Denial of Boarding

[cherylandtk]

...People can speak to one another or hand objects to one another without touching.

Handling the same object is considered physical contact for the purposes of disease transmission; think norovirus. Besides, you are still focused on the touch contact and not on the real issue of the use of the word 'suspected'.

[Mom33]

I don't Think Princess embarkation check in agents have access to the TSA database when checking in for cruises...and as Pablo said, I do not put lying past anyone any more, unfortunately.

 

You give your information to Princess on your cruise personalizer long before boarding. You have been screened by the TSA from this information.

Just as there are no fly lists, Princess can form a no cruise list.

[Homosassa]

Princess requires passports for many of their itineraries, closed loop from the USA or not. because there are Central American, South American and Caribbean nations that require incoming cruise ship passengers to have passports.

 

I don't remember all the countries named within the cruise documents I received for my recent 10/4 Caribbean Princess cruise, but I do remember thinking that two of the 4 ports on the itinerary was covered by the passport requirement.

 

And because the passenger manifest needs to be provided to Homeland Security 48 hours before sailing, I imagine travel history can be pulled up by passport number.

[redtogo]

You definitely travel a lot! Thailand and Singapore? I wish I could go back there sometime.

 

I love to travel. My son says I should just do laundry and repack it. Always try to go somewhere I haven't been. Some places though do not appeal to me.

[CI66774]

So you think she never touched anyone or anything on the first few days of the cruise before she knew Nina Pham was ill? That when she voluntarily went to the Captain to report wanting to monitor her temperature (and probably ask for a thermometer) nobody touched? That two days later when the CDC finally called the ship and asked them to ask her to self-isolate she still had not come into physical contact with any staff on the ship? And you need a video to show you this?

 

This is splitting hairs over the touch contact aspect when the real issue is the word suspected. Perhaps we should just agree that somebody from the medical staff drew her blood yesterday. That person, by this definition, should be prevented from sailing. Which is a ridiculous assertion. Even more ridiculous is that hundreds of people who fall into this category will either unintentionally lie on the form or unnecessarily be denied boarding. The "suspicion" needs to be removed and something more definitive put in its place.

 

NO, No, no...Suspected means that it isn't confirmed that the person has or doesn't have the virus. The lab worker doesn't have the virus. Therefore, she is NOT suspected of having it anymore. As such, no one who came into contact with her fall under this category. As the woman is not "suspected" anymore of having the virus.

[cherylandtk]

CI66774; I understand (and agree with) what you are saying, and what Princess probably intended to say, but that is NOT what they actually said. They need to rephrase.

Edited October 19, 2014 by cherylandtk

[Acosmo]

Hopefully Ebola can be contained and there won't be any concerns about it on such a confined space as a cruise ship. It seems we're closing the barn door after the horse escaped with the new health forms, but the cruise lines have to start somewhere.

[shastatroy]

I got the notice 4 times for the cruise I'm leaving on Monday.

guess they want to make sure I got it

 

 

Ditto, 4 times at 5:30 in the morning!!

[holula]

I love to travel. My son says I should just do laundry and repack it. Always try to go somewhere I haven't been. Some places though do not appeal to me.

 

 

I wish I could do that too. 54 countries and counting. :)

 

 

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[redtogo]

I wish I could do that too. 54 countries and counting. :)

]

 

If you have been to 54 countries, that's wonderful.

 

I counted mine once, but I forget how many there were. Plus, the places that I've been with no stamps in my passport. Plus,those from my older passport.

[beg3yrs]

I have never traveled overseas with a passport so maybe someone who has can verify this but I believe that to enter the US from another country (the exception being a cruise departing and returning to the US) must show a passport/visa and an exit stamp from the country the person traveled from. I certainly will stand corrected if anyone knows from experience.

 

You do not need an exit stamp from the country from which you have just arrived. Not all countries provide exit stamps.

[shredie]

Thanks for your experience. So if I'm reading it right, some do, some don't. This just makes things harder for everyone and we are once again relying on people to "be honest". Maybe it's time for this to change too.

 

What's the alternative?

[whitecap]

What's the alternative?

 

I guess if I could answer that question I could be the new Czar :D Seriously, my answer, and remember it is my humble opinion, stopping it at the source i.e. travel ban from those countries effected, then pour all the possible resources at eradication in those countries. The one thing that everyone seems to agree on is "stopping it at the source" but if you continue to let the source (people) move about the world, how do you stop it.

 

As for the original topic of this thread, I think cruise lines, airlines and all other forms of public transportation are going to be scrambling now on how to prevent their corporations from becoming legally involved in legal claims that are most certainly coming from the glass action lawsuits that will be filed. The deceased patient was flown from an affected country by a commercial airline; then flown to the US. Question: Are those airline companies now legally responsible (as others will be held such as with the hospital) for bringing this disease to the US and can they also be held responsible for the "mental anguish, sleepless nights, horrible 21 day quarantine? It is a major problem that seems to have no solid solution in place.

[Pam in CA]

My opinion(s):

 

First, Princess already has the technology to quickly and easily scan for a temperature every time your cruise card is checked as you embark or disembark the ship. They do it in Japan and it's not an invasion of your privacy. IMHO, this is probably the best way to check and the first thing they should implement and would prevent a heck of a lot of illness on the ship.

 

Second, the new health questionnaire is a joke. People will lie and Princess knows it so they're only covering their *****.

 

Third, if you're denied boarding due to a temperature, that's what insurance is for.

 

Here's a copy of the new questionnaire and I think you'll agree with me about it being much ado about nothing:

 

[whitecap]

My opinion(s):

 

First, Princess already has the technology to quickly and easily scan for a temperature every time your cruise card is checked as you embark or disembark the ship. They do it in Japan and it's not an invasion of your privacy. IMHO, this is probably the best way to check and the first thing they should implement and would prevent a heck of a lot of illness on the ship.

