howiefrommd

10 minutes ago, GrJ Berkshire said:

You have got to remain positive that cruises will restart. Our FCC's are from a cancelled Pacific cruise + Manchu Picchu which we have moved to 2021 South America and if necessary to the Pacific start of 2022 WC. We also have a European deposit on a Splendour cruise in and out of Southampton- near to us so no flights for May 21. At present with low interest rates the 125%FCC is a good deal, we want to do this trips as early 60's and retired, if Regent does go under the World will be in a mess, so much more likely that the mega ships of the basic lines are more at risk, as are most airlines!!

Obviously we are in uncharted waters.  Positivity is good, but one must be cautious.  After 9/11, Renaissance cruise declared a liquidation bankruptcy.  We were lucky to have insurance that covered the bankruptcy.  Unfortunately, the insurance I have (Allianz) nor my credit card covers a loss from FCC.

Airlines are in big trouble, and cruise lines need planes to get their customers to their ships.  From what you read in the business pages, airlines will be a fraction of what they are today. I would imagine, Regent would have to end up with charter flights (similar to what Crystal did a few years ago). 

The thing that I find truly baffling, that people are still giving final payments and in some cases deposits.  The only thing I have to show for all this is a bunch of FCCs, which may have no value if things go bad.  

1 minute ago, rallydave said:

What airline was this??  Cannot imagine making this work for a one or two day trip with test results in our area sometimes taking weeks; reports are that they are down to 3 or so days but, what if they are late.  And finding a test location outside your home area and doing it quickly so you could get results and get home.

 

WOW, JUST WOW.

The client provided a private plane. I refuse at this point to get on commercial. Speaking to my infectious disease colleagues, they agree with me.

That was one of the wacky parts, I had to be tested immediately upon landing in Florida, because I was going to return after the meeting.  Can you imagine this is under ideal testing conditions, can you imagine trying to do this for an entire cruise, airplane or bus tour loud full of people. 
 

In my case, I was pretty confident in the results as it was done at both ends via a medical school lab doing the test.  I do not know if I would have the same level of confidence using a rapid test.

The whole testing concept certainly has its issues.  I had to attend an in-person meeting in Florida a few days ago. In order to fly, I had to have a negative COVID-19 test done within 72 hours of flight.  Before flying back, I had to have a second test before flying.  I was thinking during this whole time, can you imagine flying all the way to Europe for a cruise (or land vacation) having a positive test result upon pre-boarding testing, then having to quarantine for 10 - 14 days (there are now 2 schools of thought about the recommended length of quarantine) in Africa, Turkey, Mumbai or wherever.  What a mess.

Just saw that Viking cancelled all of their cruises for the rest of 2020.  How thoughtful of them to update their customers.  Holland has cancelled until mid December.  

2 hours ago, mrlevin said:

Thank you all for the great replies.  For the Grand Arctic next year we have BH and although the eventual premium will be quite high we have only been adding to insurance as we have made partial payments.  We will make a large payment in November and then the final payment on 1 January so then the insurance will be paid.

 

Wes, I will contact Steve (or I will let you do all the planning and just jump on the bandwagon).  For Arctic we are insuring full cost for cancellation and trip interruption; I would like to be able to cut that down for the WC.

 

Again, thanks for all the replies.

 

Wes, we will see you and Ida onboard!

 

Marc

 

PS For the 2023 WC I will be on Medicare but not Arlene; just another wrinkle.

Just a little follow up to my last post.  I was doing a bit of research and MedJet does not cover for trips over 90 days.  They probably offer some other policy, but that is what is for the standard policy.  

32 minutes ago, mrlevin said:

Thank you all for the great replies.  For the Grand Arctic next year we have BH and although the eventual premium will be quite high we have only been adding to insurance as we have made partial payments.  We will make a large payment in November and then the final payment on 1 January so then the insurance will be paid.

 

Wes, I will contact Steve (or I will let you do all the planning and just jump on the bandwagon).  For Arctic we are insuring full cost for cancellation and trip interruption; I would like to be able to cut that down for the WC.

 

Again, thanks for all the replies.

