First Time Cruise in February 2015 - Concerns

[ArmyMom13]

Hi All,

I hope experienced cruisers can help. I've traveled to the islands for almost 20 years but this will be our very first cruise. It's a 'surprise cruise' for my husband's birthday. With all the talk about Ebola's outbreak possibly getting worse in the coming months I'm not sure what to do. Should I cancel? I'm sure the advise will more likely be to do what makes me comfortable. But is anyone else cancelling their cruises? We have to fly from New England to St. Maarten for this as well.

 

Thanks for any and all input. ;)

[Floridiana]

I wouldn't be worried. St. Maarten is far from in West Africa. If US airports and planes are your concern, wash your hands often with soap and - please - longer than a second and don't touch everything. That helps against Noro Virus.

[paul929207]

So far, you have a much better chance to be shot and killed in the US then you do of dying from Ebola

[chengkp75]

I would be more worried about chikunguya than ebola when visiting the Caribbean, and some Ben's mosquito repellent takes care of that.

 

There are virtually no crew members from West Africa. A person infected with ebola is not contagious during the incubation period, only when they are showing symptoms. If you practice good hygiene around anyone on the ship who is coughing, sneezing, etc, you should protect yourself from most viruses, including noro.

 

My feeling is that the media is beating this into a frenzy. They bring out experts who claim that the virus "could become airborne", but don't emphasize that it hasn't yet.

 

I don't have a cruise scheduled in the near future, but I wouldn't change my plans if I did, based on the current level of ebola spread.

[cb at sea]

You've got quite a bit of time....just watch and see how the current outbreak goes....it's not just Africa anymore...now that Dallas is having issues with the caregivers. If this thing keeps on multiplying, you'll do what you need to.

[Keith1010]

I would not change my cruise plans because of this.

 

Keith

[Essiesmom]

Buy Cancel for any reason insurance and relax. EM

[Krazy Kruizers]

We are not changing our cruise plans.

And we have no choice but to fly to and from the embarkation ports.

[MSN-Travelers]

Hi All,

I hope experienced cruisers can help. I've traveled to the islands for almost 20 years but this will be our very first cruise. It's a 'surprise cruise' for my husband's birthday. With all the talk about Ebola's outbreak possibly getting worse in the coming months I'm not sure what to do. Should I cancel? I'm sure the advise will more likely be to do what makes me comfortable. But is anyone else cancelling their cruises? We have to fly from New England to St. Maarten for this as well.

 

Thanks for any and all input. ;)

 

Fear is a normal human response. What you have to ask yourself is this an irrational fear? Do you fear being exposed to ebola on the ship, in an airplane, at the airport, on a subway in any large city. How about in the grocery store (who touched the cart handle last)?

 

What we are actually faced with is a combination of the fear of an unknown and a lack of faith in our nation's ability to deal with it?

 

Remember HIV/AIDS and how that was handled in the media? Remember the 2009 H1N1 (Swine Flu) scare? That one crippled the tourist industry in Mexico, caused the cruise industry to cancel sailings to Mexico and in the end, did it's job. Not a single case of H1N1 in Cabo, Mazatlan or Puerto Vallarta but plenty of cases in any US city/state served by an international airport.

 

My advice . . . do what you feel is best for your family? In the end, you are the one that will have to live with the decision. Me, I see the irrational fear driving down the price of leisure travel stocks and smell a buy opportunity. The more we keep talking about avoiding cruises, the bigger the drop in Carnival Corp share price. ;)

 

Enjoy!

Edited October 16, 2014 by MSN-Travelers

[Margaritavillager]

We cruise in April and aren't changing our plans.

 

 

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[Grog5]

We have a southern Caribbean cruise next month and are not changing our plans. IMO, most of the scare comes from media hype and those of us in the USA are fine with our usual hygeine routine.

[lady_cruiser]

So far we haven't cancelled our cruises for January and March of 2015. We're taking a wait and see attitude.

[Langley Cruisers]

We have to fly from New England to St. Maarten for this as well....

 

Sorry, pardon? Did you mean Puerto Rico?

