What is being done about coronavirus.....

[briar14]

9 hours ago, ArtsyCraftsy said:

Will do -- So far, we've had to skip American Samoa and Samoa, but picked up Suva, Fiji as an addition to the itinerary -- we left there yesterday evening.  I'm having a ball -- I really love everything about the Mariner.

My favorite part of the Sydney-Sydney cruise on Mariner last year was the southern and west coasts of Australia. Esperance, perfect white beaches. Fremantle (Perth), wish the ship had overnighted there. Wishing you a continuing good and safe world cruise!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

8 hours ago, ArtsyCraftsy said:

Yes, we're skipping Singapore originally scheduled for Mar 18-19 (an overnight there plus it was the site of one of the 3 "major events" for those of us doing the entire world cruise)

 

It'll be interesting to hear whether they manage to replace this event with another one.  Gardens By the Bay is wonderful, I was jealous of this one, since the special events on our WC next year are different than yours.

[Hambagahle]

An old friend of mine, Tan Wee Kiat, was the moving spirit behind Gardens by the Bay!

 

I have another friend who is booked on - wait for it! - Diamond Princess - next month for an Asian cruise.  He said today he is waiting to hear what Princess has to offer him.  He added that he had booked "Quarantine Class"  !!

[ronrick1943]

8 hours ago, ArtsyCraftsy said:

Anyway, I'll try to report any new developments are they arise.  No one could have anticipated this when the Mariner started this trip in Miami over a month ago or even when I and a bunch of others boarded in San Francisco on Jan 24.  I feel Regent is taking every precaution they can both to protect us as guests and to accommodate the concerns of the ports we were scheduled to visit.  If it is determined that skipping a port is in everyone's best interests, so be it.

Thanks so much for all your information, have a safe trip and enjoy your travels---but no one has to tell you that because you do.

[slidebite]

2 hours ago, Hambagahle said:

An old friend of mine, Tan Wee Kiat, was the moving spirit behind Gardens by the Bay!

 

I have another friend who is booked on - wait for it! - Diamond Princess - next month for an Asian cruise.  He said today he is waiting to hear what Princess has to offer him.  He added that he had booked "Quarantine Class"  !!

Oh man. I genuinely wonder if Princess is going to have to rename that ship after it's thoroughly gone through and sanitized. It has a stigma that I can't imagine will be easy to lose.

[ArtsyCraftsy]

5 hours ago, briar14 said:

My favorite part of the Sydney-Sydney cruise on Mariner last year was the southern and west coasts of Australia. Esperance, perfect white beaches. Fremantle (Perth), wish the ship had overnighted there. Wishing you a continuing good and safe world cruise!

 

We're tentatively scheduled for both of those (Esperance and Fremantle -- with an overnight in Fremantle), plus Burnie (I'm excited about this one -- Tasmania!), Phillip Island (Cowes), Melbourne (overnight), Portland, Adelaide (overnight), Kangaroo Island, Port Lincoln, Albany, and Busselton.  After Fremantle, we'll have 7 sea days to Sri Lanka.  As of yesterday afternoon when the list was distributed, only Fremantle had been officially confirmed.  So the others are subject to change.

 

There was a Q&A with the Captain immediately after the announcement yesterday -- I didn't attend as I'd just come from the Wine Connoisseur Lunch (6 courses, 9 different wines), and rather needed a nap.  I know others had questions about excursions, especially the Angkor Wat overland excursion which was canceled.  

 

The letter I received said that Regent "will refund you 50% of the pro-rata cruise fare for the Mar 1st through April 8th portion of your voyage" -- this is in the letter for those of us going the full 131-day cruise.  They have no obligation to do so -- this modification isn't their fault, and we're getting other interesting ports as replacements -- so I consider it extremely generous.  This isn't a future cruise credit, either -- it's a refund.  

 

So I'm totally OK with this (but I do feel sorry for the Indonesian crew who will miss visits with their families -- one of my stewards, Nyoman, is one of those impacted).

