Will Zika virus affect Caribbean bookings this winter ?

[reedprincess]

]With all the Zika talk I am curious if these mosquitoes are running in swarms or just a few here and there. Are there blankets of bugs hovering over the infected areas? Has anyone been to the affected areas and seen an increase in the mosquito population? Not that it matters because if you get bit by one or 100 you could still contract it' date=' just[/b'] curious.

 

Our final payment is due in 3 weeks and I have been putting it off to make a final decision on whether or not it's safe to travel, but mostly I'm hoping for a fare reduction or a sale that would benefit us. As of right now were still going.

 

In response to sprays and repellents, I have never found dryer sheets to work, and "Repel" is iffy. Smells good, but my husband has doused his clothes in it to do yard work and I still see him out there looking like a mad man swatting the bugs away. I personally use the Johnson's Baby Creamy Oil in the green tube. Something in it works to keep the mosquitoes away. Google it.

 

I live in St Lucia, an affected country. No, there are not MORE mosquitoes this year than average - in fact, there's likely less on most islands due to both the ongoing drought throughout the Caribbean and stepped up eradication procedures including spraying, fogging, clean up campaigns, etc.

So no - it's not that there's MORE of them, it's just that the offending mosquito has added another disease to its arsenal. So, along with dengue and chikengunya, we now have zika, with zika potentially having further reaching complications than the other two...

So - as always, make informed decisions using valid sources, ie WHO, CDC, etc. Use appropriate precautions.

Travel safe!

Edited August 10, 2016 by reedprincess

[pedirn]

Personally, I think there are probably more Zika cases than the media are reporting. They are only reporting those confirmed positive cases. But with few to no symptoms in most cases, why would anyone get tested. No one is going to run and get test when they get a mosquito bite only if they are symptomatic, are pregnant, or plan to become pregnant. Common sense when booking trips, tours and preventative measures are necessary for the general public. If people panic and cruise bookings drop, all I can say is, I will be

able to book another cruise or two when the cruise lines offer incentives/price reductions to book.

Chris

[geoherb]

I'm hoping the price will go down on the cruise that I want to take in December. As of now, the price is the same as last month but considerably lower than it was in June. For the same cruise itinerary in January and February, the price is at least $400 more for a balcony cabin. The final payment date is the middle of next month for the date in which I'm interested.

[geocruiser]

This past winter we took five Caribbean cruises on Princess. I got off on most islands and shop at the ports. In St. Thomas, St Maartin, Aruba, Bonaire, Princess Cay, I went into town. I did not ever see a mosquitoes at all on any of my trips. I would still be careful, but we are going so far this winter on two more of these cruises.

[Cairn Mom]

We are going on a Caribbean cruise in February. We're not in the childbearing years,so it is not a concern. We'll wear the citronella bracelets that I mentioned earlier. My children are of childbearing ages,so we're doing a summer cruise to Alaska with them for my husband's birthday( which is in the winter) rather than having them join us on our Caribbean cruise. Much better safe than sorry.

[Montrealais]

Dryer sheets make me physically ill. I would love it if they were banned as an air pollutant. Those things reek of chemicals. I would use DEET. Yes, it has a smell but nothing compared to the toxic fumes from dryer sheets. As a side note they are not good for your dryer. I used to do appliance repair. Those things coat the lint screen and clog it up and cause the dryer to overheat.

We don't plan to have anymore children (and we couldn't even if we wanted to) but I admit I do look somewhat like I'm pregnant but that's just because I'm too dang fat. :rolleyes:

 

Especially if people are too lazy to clean the lint screen after each load :rolleyes:

[cruiselvr1]

I feel with the report of the confirmed introduction of the Zika virus into Florida and the Caribbean this summer that it will more than likely affect the winter season cruise bookings.

 

If we were still considering having more children I know we definitely wouldn't risk it

 

Srpilo

Zika was a good excuse for us to cancel our b2b cruise. Since we are not beach people we thought why go there. My DW was concern about the virus.

[LokiPoki]

Zika, et-al disease considerations were also present during the 2016 Winter (Dec-Feb) Caribbean Cruise season. Yes - US News reports & there were caution notices in the Princess Patter's. We did use repellant, etc.,(dryer sheets also work)but despite beach & jungle excursions St Maarten, Costa Maya, etc., we did not see one mosquito and locals seemed puzzled when we inquired about Zika. However - this is a very personal decision for high risk travelers - you should know before you go.

 

Ditto some of the South Pacific cruises - logging in to the cruise personaliser before the cruise, we had a public health notice pop up that had to be acknowledged (guess how many actually read it is another thing entirely) and there were both written notices and announcements made before we came to areas where it might be an issue. Like you, not a single mozzie to be seen, but locals did know about it.

[cruiselvr1]

Dryer sheets make me physically ill. I would love it if they were banned as an air pollutant. Those things reek of chemicals. I would use DEET. Yes, it has a smell but nothing compared to the toxic fumes from dryer sheets. As a side note they are not good for your dryer. I used to do appliance repair. Those things coat the lint screen and clog it up and cause the dryer to overheat.

