pink845

We are quite fortunate here in Canada.  We have a company here that is manufacturing masks by the tons.  Also, American and United (US airlines) are no longer flying to / from China mainland at all nor Hong Kong.  A bright move.  And have not been for the last couple of weeks.  Containment -  no movement of people by air from China around the world should have been done weeks ago to prevent people from spreading this virus.  And my bet soon is that countries are going to ban travel to China and South Korea very soon outright.   It is going to be a case of too little too late unfortunately!   And I will not be spreading germs.  Will you?  Since there are only 12 cases in Canada and they are all contained.   

I am going to be mean but I believe that for the next four to six months, no one should be let out of China.  No airlines at all flying to and from China.   In Canada we do not have many confirmed cases,  perhaps 12 at the latest.   Everyone had come from China or had contact with someone who came from China.  Our latest lady flew from Iran to Vancouver and a family member caught Coronavirus from her.    News reports say the woman who became ill was associating in Iran with someone who came from China.    Can we simply not allow anymore flights from China to reach North America.  Safety first should be the motto for the next four to six months.  Air Canada is still allowing flights to Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto from Beijing and Shanghai.  For the sake of our citizens, I wish our government would act and ban all those flights.   Yes, might be a mean thing to say, but, let's see if this stops the spread in Canada.  We have quite a few Canadians from the Diamond Princess who are now quarantined  in one of our facilities Nav Canada near Ottawa and we will be watching if any of them become ill. This will be interesting to watch.    We will be in Sydney in the next few weeks and we are certainly hoping that things are quite there.

We will be cruising New Zealand and the sounds mid March 14, 15 arriving first in Sydney on March 9th.  We will be watching the weather network but we always pack in layers.  Should the weather be warm, we always have a pair of gym shorts (mainly for the gym, but perfectly fine for walking about in should we encounter warmer weather) during the cruise.  Hat, gloves, scarf, puffer jacket and rain jacket always with us as when we leave Canada, it is cold and we still need to be warm as we travel to the airport.  Also, an umbrella is a must.  

I am going to be mean but I believe that for the next four to six months, no one should be let out of China.  No airlines at all flying to and from China.   In Canada we do not have many confirmed cases,  perhaps 12 at the latest.   Everyone had come from China or had contact with someone who came from China.  Our latest lady flew from Iran to Vancouver and a family member caught Coronavirus from her.    News reports say the woman who became ill was associating in Iran with someone who came from China.    Can we simply not allow anymore flights from China to reach North America.  Safety first should be the motto for the next four to six months.  Air Canada is still allowing flights to Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto from Beijing and Shanghai.  For the sake of our citizens, I wish our government would act and ban all those flights.   Yes, might be a mean thing to say, but, let's see if this stops the spread in Canada.  We have quite a few Canadians from the Diamond Princess who are now quarantined  in one of our facilities Nav Canada near Ottawa and we will be watching if any of them become ill. This will be interesting to watch.    We will be in Sydney in the next few weeks and we are certainly hoping that things are quite there.

We never board early (even though we get priority boarding).  Or, to be specific, we board towards the end of the required boarding time guidelines.  We also keep our luggage with us. We bring it on board ourselves.  Yes, they do not appreciate that but so what.   If there are still some people in line, there will be fewer of them and it is easy to keep a distance and observe who might be coughing, etc. and just to avoid them.   

Also, make sure that your toothbrush is in a toothbrush covered holder in the bathroom because when they clean the bathrooms, they are using the same cloth that they used in the previous 10 bathrooms as they wipe and spray everything down.   Also we bring our lysol spray with us and even after our room has been cleaned, we do a quick disinfect once again with hand towels and lysol. Door handles, switches and keep your tv remote inside a zip lock baggie.  

OP  :  Call Celebrity back immediately. Ask them to review the call you had with the agent.  All calls are taped.  Perhaps you did not ask for a refundable deposit.  Let a supervisor listen to the call check.   We always get the agent to REPEAT EXACTLY WHAT IS BEING BOOKED AND THAT WAY THERE IS NEVER AN ISSUE.

Yeah, Athens is very problematic lately with those wildcat strikes affecting transport.  In fact Paris has issues too and we are heading their in May, oh, oh, May Day.    In a perfect world, we would never book an excursion when it is so simple to do everything on one's own in Athens.   To get to the Acropolis, if I recall, we got off very early.  Like the first people off and got a bus directly in front of the pier and it took us to the street at the bottom of the Acropolis in like 20 minutes and we were all done by the time the cruise ship passengers were arriving.  Fabulous!   

