat. I am glad that we are going to get advanced notice but it would have been nice if Princess had consulted with the passengers or communicated with us in any way.

[cathycruise]

I have to admit that it'd be nice (and fair) if Princess reimburse the passengers -- we are scheduled for the 5/2 Mexican Riviera cruise -- the difference b/w the price of Mexican Riviera cruise and that of the modified San Diego one. I'm sure with the fuel cost alone, it should be much cheaper to go down only to San Diego, Ensenada & Catalina Island and back to San Pedro. From what I understood after a discussion with the Princess C/S agent this morning, Princess is not planning on any monetary compensation to passengers. She said that we can get a cancelation/reimbursement if only we hold their insurance policy. Unfortunately, we had bought a 3-rd party insurance, and I'm not sure if we're covered for something like this. So, honestly, for our next cruise (if we ever do it again), I think we'll look into other cuirse lines and their cancelation/reimbursement policies.

[willyguy]

I have a questiom maybe it's been ask and answer what happen if half the crew get sick will the not let people on for the next cruise or just let people on and let everybody be sick? Need the answer going in one week.

[RickEk]

I think that any "lack of communication" is because they are still trying to work out the details. Re-routing a ship isn't something that takes a few minutes to do. It must be a logistical nightmare.

 

It does seem as though their parent company Carnival is allowing passengers to reschedule http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090428/ap_on_re_us/swine_flu_cruises so maybe Princess will do the same.