 

Wes, we will see you and Ida onboard!

 

Marc

 

PS For the 2023 WC I will be on Medicare but not Arlene; just another wrinkle.

Not to confuse the situation more, traditional Medicare only covers for hospitalized care in a Hospital that has a provider agreement (and are appropriately licensed by the State licensing agency) with CMS.  In the US, almost all hospitals have such a provider agreement.  The general advise is that traditional Medicare does not cover for care outside of the United States, it's Commonwealths or Territories).  There are some unique exceptions, but would even confuse it more.  For someone that has a Medicare Advantage Plan (aka Medicare Part C), some of those plans (as an add on feature) cover care outside of the US.  

In most cases, when a person seeks medical or hospital care outside of the US, they entity of provider will request payment.  

I live in Baltimore, Maryland so we have many people  seek treatment here from out of State  (and country). I know in a previous post, someone mentioned Medjet.  I have several colleagues whose patients have utilized their services and they were quite pleased. 

As a clinician, I wonder how if someone needs acute tertiary care, how the process could ever be from ship to receiving hospital.  The degree of expertise and equipment is somewhat limited on ships, so I would image that a stop at a full service hospital would be in the mix.  

With the dramatic rise (only kidding) in the value of NCL stock, maybe the CEO bought 7 million dollars worth of stock with the proceeds of the sale of his home a few weeks ago. 

Just now, greykitty said:

 

 

I will say del Rio does what he's supposed to do - puts the best face forward in a difficult situation.  I think even the analysts felt for the guy.

 

You are absolutely correct, but then again that is the job of a CEO to due.  You could tell there was even some hesitation in their voice when asking him questions.  

Can you imagine what the Q3 call will be like if nothing changes.  WOW 

Restructure as in voluntary or via Chapter 11 Bankruptcy? 

All of these companies  have the metrics as to where they make money and where they do not.  I also believe there will be some survival, but what we knew will never be again.  Wherever the data takes (as far as maximum return) the cruise lines, that is what we will have.  Obviously we will not be able to do it for what prior costs where, but that will be the price we pay to enjoy cruising.  

That is actually the logo for the University of Maryland School of Medicine

14 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

Largest obstacle facing the cruise lines (and airlines and grocery stores) is whether the have enough clear cash to out-last unprofitable customer volume during the time it takes for vaccines and/or treatments to be introduced to stop the pandemic. I hope they all do!

I cannot agree more.  The markets will determine who survives and does not.  I profess to have little knowledge about the economics of the travel industry, but when I look at the cruise lines, read some of the investment columns, cruise lines have an amazing amount of debt, not a bright horizon (sans testing and a effective vaccine)  and bleeding money.  Once people stop paying their final payment for cruises (in their own gut, probably know will not happen) the walls will come crumbling.

3 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

 

..... and, IMO, that is one of the more ridiculous requirements. 

 

If I suffer a serious medical problem on board a cruise ship I would expect the medical staff to do what they could to stabilise my situation but then make every effort to get me to an onshore hospital as soon as possible.

 

This attitude of "Keep everyone on board" was what led to the previous issues of passengers and crew being stranded on board, further person-to-person transmissions; and finally giving the press a field day with sensational reports of "plague ships" & "floating petri-dishes"

When you dig into the CDC guidance to date, they are not talking about stabilizing and triaging, they are talking ICU level of care.  Would love to know where they are going to get the level of physicians and nurses to accomplish this task.

17 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

Well I wish they would extend this to at least the first 6 months of 2021 cruises as well; we’ll have to pay our 25 day Amazon Celebration cruise for next April in early November (150 days). We are happy to do it if there is some clarity on when cruising will resume, how it will resume, what ports may be open, etc., but the way things are going we don’t think we’ll know by then. My husband and I will have to decide if we want to tie up the money with all the uncertainty.  60 days, or 90 days at the outside makes much more sense in the age of COVID.

We are also booked on that cruise (Navigator) and unless things have really improved by November 3, we will not be giving any more money to any Cruise line.  I have enough FCC on Regent, certainly do not need anymore.  