The very first time we hit Athens and this is years and years ago as newbies, we did take their transport into the city and low and behold there was a civil gathering / riot at the parliament and our bus was four hours late picking us up at the meeting spot.  But the guides had arrived and were in contact with the ship.    Thank heavens we had taken ship transportation as the cruise ship remained in port waiting for us to arrive.  

It isn't only Celebrity where we have encountered the identical issue as the OP, it is in fact a Royal Caribbean Company issue.  And it is even worse for us Canadians who enter through the Canadian site.  At the very top we click Canada, very seldom agent on either Celebrity or RCCL sees and entirely different price that what is immediately in front of us.  We have found that doing a print screen of our price and then emailing it them RCCL usually resolves the issue.  They usually own up to the price we see.  We never book online.  Always with the agent on the phone.  Yeah, we will put the cruise on hold for 24 hours and then contact them.  I like a live agent whose conversation I know is taped.  Works out very well to sort out any issue.

Not a matter of choice.  The right and decent thing to do is to cough or sneeze into ones  sleeve or into the crook of one's elbow if they do not have sleeves and to promptly wash their hands for twenty seconds including the space between their fingers with hot soap and water.  If not able to do wash their hands after said cough or sneeze; then clean hands with sanitizer which is readily available in tiny bottles that can easily fit into almost any pocket.     Yes, it might mean leaving the buffet line and washing ones hands, but the food is not going anywhere!

We did not have very good weather when we did Alaska one year in September (I believe is was around the 7th or 8th of September.   We much prefer July or August.  Ovation is a destination type ship with lots to do for the kids.   I would make sure that you have a balcony cabin or at least an outside view view so that the kids do not feel isolated in the cabin or if you are travelling with other family members at least one group has a balcony.  Alaska is wonderful to wake up to in the morning. 

Wow, living 20 minutes from the Barcelona port, the world is your oyster!!!   Do them all if you have so much flexibility in terms of time off.  We wish we were in your shoes.  We have to add the cost of international flights.  You are so fortunate and have it made in the shade.  To save yourself money, you can do any cruise Barcelona to Barcelona return as well.  We have done, Easterns (Including Israel, Egypt), Westerns, Baltics (our favourite!),  British Isles, numerous times from either Barcelona, Venice, Copenhagen, Southhampton, Rome and Amsterdam.  All itineraries are great.  Decide what you want to see. Decide on the size of ship, flashy or sedate and as I say you are right there at a port or a quick airplane ride away to the other ports of embarkation (not an 8 hour transatlantic flight as we are).  Again, wish I were in your shoes. 

To the OP:  Your comment about "Your husband's age, and his underlying leukemia with a compromised immune system. "   

SwankyG has hit the nail on the head with the comment "The wildcard in all travel is other people, their approach to hygiene, and whether they self-quarantine or carry on with their travels when they show symptoms. How much people spend or how many passengers are aboard has nothing to do with the potential to catch something. VERY VERY TRUE.  Any public place has the potential for viruses and diseases that can be transmitted my surface contact or close proximity--regardless of the number of passengers a vessel, aircraft, bus, train, taxi, etc. can carry. Heck, even currency can help virus find new hosts.   

With a compromised immune system, underlying leukemia, (this obviously a pre-existing condition prior to your booking your cruises, I would not recommend travelling on any cruises at all, especially during flu season.  Best to stay home where one is safe.  I know it is hard to give up all the travel of yesteryears (my mom had to give up her love of cruising when she developed cancer - still alive and kicking at 90) but she is quite content now as she understands that her compromised immune system no longer allows those luxuries.

And is seems that when someone is coughing  up a storm or sneezing uncontrollably in an elevator or simply walking into the buffet, on a ship, they DO NOT COUGH INTO THEIR SLEEVE OR cover their mouth with a tissue, instead they continue on their merry way basically advertising to the rest of the ship, that they are shucks sick, but that they paid for this cruise and that they are going to enjoy it so who cares about the rest of you.  Such a selfish attitude.  Every time I witness this type of behavior, I have the mind to take that person aside and give them a talking to.    But my husband always stops me.!