 

Lana (on the Mariner en route to Auckland -- arriving tomorrow morning)

Edited February 20, 2020 by ArtsyCraftsy

[taxare]

Lana, if you look at a couple of the recent Sydney-Auckland cruises online you will see the excursion options. Last month we had a great time in Burnie, Phillips Island and Melbourne despite the fires. The Kangaroo Island stop does surprise me due to the signficant damage they experienced by the fires, but if parts are open it will be worth your time. Lots of wonderful wildlife at all of those ports. I wish you continued safe and enjoyable travels!!

[Travelcat2]

25 minutes ago, ArtsyCraftsy said:

 

The letter I received said that Regent "will refund you 50% of the pro-rata cruise fare for the Mar 1st through April 8th portion of your voyage" -- this is in the letter for those of us going the full 131-day cruise.  They have no obligation to do so -- this modification isn't their fault, and we're getting other interesting ports as replacements -- so I consider it extremely generous.  This isn't a future cruise credit, either -- it's a refund.  

 

 

So good to hear that you are enjoying your cruise.  As others have said, your attitude is wonderful.  It is great to hear that, once again, Regent is going above beyond for their valued customers.  

 

Hope that the rest of the cruise is wonderful!

[ArtsyCraftsy]

5 hours ago, Ladys Mom said:

Lana, I would like to second the sentiments of Hambagahle.  You have a fantastic attitude about the ups and downs of cruise traveling.  We are booked on the 2021 World Cruise.  I hope that the coronavirus epidemic is over by then.  If not, I will try to emulate your positivity and go where the Mariner takes us.  Did they need to cancel the Ayer's Rock overland trip?  If so, are they adding any new overlands in its place?  Stay safe and keep up informed of any changes.  By the way, I love reading your blog.

Norma and Mitch

 

The only overland excursion that was mentioned in the broadcast announcement yesterday was Angkor Wat, so I don't know for certain about Ayer's Rock.  I didn't book that one, so I doubt I'll get any direct info.  Since it's in Australia and the replacement ports are in Australia, my guess would be that it will still go on, but the logistics will likely change (the location to reconnect with the ship will change).  I'll let you know if I hear anything official.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

25 minutes ago, taxare said:

Lana, if you look at a couple of the recent Sydney-Auckland cruises online you will see the excursion options. Last month we had a great time in Burnie, Phillips Island and Melbourne despite the fires. The Kangaroo Island stop does surprise me due to the signficant damage they experienced by the fires, but if parts are open it will be worth your time. Lots of wonderful wildlife at all of those ports. I wish you continued safe and enjoyable travels!!

 

Interested to hear what you did in Burnie, if you'd care to share!

[Ladys Mom]

45 minutes ago, ArtsyCraftsy said:

 

We're tentatively scheduled for both of those (Esperance and Fremantle -- with an overnight in Fremantle), plus Burnie (I'm excited about this one -- Tasmania!), Phillip Island (Cowes), Melbourne (overnight), Portland, Adelaide (overnight), Kangaroo Island, Port Lincoln, Albany, and Busselton.  After Fremantle, we'll have 7 sea days to Sri Lanka.  As of yesterday afternoon when the list was distributed, only Fremantle had been officially confirmed.  So the others are subject to change.

 

There was a Q&A with the Captain immediately after the announcement yesterday -- I didn't attend as I'd just come from the Wine Connoisseur Lunch (6 courses, 9 different wines), and rather needed a nap.  I know others had questions about excursions, especially the Angkor Wat overland excursion which was canceled.  

 

The letter I received said that Regent "will refund you 50% of the pro-rata cruise fare for the Mar 1st through April 8th portion of your voyage" -- this is in the letter for those of us going the full 131-day cruise.  They have no obligation to do so -- this modification isn't their fault, and we're getting other interesting ports as replacements -- so I consider it extremely generous.  This isn't a future cruise credit, either -- it's a refund.  

 

So I'm totally OK with this (but I do feel sorry for the Indonesian crew who will miss visits with their families -- one of my stewards, Nyoman, is one of those impacted).