 

Second, the new health questionnaire is a joke. People will lie and Princess knows it so they're only covering their *****.

 

Third, if you're denied boarding due to a temperature, that's what insurance is for.

 

Here's a copy of the new questionnaire and I think you'll agree with me about it being much ado about nothing:

 

 

Pam, thank you so much for posting that. I agree with you it is a "CYA" thing. What I did notice at the bottom was the warning that it is a violation of US Code, a criminal offense, to falsify or misrepresent your answers. Don't recall ever seeing that statement before. Again, thanks!

Edited October 19, 2014 by whitecap

[Thrak]

As pretty much everybody can tell, this is a CYA statement being issued by Princess. You can't make everybody be truthful nor can you realistically know of everybody who might be involved in a disease vector.

As for passport stamps, my wife and I specifically had our passports stamped in Canada on our first cruise. There was actually an announcement or something telling people where to go if they wanted a Canadian stamp on their passports. A number of folks lined up and the Canadian official was having fun asking each person for a Canadian factoid or the name of a famous Canadian as the "price" of a stamp. As neither my wife nor I had ever held a passport before or been out of the US at all we both got the stamp. It's definitely something to remember from our first cruise. :D

[talosian]

[quote name='hawkeyetlse']People who are denied boarding at check-in for health reasons are given a full credit for a future cruise within the next year or something like that. I've never seen any first-hand account of how this actually works, but it makes sense that people should not be punished for being honest and cooperative.[/quote]

And you know this from how/when/where.

And even if this is true, do you think someone who may have spent a lot of $$ on transportation to the cruise (flight, maybe overnight hotel, shuttle) is going to eat these costs?

On the other side, with a 21 day incubation period, what are the cruise lines to do? Cancel all cruises for 21 days and keep all crew members onboard for that time?

IMO, the chances of passengers contracting Ebola are slim; I would be more concerned with the crew who may have had leave and met family/friends that could have been exposed.

It's a no win all around and everything in life is a gamble.

And you can probably plan for a long delay in departure time.

And all of this is for a Mexican Rivera cruise when I have spend much more than a little time in Mexico over the last ten-years.

Such are the trials for we homeless folks who have depended on the kindness of (sometimes) strangers.

Such is life.

[talosian]

[quote name='whitecap'][SIZE=3] " . . . pour all the possible resources at eradication in those countries. The one thing that everyone seems to agree on is "stopping it at the source" but if you continue to let the source (people) move about the world, how do you stop it." [/SIZE][/quote]

That was the question in the movie "OUTBREAK (Which was nothing like the book).

The outbreak in the movie could have been contained if the Ebola had not gone airborne.

"This is one nasty bug."

“The single biggest threat to man's continued dominance on this planet is the virus,”

[icat2000]

I'm on the Dawn Princess today, I got emergency notification last night at 6 pm about Ebola.

[whitecap]

[quote name='icat2000']I'm on the Dawn Princess today, I got emergency notification last night at 6 pm about Ebola.[/QUOTE]

[SIZE="3"]Can you explain?[/SIZE]

[hawkeyetlse]

[quote name='talosian']
And even if this is true, do you think someone who may have spent a lot of $$ on transportation to the cruise (flight, maybe overnight hotel, shuttle) is going to eat these costs?[/QUOTE]As you said, things happen, and as Pam said, for people who are worried about an illness (or bad weather, or a death in the family, etc.) disrupting their trip, insurance is available. These things are not Princess's fault, so they shouldn't have to eat all the costs, either. But someone who admits to feeling sick at the health screening is acting in Princess's (and their fellow passengers') interest, hence the cruise line's willingness to work with the passenger to rebook (so I have heard; you may have heard differently).

If your point is that it's still not enough and people still have plenty of motivation to lie on their health form, I absolutely agree with you.

[downsmead]

We got denied boarding on RCCI a few years ago. At that time my youngest daughter did not travel well, planes, cars etc. We had driven down to the port and she was sick on the journey as normal. When we were waiting to check in, she was still unwell and when we got to the front of the line, having declared that she had been sick that day, the ship's doctor was called to see us and said that he couldn't let us board in case she had norovirus (there had been a couple of deep cleans etc around that time). We were issued with cruise credit certificates to be used within 2 years on any of the RCCI lines. The port (Southampton) refunded our parking fees, though if we had flown in, we would certainly have been out of pocket. My husband and I used the certificates against a Caribbean cruise the following year :).

[BassettMom]

I've now received 5 "Emergency Notification" emails regarding the health screening for my upcoming cruise on the Golden. And why title it "Emergency" why not just "Important"? Geez, enough already--I read the first one...and the second...and the third....

[Kenswing]

[quote name='BassettMom']I've now received 5 "Emergency Notification" emails regarding the health screening for my upcoming cruise on the Golden. And why title it "Emergency" why not just "Important"? Geez, enough already--I read the first one...and the second...and the third....[/QUOTE]

I've only received 3 so far and we board the Ruby on Wednesday..

[caribill]

[quote name='hawkeyetlse']People who are denied boarding at check-in for health reasons are given a full credit for a future cruise within the next year or something like that. I've never seen any first-hand account of how this actually works, but it makes sense that people should not be punished for being honest and cooperative.[/quote]

This gives a new answer to those who want to cancel at the last moment but did not purchase insurance. Just say they have been in close contact with someone who works in a lab where they handle blood samples that might contain Ebola.

(On the other hand, based on the questionnaire wording, it looks like people who work in labs who handle blood samples or anyone that lives with them or has contact with them can no longer take a cruise, ever.)