Loreni

A few weeks ago I bought an Oculus Go so I could “travel”.  I found a few VR movies of Princess ships on YouTube.  One was made by Princess, others vary in quality based on the skill of the videographer and the resolution used.  All of them brought back memories in a way that pictures and standard video can’t.  I also used them to revisit ports and excursions and to visit places I had planned to cruise to but now cannot.  Of course it isn’t the same as being there and I found it most effective when revisiting places I had already been.

i just wanted to let you know there is an option for revisiting your memories of cruising.  I wish I had known before because I would have taken one of these cameras with me on what may have been our final cruise.  

This is a real problem.  Not even a primitive camping trip will be 100% safe, you still need to stop for gasoline.  Still this is probably the lowest risk option along a continuum along which cruising is the highest risk option.

Perhaps I was misinformed about 4 to cabin.  I hope I was also misinformed about crew having to sleep in two 4 hour shifts...that is so unhealthy.

I am concerned if crew felt in was necessary to work in food prep and delivery on the Diamond while they were sick with Covid.  I believe tHat is what the investigators found.  I think the leadership needs to clearly communicate that sick days are OK.

We did a forced cross country road trip after our last cruise since it was no longer safe for us to fly, according to CDC.  It was our longest road trip and  it had been many years since we have made a road trip as a vacation.  The drive wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be and we made in just over 4 days.  In some ways the amount of freedom we had was exhilarating.  We decided where and when to stop and for how long.  And I knew I wouldn’t  be locked in the car against my will for 2 weeks or forced to drive in endless circles.  We have been talking ever since about doing a long road trip to visit the National Parks in the US and maybe Canada.
 

One danger for the cruise industry is that people like us may revisit other forms of vacation and find we prefer them to cruising.  Even if it just reduces cruise frequency, it will hurt the cruise industry.

Yes, I think this is true in some cases.  I hope someone who knows will chime in.

I like that idea of mini private dining rooms.  Maybe a nice entertainment system too so the showrooms could be avoided. On our last cruise  a 28-day that left Feb 1, we decided to skip all the shows, in part because of news of the Diamond. We usually skip most of them anyway.  Instead after dinner we often watched a movie.  The new TV system was great and with lots of entertainment options.  We didn’t miss the shows at all.

Getting an inside room across from your balcony that is set up for dining and entertainment would be very nice.  The refrigerator could be fully stocked.

Will you take a longer cruise when it is safe to do so?  Will you upgrade your cabin?  Or try a different cruise line...one with fewer COVID-19 problems?

Will you spend it on a different type of vacation.  One you can drive too?  Will you be willing to fly?

Will the money go to home and yard improvement since you expect to be staying home more often?

Or will the funds go to offset additional expenses or financial losses due to Covid.

I’m not sure yet what I will do, but I’m leaning toward home improvements.

My understanding is that COVID-19 was spread on the Diamond by sick crew involved with food prep and delivery.  This may have been true on other ships too.  The crew needs to know that they can take sick days without fear of job loss.  
 

Going forward, some passenger cabins should be converted to crew cabins so the crew don’t need to sleep 4 to a tiny room.  This would reduce disease spread and also increase the crew to passenger ratio so the crew can have civilized and healthy sleep schedules.  My waiter told me she had to sleep in two 4 hour shifts.  I believe her because I couldn’t sleep one night and after a late dinner, I  saw her opening the buffet in the very early morning.  This is not good for her immune system.

the cabin stewards need fewer cabins so they can clean them well.
 

will this increase the cost to cruise.  Probably.  But at least cruising will still exist.

I Would like to know your ideas on how Princess can mitigate disease spread on the ships.  I would like to see the buffet replaced with an automat.  This would be more sanitary. Obviously no coins would be needed and the little glass doors could be opened with no-touch sensors. Passengers would only touch their own plate and they could see all their food choices before making a selection.  It could be themed to the 30s, 50s, 60s, or the 1890s or it could be futuristic.  I used one in San Francisco where you ordered with a tablet and were given a number That later appeared on the LCD glass door to your food compartment. Something like that could be an option too.  
 