 

We don't plan to have anymore children (and we couldn't even if we wanted to) but I admit I do look somewhat like I'm pregnant but that's just because I'm too dang fat. :rolleyes:

I have been using dryer sheets for years, my dryer doesn't seem to be affected. Just because you don't like them, so that means I can't use them, correct.

[bookmomoftwins]

We booked our December Caribbean cruise this week, and the travel agent brought up zika and asked if that would be an issue for us before we finalized things. We are done having kids, so we're not concerned, but when I read some reviews of shore excursions in wooded areas for our trip having tons of mosquitoes, it did make me wonder if the virus would affect business for some.

[Cairn Mom]

As long as your not planning to have children, use insect repellent with DEET if you go into an area with lots of mosquitos. For the most part, we use citronella bracelets ( as I have said before). However, when we went to wooded areas,we used Deep woods OFF. I would not use it everyday, but not looking for Dengue Fever,Zika or any other mosquito born illness.

[easyboy]

Common sense when booking trips, tours and preventative measures are necessary for the general public. If people panic and cruise bookings drop, all I can say is, I will be able to book another cruise or two when the cruise lines offer incentives/price reductions to book.

Chris

I will also grab the same opportunity.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Until I read the article below, I felt much the same way as most others not of childbearing age: I'll go but I'll protect myself, and if I do get Zika viru, how bad can it be? But this article opened my eyes to the effect that my Zika virus (if I was unfortunate and contracted it) would have on others and might play a role in helping the disease to spread.

 

http://www.vox.com/2016/8/11/12422314/zika-virus-united-states

 

Still, we'll probably end up in Zika territory sometime this winter. This just gave me a different perspective on any immunity I might have felt to the really devastating outcomes of the illness.

[BigTimeCruiser]

Thanks for posting this well written and informative article!!

 

Curt :):)

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting the link to the article. I worry more about chikungunya and dengue than Zika.

[Cairn Mom]

Thanks for posting the link to the article. I worry more about chikungunya and dengue than Zika.

 

 

Agreed. In my opinion, these mosquito born illnesses will not affect the cruise industry. They were all present last year,so are nothing new. Unfortunately,in today's world, nothing is without risk- even a cruise to the Caribbean. It would be nice to see a decrease in price, but I am not going to hold my breath.

[easyboy]

Until I read the article below, I felt much the same way as most others not of childbearing age: I'll go but I'll protect myself, and if I do get Zika viru, how bad can it be? But this article opened my eyes to the effect that my Zika virus (if I was unfortunate and contracted it) would have on others and might play a role in helping the disease to spread.

 

http://www.vox.com/2016/8/11/12422314/zika-virus-united-states

Nice read. Thanks.

[caribill]

To see one effect the virus has on tourism, read

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/health/article/Zika-fears-compound-wedding-stress-for-9126817.php

[floridalover5623]

To see one effect the virus has on tourism, read

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/health/article/Zika-fears-compound-wedding-stress-for-9126817.php

 

You have to be a subscriber to read the article.

[BigTimeCruiser]

This should work. http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/health/article/Zika-fears-compound-wedding-stress-for-9126817.php?t=cb5f16495c438d9cbb&cmpid=twitter-premium

[easyboy]

This should work. http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/health/article/Zika-fears-compound-wedding-stress-for-9126817.php?t=cb5f16495c438d9cbb&cmpid=twitter-premium

Yes it did! Thanks for the read.

[caribill]

Yes, Zika is affecting bookings.

 

Travel agents report that in August future bookings for Carnival Corp brands were down due to Zika fears.

 

Stock price for CCL corp responded accordingly.

[CineGraphic]

We are cruising the Panama Canal in December, and a few shipmates have dropped out due to Zika fears, but the cabins re-sell quickly, and the cruise is nearly sold-out.

 

My wife and I discussed cancelling and cruising New England and Canada instead, but the bang for our buck just wasn't there. We are in our 50s, no more kids.

We are committed to seeing the canal, and learning to love the smell of bug spray.

[Thrak]

We are cruising the Panama Canal in December, and a few shipmates have dropped out due to Zika fears, but the cabins re-sell quickly, and the cruise is nearly sold-out.

 

My wife and I discussed cancelling and cruising New England and Canada instead, but the bang for our buck just wasn't there. We are in our 50s, no more kids.

We are committed to seeing the canal, and learning to love the smell of bug spray.

 

We did the full transit last year and never saw a single mosquito nor did we use any bug spray. I never saw anybody else use it either nor did I ever smell it.

 

I really wouldn't worry about it at all.

[TitanSMES]

How about malaria. A lot of people may not realize that malaria is still around and a lot of people in the world suffer from it. The Hollywood elite for some reason don't wear ribbons for it. My wife got it in Honduras and still has it. You never get rid of it. Guess what? You can find it in just about every country in the Caribbean region. Be careful .

 

 

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