What is being done about coronavirus.....

[rallydave]

4 minutes ago, CruisetheCs said:

 

I understand the public health concerns about individuals who have travelled through areas where the epidemic is uncontrolled.  But I don't understand what the mere possession of a particular passport has to do with infection control.  If crew members with a Chinese passport haven't been in China since the time the epidemic began (or whatever time public health authorities stipulate) then why would they be banned from the ship?

 

This seems like a devastating hardship for the involved crew members who have no reason to be thought more likely infectious than any of the other crew or passengers.

 

 Is there some public health recommendation that supports this?  

While your logic is excellent, believe the problem is that there is rally no simply way for the clerks checking in people at the dock can verify that the people are telling the truth about where they have been or transited thru.

 

Just like the health form we all simply say no to all the questions since we are afraid that any yes answer may result in not being allowed to board, self reporting is a real crap shoot.  Not all immigration results in a stamp in your passport, people have multiple passports and don't think all countries are linked electronically such that passing thru or into an infected country can be accurately accounted for.

 

Really unfortunate otherwise healthy people have to go thru this to get to their job or on their cruise of a lifetime  but, remember a single person who boarded and subsequently got off the Princess ship guaranteed in Japan. 

[CruisetheCs]

40 minutes ago, rallydave said:

While your logic is excellent, believe the problem is that there is rally no simply way for the clerks checking in people at the dock can verify that the people are telling the truth about where they have been or transited thru.

 

Just like the health form we all simply say no to all the questions since we are afraid that any yes answer may result in not being allowed to board, self reporting is a real crap shoot.  Not all immigration results in a stamp in your passport, people have multiple passports and don't think all countries are linked electronically such that passing thru or into an infected country can be accurately accounted for.

 

Really unfortunate otherwise healthy people have to go thru this to get to their job or on their cruise of a lifetime  but, remember a single person who boarded and subsequently got off the Princess ship guaranteed in Japan. 

 

I agree that anyone might be untruthful but that seems independent of passports.

 

But if crew members have been working on the ship for the past two months or more, are they still going to get kicked off just because they have a certain passport?  That is what the language would seem to say.  Makes no sense to me.

[rallydave]

6 minutes ago, CruisetheCs said:

But if crew members have been working on the ship for the past two months or more, are they still going to get kicked off just because they have a certain passport?  That is what the language would seem to say.  Makes no sense to me.

Don't think they mean this at all.  They are not talking about crew already onboard.  The rules, just like those for passengers who are boarding to begin their cruise are for crew joining the ship after being off on vacation or new crew joining the ship for the first time.

[Travelcat2]

Logically, any crew members that has been onboard more than 30 days will not be kicked off.  However, they may not be able to get home. Perhaps, depending upon their visa, they can remain onboard for a bit longer and take the positions of those that cannot travel. And, there have not been flights from these areas for at least a couple of weeks.  

 

Not worried about people being untruthful - especially in area where your temperature will be taken.  There are still people on Regent with colds - coughing, etc.  This is normal and is always the case at this time of the year (we tend to sail in the winter and have noticed people with various illnesses on most cruises).  

 

If all Regent passengers are honest, we will have much less to worry about.

 

P.S.  Is it just me or are there fewer Regent crew members from China, Hong Kong and Macau than most other countries?  

Edited February 14, 2020 by Travelcat2

[DaveFr]

1 hour ago, CruisetheCs said:

 

I understand the public health concerns about individuals who have travelled through areas where the epidemic is uncontrolled.  But I don't understand what the mere possession of a particular passport has to do with infection control.  If crew members with a Chinese passport haven't been in China since the time the epidemic began (or whatever time public health authorities stipulate) then why would they be banned from the ship?

 

This seems like a devastating hardship for the involved crew members who have no reason to be thought more likely infectious than any of the other crew or passengers.

 

 Is there some public health recommendation that supports this?  

I don't see any public health reason for the blanket prohibition of passengers (date limited) and crew with passports from China, Hong Kong or Macau.  The 30 day travel prohibition requirement would seem to be more than adequate.  However, there may be facts about the virus that are unknown to the general population.

