Christine13020

Just now, lenquixote66 said:

Everyone should think the same way but alas they do not.

47 minutes ago, ed01106 said:

I am not worried about Covid-19 on my next cruise.  I won’t be booking a cruise until covid-19 is no longer a concern. 

I feel the same way and will not go until there is either a vaccine or a cure for Covid like Tamiflu. However I did reserve 2 cruises for 2021 using future cruise credits. Not sure if I what will happen to them if I cancel. 

4 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Of course -  planning should never stop.  But until there develops some real clarity it is best to not put too much money down.

And have a decent cancellation policy

44 minutes ago, rugerdog said:

Looking back at the OP, which was January 30, 2020, and reading all the responses, gives an interesting perspective.

I was thinking the same thing. All people saying don’t worry, the flu is so much worse are super quiet now.  I’ve been following since the beginning and went on a cruise that left  Feb. 29. I was scared and remember hoping it would be canceled but New Zealand seemed safe and talking to people I felt re-assured to go. Now I think thank god I got home healthy and safe. I know if we had run into problems, we could have been left on our own with no where to turn. Would I do it over, maybe not. 

54 minutes ago, Ava79 said:

...and what if the cookie says that it's better to go to China? 'Cause there aren't many tourists there now, and sellers of cookies need to earn money!

Have fun and enjoy! You are sure to be avoiding crowds but good luck getting a flight back home.

On 2/28/2020 at 1:29 AM, David_Dian said:

so how’s it going? Any more news from Royal Caribbean?

Now on cruise from Sydney to New Zealand. Lots of virus headlines in Australia made me nervous but all is fine on ship. Seems to be business as usual, didn’t notice any special health screenings. It’s not cold and flu season down here yet so I’m wondering if Australia will get more cases as they get more into their fall/winter. The tourist industry here is really hurting between fires and now this virus. Tour operators repeatedly asked us to spread word that Australia is safe and open for business. Areas affected by burn are already growing back  and they haven’t been hit hard by the virus.

7 minutes ago, Christine13020 said:

My cruise leaves Feb29 from Sydney. I’m worried of course, it’s just natural. But would of lost everything if I canceled and I wasn’t that nervous. I just hope I don’t get stuck down under for an extended time. I have 2 booked for 2021 and of course will be watching. If it gets worse or turns into pandemic, I will cancel.

I just got yet another long note from Royal Caribbean today (must be 5th or 6th on subject) about all the new restrictions. I am happy that they are doing this and hope it works but I am on plane now and so many are coughing! I never used to notice but now am totally paranoid. Washed hands every chance I got.

1 hour ago, David_Dian said:

 

If you're really worried I'd just cancel it if you can. For me its just another vacation, I can always go another time. I'm not going to take any risks of being quarantined on some ship for days or weeks, no matter how small. We have a med cruise in august so are watching the situation. 

My cruise leaves Feb29 from Sydney. I’m worried of course, it’s just natural. But would of lost everything if I canceled and I wasn’t that nervous. I just hope I don’t get stuck down under for an extended time. I have 2 booked for 2021 and of course will be watching. If it gets worse or turns into pandemic, I will cancel.

Story about Diamond Princess 
 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/22/world/asia/coronavirus-japan-cruise-ship.html?referringSource=articleShare

8 hours ago, 2wheelin said:

Yes, absolutely, people should be more careful. But everyone who coughs (maybe from allergies) should stay in their cabin? What is the lab test you used to verify the two women infected you and you didn’t pick it up elsewhere—even before getting on the ship, which is most common.

Lol- I’m not an idiot. They were very frank with me that they had infection/fever. They should have stayed in their cabin. I came down with same symptoms shortly after contact.

14 hours ago, sfaaa said:

It really doesn't matter what the mortality rate is from coronavirus. Although most will survive COVID-19, no one enjoys getting sick, feeling miserable and passing this highly contagious virus to others. If being fearful would make people be more aware of COVID-19 and take extra precautions to prevent it from spreading, it can only be a good thing.