 

Lana (on the Mariner en route to Auckland -- arriving tomorrow morning)

Lana, even with everything that has been said on this site about Regent's slow reaction to the coronavirus crisis, I think that what they finally decided to do for new and current cruisers is just wonderful.  It gives me more assurance that if anything should go wrong next year when we are in the middle of the Pacific, Regent will find a way to make it right.  There decisions may not do a whole lot for their stock price (of which I have a tiny portion) right now, but the good customer relations should bring benefits to the company over the long haul.

[taxare]

1 hour ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Interested to hear what you did in Burnie, if you'd care to share!

Wendy, I'm happy to lighten up this thread a bit......... In both Burnie and Phillip Island we used the included excursions. In Burnie, we went to the Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden. I'm not a big botanical garden guy, but have to admit that their variety of plants and flowers was quite impressive and the grounds which are kept by almost all volunteers were beautiful. We also went to the Wing's Wildlife Park. This is a family owned "zoo". Most of the animals were injured and brought there for rehabilitation and released if safe to do so. There is an eclectic variety of wildlife including Tasmanian devils, koala's, wombats, and roos that you can feed, pet and see the Joey's in their pouch. The only issue with the day is it a lot of driving but in a comfortable coach. You didn't ask about Phillip Island  but there we toured the Koala conservation centre which was very enjoyable. They then took us on a lengthy bush walk but it was hampered by heavy rain. That evening we were supposed to go to the Penguin Parade but due to impending bad weather all of the late afternoon and evening excursions were cancelled. If you are there and interested in the penguins I would suggest doing the premium excursion which includes a ranger explanation and better seating (based on discussions with employees that worked there). They had to delay the tenders returning to the ship as the seas were too rough. The local residents welcomed us into their community center for hot drinks and cookies until the tenders were safely able to resume!! As an aside that evening were the worse seas of the entire Sydney to Auckland trip, a lot of rocking and rolling that evening on the Voyager! 

[ArtsyCraftsy]

1 hour ago, Ladys Mom said:

Lana, even with everything that has been said on this site about Regent's slow reaction to the coronavirus crisis, I think that what they finally decided to do for new and current cruisers is just wonderful.  It gives me more assurance that if anything should go wrong next year when we are in the middle of the Pacific, Regent will find a way to make it right.  There decisions may not do a whole lot for their stock price (of which I have a tiny portion) right now, but the good customer relations should bring benefits to the company over the long haul.

 

I have only high praise for how Regent has handled this crisis specific to my current cruise.  How a company reacts when problems arise says more to me about the company than more bells and whistles stuff.  Every issue I've ever had on Regent (VERY few, none earth-shattering) has been handled with care and professionalism.  It was how they handled a couple of issues on my first cruise in 2018 that prompted me to book the world cruise with Regent.  How they've dealt with a couple of things on this cruise (one of which had nothing to do with the cruise -- but it involved making some contacts and visits in a port that wasn't even on the itinerary at the beginning)  has confirmed my confidence.  I currently have 4 more cruises booked covering almost 300 days over the next 2 years.  

[Emma Chisit]

3 hours ago, ArtsyCraftsy said:

 

Quote :  "We're tentatively scheduled for both of those (Esperance and Fremantle -- with an overnight in Fremantle), plus Burnie (I'm excited about this one -- Tasmania!), Phillip Island (Cowes), Melbourne (overnight), Portland, Adelaide (overnight), Kangaroo Island, Port Lincoln, Albany, and Busselton.  After Fremantle, we'll have 7 sea days to Sri Lanka.  As of yesterday afternoon when the list was distributed, only Fremantle had been officially confirmed.  So the others are subject to change."

 

Please enjoy your time in Australia - and Welcome.  Regarding your port stop at Kangaroo Island (our third largest island) the following link from the local tourism authority has the most up to date information about the effects of the bushfire that started on the 3rd January 2020.  They state "The majority of the Island is unaffected by the fires, and is open for business."

https://www.tourkangarooisland.com.au/kangaroo-island-fires

(And no - I have never been to KI, but will be going this year - and already researching.)