To the Poster:  My son has had a cold that turned into bronchitis. He is now on antibiotics and prednisone.  Should I throw him out of the house? Actually I should because I'm scheduled for hip replacement surgery next week and if I get sick I have to cancel. 

Careful with the prednisone, one of the side effects, is that prednisone does put one at risk to further catch other bacterial infections as well.  So, I would actually keep him IN THE HOUSE.  

I actually like the $2.00 or $1.00 fully refundable deposit sales.    Unless, you are a big drinker Best Ever Sale is of no use to me.  I did take advantage of it on the Sky last December as I had a large Future Cruise Credit with Princess and had a chance to splurge because of it with a Suite ) but after a couple of days of drinking whatever I wanted, the thrill diminished. You know you always want what you normally cant have and when you have it, well meh.     My husband travels with his own internet connection through his business, so we do not need Princess internet which the Best Ever Sale seems to offer (which is usually slow anyhow). 

Also, I got an excellent deal for our two cruises booked for next January 2021 where Princess was offering $750 per cabin (we have balconies obstructed on Royal Princess which basically brings our fare down to $2000 total for our balconies.).  That was a good one for us and I have yet seen a special advertised where I could bring those fares down even lower but I remain on watch!

What about room service. And also, is there not an International Cafe on the Emerald. Gosh, it has been years since we sailed her. Do not remember.   But a light lunch via those avenues would work for us  We like to sit on our balcony and watch all the activity at the port while we eat our first lunch.  I find lunch in the dining room tedious.  Takes forever and a day to be served.  

Not sure how that Cancel For Any Reason Insurance Works.  We are Princess Elite but have never bought such a product.  But for the people out there who might know the answer to this:  If the OP has bought the air with EZAir and husband and wife arrive at the ship and they are denied boarding because the the wife has major cold symptoms, deep cough, runny nose, sneezing, weeping eyes, flushed face, hot ears, fever, lethargy, etc. etc.), should then the Cancel for Any Reason Insurance kick in and reimburse them their cruise fare and their airfare (I mean it is called Cancel for Any Reason). 

To the OP, Just read your post.

"So, would you want to go on a cruise next week to the Caribbean where last week Caribbean Princess had to turn around with Norovirus? And pay premium price as well? I doubt many of you would still want to go while the coronavirus is a worldwide threat. We don't know where the other guests are flying in from and if they could also have been exposed and we end up being quarantined"

First off COVID-19 IS NOT a worldwide threat.    I understand your frustration.  You  are not comfortable travelling with what you consider is potential doomsday in your own mind.  Then, obviously mitigate your situation and simply cut your losses and do not travel.    For that matter, cruising on a 450 passenger luxury Regent or Seabourn ship is really no safer than on a monster Oasis type ship.   It only takes one ill person to  spread that norovirus which you fear regardless of the size of the ship.  We have sailed forever and a day on most of the lines and have been on many a ship with a norovirus outbreak and have also sailed on ships later that same day delayed of course by the crew sanitizing the ship because of a norovirus outbreak.   

Your comment with regards to not knowing where people are flying in from, well, you can go to your local Starbucks and drink a coffee prepared by a barista who just flew in from China after visiting her elderly grandparents via London England and make every everyone in your household ill with COVID-19.  You really would have no clue.

Yes.  I understand your fear of quarantine.  I can be unpleasant.  A few years back I was also quarantined in Yokohama for four days by the Japanese health authorities because I became ill on the ship.   I was so SUPER SICK that I sought medical treatment.   I was kept on the ship in my cabin.  My husband was free to continue his port visits.  It was a suspected case of some kind of flu.    Insured up to the nines as I am, no insurance company could get me off that ship as I was quarantined NOT BY Princess but by  the Japanese government.    Two other passengers were also suffering similar issues and were also quarantined. 

Princess did not have give me my money back (thank you wonderful Princess for doing that - they are awesome!).    We all got better.  Would this stop me from cruising with Princess or cancelling my March cruise with another line.  No way Jose.   

My husband flies several times per week all over North America and Europe for business.  He never knows who he is sitting beside.  Who has the flu, who has stomach issues, etc. who might be a carrier of COVID-19.  Life goes on.  He is certainly not going to stop carrying on his business life because of the what ifs.    To end, travel is very personal, the amount of risk one is willing to take, in your case your risk level is obviously very low, so it is best obviously that you not cruise in the future because if you subscribe to the doomsday scenario, there will never be a safe time to cruise.   