I agree. I’m sick of people skipping the washing stations in the buffet and the cruise lines not enforcing their own health rules. Or people going to the dining room coughing and sneezing obviously under the weather. They should stay in their cabin and order in and wear a mask in common areas to stop the spread of their germs. That is how I got sick on my last cruise, 2 women at the next table coughing on me. I said before and I’ll say it again, if I see things like that I reporting it to the captain. I think some of the nay sayers on these boards work in the cruise/travel industry  and are scared of losing business but maybe this will force the industry to do better in health and safety.

7 hours ago, K32682 said:

 

It was a very successful quarantine if the objective was to contain the virus in one place and not have it spread to Japan.  The Japanese authorities were quite successful in protecting Japanese civilians at the expense of the hapless cruisers and crew on the boat. 

 

 

 

Who knows if they kept it on the ship even. I just saw a report that the health workers weren’t even using proper precautions and leaving the ship and going to their regular jobs after. This has not fully played out yet.... Just wait and see. They had no idea what they were dealing with.

On 2/17/2020 at 4:57 PM, KnowTheScore said:

 

Totally agree.

 

The number of cases is increasing at a very alarming rate day by day.  

 

Within about a week we've gone from 66 to 128 to 218 to 355 to 454

 

The Americans are fortunate to have been evacuated and returned to the USA even though they will now spend another 2 weeks in a military quarantine base.   It just seems utter madness to keep all these people cooped up together.  Empty the entire ship, put everyone in quarantine areas ashore and sterilise the whole ship imho.

 

 

 

 

 

Day one I said it was crazy to try and quarantine on the ship... There even was a crew member preparing or serving meals that came down with it. No wonder, the crew was all crammed together in the bottom of the ship! Probably many caught it from the crew. In no way was that a real quarantine. They (eg Japanese government, cruise company) did not have the passengers safety in mind or they would have handled it differently. Hopefully everybody learned from this botched experiment. 

23 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

 True enough - but at any given point in time, ALL the available data THEN available does give “the whole picture” as it then stands. 

 

That picture continually evolves and grows  - right now it seems to portray a fairly contagious, previously unknown virus with a troublesome fatality rate.  Yes, “only” a few hundred have died of it so far - out of a localized population of millions - hardly worth panicking over - but only a damn fool would ignore a new cause of death which is not yet understood.  Taking steps to contain its spread seems to be a rational  approach — especially when those steps seem primarily to largely impact recreational, non-essential, travel.

We will not have the whole picture for a while and I doubt that Chinese government is telling us the whole truth. For instance, why are theY refusing help from US CDC? Why would they be afraid to share info? Fear of negative economic impact? Fear of creating massive panic?  somethings seem fishy here.

I’m going on NZ cruise leaving fro Sydney on 2/29. Traveling solo, I would really rather delay my trip until after this epidemic dies down but I don’t want to loose my entire fare. I’m planning on making the best of it, already got surgical masks to take with me and all kinds of antibacterial gel. I would  do so anyway because Ive fallen ill on nearly every cruise Ive gone on so I really try to be careful. On land I’m healthy as a horse and rarely get sick. Cruise ships are ideal disease breeding grounds, you must be careful. 

I am going on a cruise to NZ departing from Sydney AZ on 2/29. I booked land tour for the week before and I’m concerned about last minute cancellations due to virus issues. After traveling so far, there is no way I want to turn around and go back home (I’m from NY). I was wondering if it would be possible to book another last minute land tour through AZ. Would it be likely they would take on last minute bookings?

35 minutes ago, larrywizzit said:

No. They are academics though. Their major point is that the practice will continue (black markets) except without regulation. So it's more of behavioral economics take than that of epidemiology. I am pretty sure at this point we get that it's infectious.

Knee jerk reactions to contain it might lead to more harm than good.

As is doing nothing. Next one may get you or a family member.

18 minutes ago, larrywizzit said:

Oddly, someexperts are saying otherwise (http://theconversation.com/why-shutting-down-chinese-wet-markets-could-be-a-terrible-mistake-130625)

 

' A permanent shutdown of “wet markets” would affect patterns of food consumption in ways that are unknowable but potentially harmful to public health. It would deprive Chinese consumers of a food sector that accounts for 30-59% of their food supplies. Due to the large number of farmers, traders and consumers involved, the abolition of “wet markets” is also likely to lead to an explosion of an uncontrollable black market, as it did when such a ban was attempted in 2003, in response to SARS, as well as in 2013-14, in response to avian influenza H7N9 '

 

Be careful, this guy is not an epidemiologist. The practice is fundamentally unsafe. 