 

My speculative guess is that the blanket prohibition was a requirement of one or more Asian countries before they would allow cruise ships to dock in their countries.  I wonder how many crew have passports from China, Hong Kong or Macau? Does the prohibition affect many crew members or only a few? Of course, no matter how many crew members are affected, it is a sad situation that, hopefully, will end soon.

 

Dave

[Travelcat2]

22 hours ago, DaveFr said:

I am not sure what the exact rules are for Australia, but for American and Canadian guests, if you go on the cruise you get a 25% FCC. If you cancel the March 1 cruise you get a 100% FCC. Hope this helps.

 

Dave

 

Dave, as you know, I typically agree with you.  However, this post, in my opinion, made things worse.  The information that you provided seems to not be correct in Australia.  This is why I suggested staying away from what Regent is offering.  We simply do not know what the contracts or situations are.

 

For instance, the cruise after the March 1 cruise has most (not all) ports that are not affected.  Only a few (very few) are currently affected.  In this case, again,  in my opinion, Regent would not need to give a 100% future cruise credit to those that cancel or even a 25% future cruise credit .  It sounds as if some passengers are waiting to hear that they can cancel for this FCC - even though they are not at risk (or take the cruise because they expect a 25% FCC)..  So, this seems as if our sharing information is creating a monster that wants as much money or FCC's as possible.  I feel that the situation is bad enough without passengers using posted information as ammunition against Regent.

 

 

[Emma Chisit]

11 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Thank you for posting this.  Another good reason why posters may want to hold off on posting what they are receiving.  Information seems to be flying around - some relevant to our particular cruise and some not - some true and some not true.  Stick with information from Regent or your TA (if your TA does not have answers, they can get answers from Regent Corporate in Miami).  

 

P.S.  As an aside, I am waiting for my new passport (last one filled up) so when I board Splendor next month, it will show that I have not been anywhere!  I would have to take my cancelled passport in order to prove where we have been.

 

Travelcat2… In response to this earlier post of yours (post #321)  - You are welcome.  I am normally a private person and do not post anything personal on a public forum.  Nor do I engage in speculation.  However, as I posted in my post #306 that you referenced above, we sought clarification from our TA , escalated to Regent USA as a result of posts on the 1 March - Hong Kong to Tokyo roll call.  (Now Manila - Tokyo).  Which information we duly received and which I posted above and on the roll call. 

While dramatic situations often arise in the world of cruising, and it is exciting for those not directly affected to speculate, I hope all can remember that this is a terrible ongoing situation for so many people.  We in Australia are very close to it all and heartbroken by what we read..

Edited February 14, 2020 by Emma Chisit
typo

[Travelcat2]

We are also heartbroken by what we are hearing and reading. Many of us on the Regent board cruise quite a bit and book up to two years in advance!  So, we are not only looking as spectators but we considering our currently booked cruises as well as cruises that we will book in the future. 

 

Although the Regent cruise that we will be on in March, does not currently many people affected by the cironavirus, our embarkation port has had new cases just this week.  As we have learned, things can change dramatically overnight.

 

In any case, if you have decided to go on the cruise, I hope that you have a wonderful time☺

Edited February 14, 2020 by Travelcat2

[orvil]

Passport stamps are a quaint reminder of a paper past.  Every time you check in for a Regent cruise, you have to submit your passport for scanning.  Regent then issues you a key card.  

 

Every time you use this key card to exit the ship in a port of call, there is a record of your port of entry.  There is also a record of your return to the ship at the end of your visit.  This data is sent to your country of origin passport control, too.

 

All of this data is collected and submitted to the country involved and kept in the Regent database.  Somewhere in the cloud, all of this information is floating about.  There is a record of your entry and it can be accessed.  Just because it isn't in ink on your physical passport doesn't mean that someone somewhere doesn't know where you have been and when you left.

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

9 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

We are also heartbroken by what we are hearing and reading. Many of us on the Regent board cruise quite a bit and book up to two years in advance!  So, we are not only looking as spectators but we considering our currently booked cruises as well as cruises that we will book in the future. 