 

 

 

[ArtsyCraftsy]

15 minutes ago, Emma Chisit said:

Please enjoy your time in Australia - and Welcome.  Regarding your port stop at Kangaroo Island (our third largest island) the following link from the local tourism authority has the most up to date information about the effects of the bushfire that started on the 3rd January 2020.  They state "The majority of the Island is unaffected by the fires, and is open for business."

https://www.tourkangarooisland.com.au/kangaroo-island-fires

(And no - I have never been to KI, but will be going this year - and already researching.)

 

The Captain's noon announcement about 45 minutes ago included info on the ongoing effort to line up excursions for the new ports.  They won't announce anything until they have confirmation, but they're in contact with the various tour agencies in those locations to get some local trips arranged for us.  The new ports visits start on March 4 (Burnie), so there's still over a week to get the arrangements made for that port.

[glorygaf]

1 hour ago, ArtsyCraftsy said:

 

The Captain's noon announcement about 45 minutes ago included info on the ongoing effort to line up excursions for the new ports.  They won't announce anything until they have confirmation, but they're in contact with the various tour agencies in those locations to get some local trips arranged for us.  The new ports visits start on March 4 (Burnie), so there's still over a week to get the arrangements made for that port.

 

Are you able to include the ports from Sydney to Perth Please ArtsyCraftsy

[ArtsyCraftsy]

1 hour ago, glorygaf said:

 

Are you able to include the ports from Sydney to Perth Please ArtsyCraftsy

 

Yes -- from an earlier message ^^ up there (#436):

 

7 hours ago, ArtsyCraftsy said:

We're tentatively scheduled for both of those (Esperance and Fremantle -- with an overnight in Fremantle), plus Burnie (I'm excited about this one -- Tasmania!), Phillip Island (Cowes), Melbourne (overnight), Portland, Adelaide (overnight), Kangaroo Island, Port Lincoln, Albany, and Busselton.  After Fremantle, we'll have 7 sea days to Sri Lanka.  As of yesterday afternoon when the list was distributed, only Fremantle had been officially confirmed.  So the others are subject to change.

 

 

This is a map I put together for my own interest and to post on my FB page.  The red shows the original itinerary; the green shows the revision as known, but subject to change.:

 

 

As soon as I get an updated itinerary with the new ports officially confirmed, I'll post the list here.

 

Lana

[kjbacon]

On 2/20/2020 at 3:21 AM, ArtsyCraftsy said:

 

Thanks -- I figure I'm onboard a beautiful ship, I get all the food I want whenever I want it, all varieties of libations, housekeeping service twice a day, and interesting things to do (or not) during the day, so I have nothing to complain about.  I've booked the 2022 World Cruise, so I'll be able to see a lot of Asia then, including a lot of the ports we'll be missing in the coming weeks.

 

Yes, we're skipping Singapore originally scheduled for Mar 18-19 (an overnight there plus it was the site of one of the 3 "major events" for those of us doing the entire world cruise) which complicates things for quite a few people -- it's the end of a segment and the beginning of another segment, and i know several folks who were supposed to be disembarking or embarking there.  A lot of the Australian ports hadn't been confirmed at the time Captain Palm made the announcement and they distributed the letter listing the new ports this afternoon.  One I'm particularly interested in is Burnie, Tasmania -- the first port after we leave Sydney.

 

Anyway, I'll try to report any new developments are they arise.  No one could have anticipated this when the Mariner started this trip in Miami over a month ago or even when I and a bunch of others boarded in San Francisco on Jan 24.  I feel Regent is taking every precaution they can both to protect us as guests and to accommodate the concerns of the ports we were scheduled to visit.  If it is determined that skipping a port is in everyone's best interests, so be it.

We are also booked for the 2022 world cruise and are very excited!

[alexandra cruiser]

You wouldn t get me on the Diamond Princess if you paid ME. Will almost have to strip it down to bare bones to really get rid of that virus. Funny mistake on radio here,,,announcer said Diamond Prison,,then said sorry.But sure those poor passengers felt like that.

In our paper,,someone wrote in saying,,like a floating petri dish.Wow,,bad press indeed.