Gloved Elevator Operators Or some other no touch system would also help reduce disease spread.  
 

Also, I’ve noticed that the specialty dining options are often left vacant for lunch and breakfast.  This space could be used for social distancing as these tables could be made available during the day.  People could order from the limited room service menu using the new ap and food could be delivered here.  In fact there are lots of places on the ship where food could be delivered using the new ap that might help increase social distancing.  These spaces would be needed if The tables were spaced out more in the main dining rooms and the former buffet space.
 

There has been a trend to discourage the use of room service by removing balcony dining tables, long waits, and attempts to impose fees.  This needs to be reversed so people can fully enjoy their balconies and more social distancing can occur.

Lining up at the dining room doors should  be discouraged.  

The Sanctuary could be open to everyone to relieve crowding on the open decks.

The cruise lines could take advantage of this downtime to improve the ventilation system.

I think many people will be reluctant to return to cruising let alone try it for the first time. Freedom is a basic human need and recent events have shown how severely one’s freedom can be denied on a ship.  Imagine being quarantined for weeks, possibly in an inside cabin.  Or being unable to disembark when you can see your country just a few yards away.  The idea of being trapped onboard while a deadly virus spreads and others onboard are dying.  Is there any other form of travel where such situations are even possible?  Look at the level of despair crew are being subjected to, how many are still not home and being held without pay.
 

When it is safe for me to travel again my first trip will be a road trip in my own car (or maybe a camper) in my own country.

I have many concerns.  One question I have is why is it taking so long to get the crew home.  Some are being held without pay.  I hear their pay is very low to begin with...couldn’t they be given some pay?  I also understand that signing an agreement with the CDC would allow the crew to go home.  I don’t know which cruise lines have signed and which haven’t, but I think Celebrity did.  It seems like the cruise lines are not doing everything in their power to do right by the crew.  Will they do everything in their power to do right by the passengers?  Why are so many Passengers waiting so long for a refund?  Perhaps the executives could defer their pay until refunds are processed.

I just read that crew on a different line we’re on a hunger strike until their CEO would sign an agreement with the CDC that would allow the crew to go home.  The agreement seemed reasonable.  Has Princess signed this. I understand Celebrity did.  It seems like it would be both the right thing to do a good PR too.  Why are the some lines reluctant to sign.  Liability?  I thought lawsuits against cruise lines were always doomed because they are foreign entities.

We reached the highest loyalty level on Princess a few years ago.  About 3/4 of our way there we began to cruise as our exclusive form of vacation.  When we first started cruising it was just one possible vacation option.  I think that when we stepped off our last cruise in February it may really have been our last cruise.  Why? The virus is still out there with no vaccine or effective treatment.  Maybe someday  we’ll have both.  But what about the next pandemic.  I knew there were some potential risks with cruising: norovirus, fire, sinking, severe listing, being sick and unable to get to a hospital, being disembarked by the captain, or being left behind.  I did a risk/benefit analysis and decided cruising was worth it.
 

I never imagined there could be a risk of  being held onboard in a foreign port  against my will for weeks while a deadly virus spreads.  Or sailing for weeks after the planned end of a voyage because no port will accept us (possibly not even Florida) and meanwhile other people onboard  are dying.  This significantly alters my risk/benefit analysis.  I still want to travel.  For weeks I’ve been watching YouTube and planning a road trip (no flying) to visit the national parks, or perhaps less popular scenic areas, when I consider it safe to do so.  It’s been a long time since we’ve done a leisurely road trip.  Yes, driving has risks too.  Everything has risks.  But I don’t know that I can ever get past the idea that I could be essentially imprisoned indefinitely on a ship waiting my turn to be infected. Or waiting for DH to be infected.  I  really doubt people who never cruised before will be chomping at the bit to give it a try.  So I wonder just how much the industry will need to contract.

Does CCL have a private jet for their executives?  If yes, why not use this to get the crew home.