 

Although the Regent cruise that we will be on in March, does not currently many people affected by the cironavirus, our embarkation port has had new cases just this week.  As we have learned, things can change dramatically overnight.

 

In any case, if you have decided to go on the cruise, I hope that you have a wonderful time☺

Jackie

Are there cases in San Diego presently?

please clarify. Thanks

sheila

[Travelcat2]

58 minutes ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

Jackie

Are there cases in San Diego presently?

please clarify. Thanks

sheila

 

Yes -  at the military base where they have people  in quarantine.  Unfortunately, one person with the virus was accidentally released (and then returned).  Here is the latest article https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/second-confirmed-coronavirus-case-in-san-diego-county/2262575/. It sounds like they don't exactly know what they are doing.  A couple of cases does not sound like much but the fiasco on the Princess Diamond began with only one case.

[flossie009]

15 hours ago, DaveFr said:

My speculative guess is that the blanket prohibition was a requirement of one or more Asian countries before they would allow cruise ships to dock in their countries.

Yes this seems to be correct, and the blanket restriction across all Regent ships was probably driven by the fear that other countries around the world might follow suit.

Crystal updated their policy yesterday (Thurs Feb 13) and this gives more specifics on some of the countries denying entry to those with Chinese passports: https://www.crystalcruises.com/coronavirus-update

 

15 hours ago, DaveFr said:

I wonder how many crew have passports from China, Hong Kong or Macau? Does the prohibition affect many crew members or only a few?

Traditionally Hong Kong Chinese carried out laundry duties on ships and worked in the galley, but that has changed over the years and is probably now an outdated stereotype.

 

16 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

P.S.  Is it just me or are there fewer Regent crew members from China, Hong Kong and Macau than most other countries?

Probably even less now ................ presumably zero under the present policy.

 

 

I don't think the restriction on specific passport holders is confined to Regent but is across many cruise lines as agreed with their industry association CLIA

[Pcardad]

I don't think there are employees from HK or Macau. i would expect their standard of living to be too high for them to work on Regent...just like Regent (Apollo) doesn't like to hire Americans or Canadians for most jobs. Laundry is mostly Indonesian, housekeeping from the Philippines, bar waitstaff Indian, bartenders used to have to be Europe but this has finally changed.

 

I don't think this will impact many employees...more passengers I would suspect.

Edited February 14, 2020 by Pcardad
Correct spelling

[Wendy The Wanderer]

2 hours ago, orvil said:

Passport stamps are a quaint reminder of a paper past.  Every time you check in for a Regent cruise, you have to submit your passport for scanning.  Regent then issues you a key card.  

 

Every time you use this key card to exit the ship in a port of call, there is a record of your port of entry.  There is also a record of your return to the ship at the end of your visit.  This data is sent to your country of origin passport control, too.

 

All of this data is collected and submitted to the country involved and kept in the Regent database.  Somewhere in the cloud, all of this information is floating about.  There is a record of your entry and it can be accessed.  Just because it isn't in ink on your physical passport doesn't mean that someone somewhere doesn't know where you have been and when you left.

 

That's what I was trying to get at previously.  Although I did not know that the ship's scans would revert to our country's passport control too. 

 

Overall I think this is a good thing.  Next year we'll be transitting out of the States to go on our world cruise from Miami (we hope).  I've been wondering how the US would know that we had left.  But I guess Canada will get a record as soon as we're scanned into another country after we leave the US.  This is important to me because I keep a record of how much time I spend in the U.S.--they don't like us Canadians to overstay.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Just read over on the Viking board that, "Viking have decided to bypass, in addition to China and HK, Thailand, Singapore and Philippines."  This pertains to their current WC on the Sun. Interesting.

[Travelcat2]

Latest numbers that I could find on the virus.  It is disheartening that this is expected to go into next year! 