I am thinking there are going to be a lot more upgrades happening for summer cruises around July and August  (in Europe) as the Olympics are happening July 24 to Aug 9.  Airfares are becoming quite expensive (yes, I know the Olympics are in Tokyo); however, airfare is getting pricey for Europe as all the athletes, etc. must travel to and fro and there will be less people able to get to those European cruises over the July 24 to Aug 9 period and hence, Princess providing upgrades to get people out of some cabins moving people up and then selling the other cabins at a lower price so the ships get filled.    

Stag,  Very interesting. 

4.3 Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption/Trip Delay and Flight Delay Benefits Coverage Eligibility
Coverage applies only when You charge the full or partial cost of Your Trip to the Primary or Family Cardholder’s MasterCard when booking Your Trip.

Sounds like you have a great card.   I see that my CIBC and TD Cards also have similar clauses to your BMO card.  Must be that the RBC one is more restrictive.   However, it has always served us very well and has paid out many claims in the past so we have much trust in it.  

Wow!  My big boo boo.  My son is Elite on Princess as is his wife and my whole family.   Accidentally said I had his Crown and Anchor number on my post.  Obviously meant I had his Elite #.  FYI we are all Diamond Plus on RCL as well.  

Anyhow, good to read from the various replies that it appears that we should have been allowed to buy future cruise credits for my son and his wife as well as my other two sons (all Elite), however, our flaky consultant did not know the new procedures it would appear and was quick to say No.    She was not very helpful with anything else as well. 

We were on the Royal in January and bought more future cruise credits for both myself and my husband (we always like several in our little piggy bank) and we asked about purchasing a couple of cruise credits for my son ( I had his Crown and Anchor number) and was told "no".   

Veerraj,   

Been sailing with Princess for just over 30 years.  Have found them to be very fair and professional and are quick to resolve issues to our satisfaction in the past.   Hope the compensation package that they will outline to you (as per other posts) will be fair to all concerned, which I am sure it will be.   For future travel, might be a good idea to have trip cancellation insurance in place so that your hotel accommodation (which you say you will lose) due to the cancellation of the cruise would be covered.    When we travel (cruise or land vacations), we always factor in the cost of trip interruption and trip cancellation insurance that way our hard earned money is always secure and we have peace of mind.    Hope things work out for you.    We are sailing with another line in mid March out of Sydney and we have prepared ourselves for the possibility that things could go up in smoke as well but we know that we are fully insured in case of that eventuality.  

We dropped off our bags with the porters. Then dropped off our car at the airport.  We took the city bus back to the port $2.50 each and then checked in around 2 pm.  No line at all.  Then headed back out to Waikiki by bus once again.  Finally, got back to the ship for I believe it was 6:30 pm.    We had spent four days prior to boarding on Oahu.  We especially enjoy the beaches on the East Coast, Kailua and the north shore waves.  We only spent one night in Waikiki and that was at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. All other nights on North Shore and East shore.  Had our fill of Oahu having been there numerous times previous on land vacations.    

Every island we visited, we rented cars. Paid no more than $50 bucks for each car rental full size or SUV either with National or Enterprise and did everything on our own. 

Kona was very familiar to us having spent numerous vacations at Hilton Waikoloa so we simply went to A Beach and Hapuna Beach up the coast (close to where the Hilton is located) and relaxed.   Lovely sand nothing like the pebble sand of Waikiki.

On Maui (we were there two full days) with Radiance so one day we drove to Haleakaka and just relished in the beauty of it all and met some friends who were at the Fairmont Wailea before heading back to Lahaina and parking the car across from the pier for the night.   On the second day, we went up to Kaanapali Beach and walked along the board walk and watched the waves and then shopped in Lahaina.

In Kauai, we drove up the Grand Canyon of the Pacific  - Waimea Canyon and Poipu Beach.  

Hilo, we drove to Volanco National Park, Rainbow Falls, Akaka Falls and shopped in downtown Hilo.    All the ports were not new to us having previously done land vacations on all of them but it was nice to revisit our favorite spots.  Truly there is no need for expensive shore excursions if you rent a car in each port and do it yourself. Good roads everywhere.  Start out early.