My understanding is that Princess is not bound by many US employment or tax laws, so are they required to keep our medical information confidential?  
 

Even if they are,  there could be a security breach as there was with our passport and credit card information.  We also know Princess/ CCL doesn’t always follow regulations.  The “magic pipe” comes to mind and I believe there was also discharge in Alaska (some  believe they view the fines as a cost of doing business).  Maybe potential exposure of our medical information is just another risk we need to weigh while we wait for the vaccine so cruising can get back to normal.

But it worked out for the best.  
 

The CDC stated  that we should not fly.  So we had to get a car and drive across the country.  It was something we had talked about doing for years, but cruising was just so easy and turnkey and took us to more exotic places.   We had been on long car trips before, but never across the whole country. We were not able to really take our time on the drive, but what we saw of Utah and Colorado was just incredible.  We look forward to visiting these and other places we can drive to.  While we stayed in hotels, I can see how a camper would allow greater social distancing.  Looking forward to a new chapter of travel.  

Princess just emailed me information about how they will handle things in the future, including having passengers sign a declaration.  This document can then be used to take legal action.

“false responses on pre- boarding documents will result in immediate disembarkation at the next opportunity. Individuals who do not disclose symptoms of illness may also face additional legal consequences.”

 Overall I agree with this concept.  however, I can envision a problem with this too.  How would Princess know that a passenger made false responses and/or failed to disclose symptoms.  It is also possible a passenger could become ill soon after boarding.  Passengers may be afraid to go to the infirmary if they fear they will be falsely accused of failing to disclose symptoms and making false responses on their declaration.  How could you ever prove your innocence? How could you prove you became ill after boarding?  Maybe Princess will disembark them and then sue them...or maybe even pursue criminal charges.  Princess would probably rather assume an ill passenger lied and boarded their ship rather than assume that a crew member without any symptoms is actually carrying and spreading the disease.  
 

without knowing details about how this could be implemented, I am very reluctant to sail...well that is not the only reason I’m reluctant to sail.  Like I mentioned, someone without symptoms or a temperature can spread Coronavirus.

Also, I wonder what Princess means by denying boarding to those with severe underlying disease.  What about controlled high blood pressure or controlled diabetes

When did they say people were not allowed to leave.  Is this recent or have they been forbidden from leaving for several hours already?  Reading the roll call it seems like they may have been told not to leave for several hours already.  Maybe Princess suspected this could happen, but wouldn’t say outright.  They reportedly sent an email telling people not to come to the port because there weren’t enough chairs and offering 15 dollars onboard credit to make up for them having lunch somewhere...they were being encouraged to have lunch somewhere and not go to the port.

I also wonder why Princess.  The birthday paradox doesn’t really answer that question.  Or even if it did, it is only one possible answer.

I would cancel.  Especially since Princess changed their policy.  You could use the credit to book an even better cruise when all this over and we have a vaccine or better treatment.

19 crew!  I read an article about the Diamond quarantine that said sick crew were sharing cabins with healthy crew DURING the quarantine.  What?  I hope this in not happening on the Grand.

I am glad to hear this.  Overall, it seems like a good cancellation policy.  Although I’m not sure what I think about the financial incentives for passengers to keep their bookings.  It appears a bit unseemly to potentially try to lure people into a situation that might be dangerous especially right in the middle of the Grand Princess situation where we don’t yet know what is going on with the health of those onboard.  
 

I think the new policy would have been cleaner without the offers on onboard credit.

Maybe open decks where the air is fresh.

15 minutes ago, fluffybunny22 said:

My husband is having a very hard conversation with his parents tonight. My FIL does not think they are high risk. They are in their 70's. We have until the 10th to only lose a little bit of money. It may be that we just aren't destined to cruise the Baltics because we've tried to take this cruise before and had to cancel.

If you decide to cancel, is there something else wonderful you could start planning for the future when this all settles down.  Maybe even something bigger and better.  That could make it easier. 

Stay in their rooms.  That’s what they did on the Diamond.