What is being done about coronavirus.....

[alexandra cruiser]

What a mess.

Did you book own air,,and did they reimburse you.?Or was air inc.with your cruise?

How about hotels?

Can someone clear this up,,,read the trip ins.link posted,but still unclear. If State Dept issue warning for country, will your ins. compensate,,,or is this "government situation"? 

Ask this because we had plans for Egypt and travel warning issued,but our ins. would NOT pay ,,since river cruise STILL going and they said THEY determined "warning"(or similar language). We ended up going anyway,,had great time and no danger.But only 12 people on boat.This was 10 yrs. ago, maybe same now?

 

I also heard on NPR that they only open door to give them food,etc. But still food made in central kitchen,,so possible contamination there anyway. How about linens,cleaning room...can t imagine being confined like that. Doubt I d EVER go on another cruise after that...One lady said,,,every time they find a new case,they add 14 days to quarantine.But ,if that true,,,will go on forever.

[snorkle lover]

11 minutes ago, lesliebe said:

OMG I  am starting to totally freak out!  FIRST Regent cruise for May 4 on Explorer our of Lisbon.  Okay, I KNOW Explorer is out of Miami now and not going anywhere NEAR China.  We chose to 'self insure' and use only the insurance that came with our Chase Sapphire Reserve card...who EVER would have thought about something like this?  (Not me!)

 

This thread is basically about China etc for now...does anyone have information on what is happening with the ships in the other parts of the world?  

 

It's not only the ship..its the plane etc. Oye Vey..finally got hubbie to say yes on Monday and now this is blowing up

 

[snorkle lover]

Hi Lesliebe,
We are in the same boat ( don’t mean to be funny) as you. Only insurance is our Chase

CC and self insured. We are on the sailing ( Explorer) prior to you. We start in Barcelona and end in Lisbon on May 4. I am praying that things will have calmed down by then.

We fly out of Atlanta and yes planes are also a problem. Such a worry! 

[Travelcat2]

Flossie, Regent is making decisions based on information available at the time. Governments are changing rules and thus what Regent was told was acceptable suddenly is not.  For instance, who would ever had thought that the South Pacific would ban cruise ships due to the Coronavirus?  As forgap posted, the situation is fluid right now.  In my opinion, blaming Regent at this point is not right or fair.

 

Bob, agree ...... there is no language in the U.S. contract that indicates that passengers are responsible for food and accommodations in case of quarantine!
 

 

Edited February 8, 2020 by Travelcat2

[boblerm]

27 minutes ago, alexandra cruiser said:

Can someone clear this up,,,read the trip ins.link posted,but still unclear. If State Dept issue warning for country, will your ins. compensate,,,or is this "government situation"? 

alexandra cruiser, here is how I understand it--  if there is a warning, or if there is perceived danger, due to illness, political unrest, or whatever, and you choose to cancel, the insurance will not reimburse you.  (Unless you have "cancel for any reason", and then it is only 75%.)   If the cruise is cancelled, then the cruise line is responsible for refunding your money, not the insurance company.  As far as associated expenses, such as air fare, if you booked through the cruise line, you would get reimbursed, if you booked on your own, it would be up to the cruise line to decide whether to reimburse you or not, I do not believe they are required to (not certain), but I do not believe that insurance would cover you.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Well I must say that Regent made a big gaff with this HK boarding fiasco.  Telling people to go ahead and fly through HK and that they would be able to board, then reversing themselves.  Let's hope all those folks get treated as Pcardad did.

 

I'm sure Regent is scrambling, but "doing the right thing" in this case, does not mean just trying to stay one step ahead of the problem.  They should be offering mass refunds or FCC's, and redirecting all their ships, as soon as possible, away from Asia entirely.

 

Of course, this may not be good enough if the virus spreads much further.  For now, there are only a handful of cases in places like the US and Canada, but if that changes, they might as well just shut down operations. 

 

A cruise ship has got to be the worst place to be if contagion is a serious issue.  I'm just glad I'm not travelling right now, but if this situation continues into summer, then we will have to seriously reconsider our world cruise for next January, since we have to pay in July, penalties kick in slightly after that, and we are self-insuring about half the trip.  Sigh.

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Well I must say that Regent made a big gaff with this HK boarding fiasco.  Telling people to go ahead and fly through HK and that they would be able to board, then reversing themselves.  Let's hope all those folks get treated as Pcardad did.

 

I'm sure Regent is scrambling, but "doing the right thing" in this case, does not mean just trying to stay one step ahead of the problem.  They should be offering mass refunds or FCC's, and redirecting all their ships, as soon as possible, away from Asia entirely.

 

 

Really trying to figure out how Regent could stay ahead of something that changes at a moment's notice. One minute it is okay to transit HKG airport and the next it isn't.  No one (or company) could see any of this coming.

 

I trust Regent to continue to do the right thing (which is not necessarily "offering mass refunds or FCC's".). It sure seems easy for passengers to ask Regent to "give away the farm" so to speak.  

 

In terms of the world cruise - I am concerned about the people on the current world cruise.  This would not be the first time that a world cruise was cancelled in the middle of the itinerary (hoping that it does not come to that).   As for 2021 - I am not even going to speculate...... we are scheduled to go to Asia next year and are not going to change our plans unless it becomes absolutely necessary.  

 

Do agree about cruise ships not being the best place to be in terms of viruses spreading.  

 

P.S. Interesting article on how the current flu season is worse that what is happening with coronavirus. https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2020/02/05/flu-higher-risk-than-coronavirus/4653957002/

Edited February 8, 2020 by Travelcat2

[Wendy The Wanderer]

7 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

In terms of the world cruise - I am concerned about the people on the current world cruise.  This would not be the first time that a world cruise was cancelled in the middle of the itinerary (hoping that it does not come to that).