1 minute ago, Hlitner said:

So consider your action to put off booking future cruises.  This Corona Virus situation will eventually stabilize and no longer be an issue....just like the old Sars bug.  But you will never have any guarantee that there will not be another virus outbreak and/or a major flu epidemic which has killed a lot more folks then Corona Viruses.  If one were to follow your logic they would never book another cruise or even book another land trip.  Lets face it.  Most of us book cruises and trips far in advance with zero knowledge of what the world situation will be at that future time.  It is just part of life.

 

Hank

So tiresome people comparing this virus to the flu which many humans are likely to have natural immunity to and also many have been vaccinated. Novel corona virus is believed to have started in a wildlife market in Wuhan where species that would never interact in the wild are caged in close quarters in unsanitary conditions.  SARS was found to originate in bats that was transferred to civet cats via a market much like the one in Wuhan. The virus has jumped the species barrier and I guarantee your body has no natural defenses. These markets should be shut down, China did not learn any lessons from SARS.

1 hour ago, K32682 said:

 

 

The purpose of quarantine is isolation to prevent the spread of the virus so a cruise ship anchored in a bay is probably close to perfect for the task.   The Japanese health authorities would also want to limit the risk of exposure to their own population.  

 

Not to diminish the discomfort of the passengers but no one is going to die solely because they spent 14 days locked in a cabin.  Livid or otherwise the passengers who've not been infected will simply have to wait it out. 

You are ignorant of a important factor. No one knows how it spreads, it is incredibly contagious and many with compromised health could die.  In the meantime the infection is spreading and healthy are trapped in a dangerous environment. it’s more than inconvenient, their health and well being is at risk. The cruise line is only loosing money, the passenger’s health is at risk. I don’t blame anyone for wanting off. Why couldn’t they be quarantined on land (such as a military base?) which would be much safer? This is crazy, mini-epidemics on cruise ships are common place.

7 hours ago, obnurse said:

Am I AFRAID of Coronavirus? No. Am I CONCERNED about Coronavirus? Absolutely. I'm also concerned about influenza, Noro and anything else that can be spread when large numbers of people from all over the world gather. We will take the necessary precautions to do our best to stay uncontaminated. I had H1N1 influenza and I was scary sick. I lost of month of work and had pneumonia.  I can certainly see why it kills vulnerable population. The flu is not a "cold." Patients become very ill very quickly with high fevers and respiratory compromise.  I appreciate the public service announcement!  Be mindful of washing your hands, keep them away from your face, use the restroom in your own cabin whenever possible. Please don't enter the eating venues without cleaning your hands! Remember, the dirtiest place on the ship are elevator buttons, stair rails, etc. If you leave your cabin with clean hands and then touch the elevator button.....you're hands are dirty! The health you're protecting is yours and that of everyone else. 

You forgot one important thing - if you catch cruise ship employees not enforcing their own health rules, document, report and if necessary LAWYER UP! The cruise line has a responsibility to keep their passengers safe. Also It’s completely unacceptable what is being done to healthy passengers on the Diamond, making them breathe air of the infectious in neighboring cabins. The healthy should be allowed to leave much like they evacuated Americans from Wuhan, the center of the outbreak.

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

What we find disturbing is that over 2600 passengers are confined to their cabins on the Diamond Princess and this will likely continue for at least 14 days.  Imagine being confined to an inside cabin for 2 weeks!  

 

Hank

Sounds like being in prison, especially if you have an inside cabin, ugh!

Risk depends on how many are sick and if they overwhelm the ships medical facilities. The only thing they can do to treat you is give supportive care and if there’s no bed, you will not get it, no matter how high your temp or difficulty with breathing. I know if I come down with it, I want to be in US with plenty of hospital beds. I’ve had the flu before and felt like I was going to die, it’s horrible.