10 minutes ago, greykitty said:

Umm, MSC apparently feels that's do-able.  I mean, it's inhumane to most people, and certainly should be appalling to those cruisers who feel that the crew welcomes and treats them as 'family', but....and of course doesn't address the issue of all those passengers coming to the ship, who knows if they're infected, no doubt not wearing masks every minute of the day, and probably getting well within six feet of crew members.  

 

With any luck, the idea of so treating crew is totally forbidden.  How anyone could enjoy their trip knowing that the crew is trapped is hard for me to wrap my head around.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/it-s-inhumane-crew-members-who-return-to-work-may-have-to-forgo-shore-visits/ar-BB17iwLG#:~:text=A spokesperson for MSC Cruises confirmed in an,an emergency during the company’s “initial phased restart.”

If the guests get off and end up getting this highly contagious aerosolized virus, the staff (as well as fellow passengers) will probably end up getting it anyway.  As has now been shown, masks are just one of the protective measures we should utilize.  Many scientists/clinicians are now saying that when in close proximity situations, eye protection (such as goggles) should be used. I know we all enjoy cruising, but there is a reality to the science. 

Just now, johng75370 said:

 

Of course it is a joke!  Sorry I did not make that more clear.  However, these are real statements of real citizens, so take that as you will. 

I thought it was staged, but it looks like it really happened.  Wow, makes me more nervous every day.  

3 minutes ago, johng75370 said:

Not trying to stir the pot about Palm Beach County, but hope you get a laugh from the John Oliver coverage of the mask hearings there:

 

Please tell me this is a joke.  Its been a long day lol

I would leave that to the infectious disease and epidemiological experts.  From some of the stuff I marginally read, they did not agree with that.  They were looking in the context of health care workers (docs, nurses, etc.)  and it was a premise they did not support.  

2 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

howiefrommd - the only information that we follow is from a Medical Doctor, Virologist or Scientist.  The last sentence in your response to Bellagio Cruiser is puzzling.  What did she say that was not warranted or factual?  From the posts on CC, it seems that Bellagio Cruiser is in favor of wearing masks, social distancing, washing hands, etc.  Kindly elaborate.  Thank you.

 

I was trying to point out that masks have become a political issue.  In fact I provided a hyperlink to a well written, thoughtful, non-political piece that appeared in one of the medical journals I get daily.  

6 minutes ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

FYI....I live in Palm Beach county, where masks are mandated in public.  

Just took a look at the statistics for Palm Beach County.  They have a very high rate of positivity, hospitalizations and deaths. It looks like third in a State (an Florida is either number one or two in the US right now) that is having problems getting this under control.  Obviously you and your community are quite compliant, but if you look at the numbers, it is quite dangerous.  

4 minutes ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

Sorry you are upset with my “tone”.... and, what did I say that was not factual ?
 

Interesting I called two former classmates that are working as Intensivist ICU docs in Palm Beach County Florida (in two different larger hospitals) and they said the ICUs are like a war zone down there.  Both indicated that masks where not even required by State Law. Speaking to my colleagues, where I live, in Baltimore (where masks are required by law) they are not seeing anywhere near the amount of acutely ill patients.  Hopkins runs an excellent site that will break down all of the metrics (New cases, infection rate, positivity rate, etc.) and it is interesting to compare the rates of  SARS-CoV-2 rates are in States with required mask usage and those without.  

As I articulated previously, I deliberately do not quote from the talking heads (CNN or FOX) nor their online sites, as they both seem to be driven by a particular slant.  As a start, I would like to suggest a more clinically based article that can be accessed by the following hyperlink. https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/87617  It is noted in the fifth paragraph how this has become a political statement.  Albeit, not a peer reviewed article, once you get away from the talking heads you get more focused, unbiased information. 

30 minutes ago, cruiseluv said:

Maybe easier for passengers to distance, but I dont see how that's possible for crew, specially in their sleeping / living quarters, working in the kitchen, the laundry, etc. etc

You are fully correct.  I can think of no way that staff would be able to share housing/close quarters. 

Made a typo correction on prior post.  Will not allow me to close or delete this box, so I had to post something lol.