[kitten3008]

We're cruising in March 2015 (it's my first, but my fiancé is a seasoned cruiser) and we haven't even talked about changing our plans. I did mention that if I ended up with Ebola I was going to blame him, but that was the extent ;)

 

In the end, you know yourself better than anyone else. If paranoid would ruin an otherwise great trip, save your money - otherwise have a great time!

[cruise_mojo]

is to watch the panic, and prices drop and book a couple cruises at least at rock bottom rates

 

and those rates ought to be cheaper than the rock bottom rate we got last june on the pride! we had the 7 day cruise with a balconly up on I think the verandah deck with an extended balcony for 678 bucks TOTAL! including taxes, port charges and everything

 

carnival and other cruise lines have positioned too many cabins in the market for about a year now and there have been some outrageously good deals!

 

:)

 

wouldn't worry about ebola, either!

[Cuizer2]

Hi All,

I hope experienced cruisers can help. I've traveled to the islands for almost 20 years but this will be our very first cruise. It's a 'surprise cruise' for my husband's birthday. With all the talk about Ebola's outbreak possibly getting worse in the coming months I'm not sure what to do. Should I cancel? I'm sure the advise will more likely be to do what makes me comfortable. But is anyone else cancelling their cruises? We have to fly from New England to St. Maarten for this as well.

 

Thanks for any and all input. ;)

 

First of all, how are you getting to the airport? Are you driving? If so, that is by far the most dangerous part of your journey.

 

Next, life has risks. A meteor could hit your home while you are a sleep and kill all you. So even staying home has risks.

 

If you decide to stay at home and hide under the covers because you are afraid of Ebola, then for all practicable purposes, you are already dead.

 

When you go to the store, do you interview the person next to in line to make sure that they have not come in contact with some who has had some contact with Ebola? How about your co-workers? Do you have children? If so, are you sure none of your child's classmates have parents in the health care field who have come in contact with someone who might have been exposed to Ebola?

 

Just because Ebola makes the news and thousands of car accidents don't does not mean that Ebola is more of a threat to your health than driving.

 

However, the bottom line is, if you are going to be so concerned about it that it will ruin your cruise, then yes, you should cancel. Then pray a meteor does not hit your house during the week that you could have been enjoying a cruise.

[cruise_mojo]

sheesh! and my wife thought MY post was over the top!

[dsrdsrdsr]

If you're not comfortable about going on a cruise, then you won't be comfortable living in Rhode Island either. It's one of the contiguous states, and the USA has infinitely more cases of Ebola than any of the Caribbean islands.

 

Have you considered buying one of the uninhabited islands up near St. Lawrence and going to live there for a few years? ;)

[Folk Singer]

Hi All,

I hope experienced cruisers can help. I've traveled to the islands for almost 20 years but this will be our very first cruise. It's a 'surprise cruise' for my husband's birthday. With all the talk about Ebola's outbreak possibly getting worse in the coming months I'm not sure what to do. Should I cancel? I'm sure the advise will more likely be to do what makes me comfortable. But is anyone else cancelling their cruises? We have to fly from New England to St. Maarten for this as well.

 

Thanks for any and all input. ;)

 

 

no. We are still going. Not overly worried.

[Folk Singer]

I wouldn't be worried. St. Maarten is far from in West Africa. If US airports and planes are your concern, wash your hands often with soap and - please - longer than a second and don't touch everything. That helps against Noro Virus.

 

I would be more worried about Noro than anything else.:eek:

[rjgdjg]

Hi-

 

We have two cruises coming up and are not deterred at all by Ebola. The chance of contracting it is so very, very small.

 

It may help to know that the cruise lines are hyper-sensitive about norovirus and take all health precautions. They take our safety very seriously. They have to--their business depends on it.

 

That being said, we use the cruise line's sanitary spray before all meals, as well as bring our own spray and wipes, and use them after handling any utensils/salt and pepper, hot sauce, etc. on the table. We've been on 15 cruises without a problem.

 

So, to paraphrase the song, "Don't worry, be happy. Take a cruise." - Musing About Cruising

[Folk Singer]

Agree with the OP. Have Fun don't worry.

[Sixtytwo]

With just a little common sense and proper care in washing hands is all you need to be concerned about! We keep some hand sanitizer with us at all times and use it before touching anything that goes in our mouth! Of course, that is no substitute for regular hand washing which we also do. Never had a problem and don't expect to! :)