 

Places Confirmed Cases Reported Deaths

China Mainland.    63,85.    11,380

Cruise ship (Diamond Princess).   2190

Singapore.    580

Hong Kong.   511

Thailand     330

Japan.    321

South Korea.    280

Malaysia.    190

Taiwan.    180

Germany.    160

Australia.    150

United States.    150

Vietnam.    150

France.    110

Macau.    100

United Kingdom.    90

United Arab Emirates.    80

Canada.    70

India.    30

Italy.    30

Philippines.    31

Russia.    20

Spain.    20

Belgium.    10

Cambodia.    10

Finland.    10

Nepa.    l10

Sri Lanka.    10

Sweden.    10

As of 7:00 am GMTFeb 14, 2020

Edited February 14, 2020 by Travelcat2

[Gilly]

These figures are very misleading because the number of confirmed cases and reported deaths are merged...so for the UK, for example, there are 9 confirmed cases and 0 deaths - not 90 cases as it appears.  Similarly, the Diamond Princess really doesn't have more than 2000 confirmed cases, I'm sure.

[Travelcat2]

21 minutes ago, Gilly said:

These figures are very misleading because the number of confirmed cases and reported deaths are merged...so for the UK, for example, there are 9 confirmed cases and 0 deaths - not 90 cases as it appears.  Similarly, the Diamond Princess really doesn't have more than 2000 confirmed cases, I'm sure.

 

You are right.  I fixed part of it but not all.  will repost.  Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

Edited February 14, 2020 by Travelcat2

[Travelcat2]

Unfortunately, the formatting caused my listing to read incorrectly.  I am reposting and putting a "/" in between the number of cases and the number of deaths.  It likely would have been earlier to just say that the only deaths are in China, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

 

Places.   Confirmed Cases / Reported Deaths

China Mainland.   63,851. /1,380

Cruise ship (Diamond Princess. )219/0

Singapore. 58/ 0

Hong Kong. 51/ 1

Thailand. 33/ 0

Japan. 32/ 1

South Korea. 28/ 0

Malaysia. 19/ 0

Taiwan. 18/ 0

Germany. 16/0

Australia. 1/50

United State. 15/0

Vietnam 15/0

France.  11/0

Macau. 10/0

United Kingdom. 9/0

United Arab Emirates. 8/0

Canada. 7/0 

India.  3/0

Italy.  3/0

Philippines 3/1

Russia 2/0

Spain 2/0

Belgium 1/0

Cambodia 1/0

Finland. 1/0

Nepal. 1/0

Sri Lanka. 1/0

Sweden. 1/0

As of 7:00 am GMTFeb 14, 2020

Edited February 14, 2020 by Travelcat2

[seaknots]

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

the only deaths are in China, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

 & japan

 

australia 50death??

[DaveFr]

18 minutes ago, seaknots said:

 & japan

 

australia 50death??

Looks like a typo. Should be 15/0.

 

Dave

[DaveFr]

2 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

Latest numbers that I could find on the virus.  It is disheartening that this is expected to go into next year! 

 

What is the source of your statement that the virus is expected to go into next year? I can’t find any such source. Thanks.

 

Dave

[greykitty]

13 minutes ago, DaveFr said:

What is the source of your statement that the virus is expected to go into next year? I can’t find any such source. Thanks.

 

Dave

 CDC yesterday expects beyond this season, or this year.  

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/cdc-director-says-coronavirus-could-stay-in-us-through-this-year-and-beyond-cnn/ar-BBZYQUT

 

[DaveFr]

6 minutes ago, greykitty said:

 CDC yesterday expects beyond this season, or this year.  

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/cdc-director-says-coronavirus-could-stay-in-us-through-this-year-and-beyond-cnn/ar-BBZYQUT

 

Thanks.

 

Dave

[Travelcat2]

Just noticed a new thread on this subject (facts only - focus on March cruises).  This will give me time to prepare for our non-coronavirus related cruise instead of keeping up with latest developments on this thread.

 

greykitty - thank you for posting the link to the CDC article that I heard about.  Sadly, this issue is not going away anytime soon as, so far, they have not determined the source, have not been able to stabilize it and the numbers keep growing.

 

This is sad for the world and certainly the cruise industry.  

 

Be safe everyone.  Will be back posting live from our Splendor cruise a month from today!