Knew that would happen as soon as they reported it...passenger might be in room,,but who is cleaning it,bringing food,etc.The crew could not be made to stay in room.So just spread , 

I have to  make final payment in 2 wks. for Baltic cruise in June. Pretty sure ,,but DH not,wants to wait and see if it spread.Got own air,,and would take a loss there.Not sure how that works,,,wonder if I can get a credit?On Luftansa,,,anyone know.

[Floridiana]

Lana,

That is a wonderful new Australian itinerary. Enjoy!

 

alexandra,

Why would the Baltic be more prone to the new virus than Florida? If your husband is afraid of the cruise part, you could still fly and do a land trip in Europe. This happened to us a few years ago in Laos. The river boat crashed and they had to cancel our cruise, but we had already booked hotels and flights to get there. We then hired a local company for a land trip.

[rallydave]

1 hour ago, alexandra cruiser said:

You wouldn t get me on the Diamond Princess if you paid ME. Will almost have to strip it down to bare bones to really get rid of that virus. Funny mistake on radio here,,,announcer said Diamond Prison,,then said sorry.But sure those poor passengers felt like that.

In our paper,,someone wrote in saying,,like a floating petri dish.Wow,,bad press indeed.

Knew that would happen as soon as they reported it...passenger might be in room,,but who is cleaning it,bringing food,etc.The crew could not be made to stay in room.So just spread , 

I have to  make final payment in 2 wks. for Baltic cruise in June. Pretty sure ,,but DH not,wants to wait and see if it spread.Got own air,,and would take a loss there.Not sure how that works,,,wonder if I can get a credit?On Luftansa,,,anyone know.

Most likely no refund depends on your basis of fare. Likely for about $200 per person a credit of the balance to be used booked within a year. Good luck 

[Travelcat2]

2 hours ago, alexandra cruiser said:

You wouldn t get me on the Diamond Princess if you paid ME. Will almost have to strip it down to bare bones to really get rid of that virus. Funny mistake on radio here,,,announcer said Diamond Prison,,then said sorry.But sure those poor passengers felt like that.

In our paper,,someone wrote in saying,,like a floating petri dish.Wow,,bad press indeed.

Knew that would happen as soon as they reported it...passenger might be in room,,but who is cleaning it,bringing food,etc.The crew could not be made to stay in room.So just spread , 

I have to  make final payment in 2 wks. for Baltic cruise in June. Pretty sure ,,but DH not,wants to wait and see if it spread.Got own air,,and would take a loss there.Not sure how that works,,,wonder if I can get a credit?On Luftansa,,,anyone know.

 

Here is a link to Lofthansa's Cancellation Policy https://www.lufthansa.com/us/en/cancellations-and-refunds

 

[ronrick1943]

Unless you paid full fare on any airline, you can pretty much know it's not refundable.  Some airlines just have a fee, but most don't on a discounted ticket.  That even goes for first class tickets---We also buy early because air(that's if we don't us miles), because first class can be discounted most of the time (but that's at are risk).  But like TC2 states check the Lufthansa web site to know for sure, this the best advice you can get.

[slidebite]

2 hours ago, alexandra cruiser said:

You wouldn t get me on the Diamond Princess if you paid ME. Will almost have to strip it down to bare bones to really get rid of that virus. Funny mistake on radio here,,,announcer said Diamond Prison,,then said sorry.But sure those poor passengers felt like that.

 

The virus doesn't have an indefinite life span of being viable. The passage of time and sanitary measures will make it as "safe" as any other ship, but it certainly is interesting what they are going to do with her now. That ship has an infamous history, I suspect they'll rename her, if not try to sell/transfer her. Interesting conundrum for sure.

[alexandra cruiser]

Thanks for the link and info. Will have to really decide soon.

As far as using air,,,,that s one of the things my DH is really fearful of. Told we can wear a mask,,but not happy about that.

Plus, air from Copenhagen and return from Sweden. Not sure how we get to departure point.

Then my DH is not physically able to walk that much,due to recent surgery. Planned to stay on ship and only take easy shore exc.

I m hoping nothing really earth shaking happen before final payment. Then have till June to decide for sure.Try to remember its only money,,but HEY,,its a LOT.

Sure others are dealing with this,,on this cruise,,and others.

Its so helpful to read all the info on this site.