 

Yes, I'm worried about them too. Although they are not due to go anywhere near China, they do have stops in Singapore (of course), Indonesia and Malaysia before proceeding towards Sri Lanka and India.  Even more worried about the Viking Sun world cruise, that's going north after two weeks in Australia to Manila, Hong Kong et al. I'm following posts from this cruise and so far there's been no word of any changes.

Edited February 8, 2020 by Wendy The Wanderer

[xrvlcruiser]

Jackie,

The 2009WC was cancelled due to a technical issue: a fishing line got wound around the pod.

It had nothing to do with a health issue if that was what you were insinuating.

 

Regent did a terrific job getting all of us home or where ever we chose to go.

 

Peggy

25 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

 

 

[Another Court jester]

Asia 
 

Posted in Norwegian Unresponsive to the Coronavirus in Asia   As mentioned earlier maybe this forum needs to get to the press or main news and maybe the ship is forced to be checked by someone before these people disembark!  The WHO seems to be asleep nothing is being updated how can this be escalated? Anyone else agree?  They are potentially putting so many people in danger!  I have just seen the quarantined ship guests having fresh air, it looked worse than the most serious criminals on exercise !    It is an absolute disgrace. This is not my idea of a relaxing and recharging holiday that was promised, or what I paid for!!  I feel so stressed? Go to this Post

This is from those who are about to board Jade an NCL ship that has disembarked HK boarded passengers in Indonesia who have been on board for 3 days, the suspicion being that it may now allow Jade to port elsewhere in SE asia. This in spite of NCL cancelling all Spirit cruises in SE asia from April due to virus issues.

 

whilst NCL is a sister company it nevertheless appears to embody NCLH the holding company attitude which is do not cancel at any cost as this impacts the bottom line, and is not helpful to passengers in the slightest.

 

very instructive to read the NCL boards and see where Regent are coming from in their reactionary responses.

 

to date we have been massive fans of Regent......

— Cruise Critic Community

[Wendy The Wanderer]

8 minutes ago, Another Court jester said:

very instructive to read the NCL boards and see where Regent are coming from in their reactionary responses.

 

Sorry, I don't get it.  Where are these reactionary responses?

[Another Court jester]

Well where do I start

 

many cruise lines cancelled very early Regent said nothing

 

others pulled out from HK, Regent waited til the port was closed

 

other posted info re coronavirus on their websites, Regent still hasn’t 

 

Some policies on Regent have been misleading ie boarding after transit through HK and then changing that

 

refusal to cancel and refund when competitors ( not all)  agreed

 

what proactive response can you cite?

 

 

[Another Court jester]

NCL, that approved media communication script is now becoming very condescending to your passengers who have genuine concerns about boarding the ship in the next few weeks in Asia.  I’d suggest not replying at all instead of cut and pasting such an unhelpful and clearly disingenuous statement. It only serves to further embed the concerns that your passengers have that NCL are not listening to them and do not care about anything but the $$$ bottom line. Which by the way, I understand given you are a for-profit business, but be honest about why you are continuing to sail in these areas at this time despite cancelling sailings from April, and why you allowed passengers to embark the Jade knowing they had transited through Hong Kong only days prior to boarding but now have decided to disembark them without “real” explanation. They’ve already been socialising with the larger group so it has nothing to do with their safety or that of the other passengers? Just be real wi th your paying guests NCL. Many people have saved for months (some years!) in advance to afford these holidays and entrusted you as a business to invest that hard earned cash in! We deserve honesty and to be treated with a little more respect in the communication responses than we are currently getting. If you’re unsure on how to do this head over to have a read of some of the Princess media releases or even the amazing video messages they are putting out frequently and frankly to their guests. That’s how it’s done!  Go to this Post

Above a taste of NCL which mirrors Regent approach

— Cruise Critic Community

[forgap]

16 minutes ago, Another Court jester said:

other posted info re coronavirus on their websites, Regent still has n’t 

 

Some policies on Regent have been misleading ie boarding after transit through HK and then changing that

 

refusal to cancel and refund when competitors ( not all)  agreed

 

what proactive response can you cite?

 

 

FYI this is on the main page, bottom.  First tab under resources.  

Edited February 8, 2020 by forgap

[flossie009]

8 minutes ago, forgap said:

FYI this is on the main page, bottom.  First tab under resources.  

Thank you, but unfortunately that tab is not available to us on the RSSC website in the UK.

See screenshot below taken just now:

 

Perhaps you could post Regent's statement, or a link to that statement, to inform us outside of North America

[Wendy The Wanderer]

32 minutes ago, Another Court jester said:

Well where do I start

 

many cruise lines cancelled very early Regent said nothing

 

others pulled out from HK, Regent waited til the port was closed

 

other posted info re coronavirus on their websites, Regent still hasn’t 

 

Some policies on Regent have been misleading ie boarding after transit through HK and then changing that

 

refusal to cancel and refund when competitors ( not all)  agreed

 

what proactive response can you cite?

 

 

Okay, I give.  I thought you were talking about reactionary passenger responses.  I agree that, except for the guy who's in Bali and has been given a full refund, I tend to agree with you about Regent's response to this.

[SSRtown]

4 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

Thank you, but unfortunately that tab is not available to us on the RSSC website in the UK.

See screenshot below taken just now:

 

Perhaps you could post Regent's statement, or a link to that statement, to inform us outside of North America

It's the same canned response you or your TA has probably already received:

Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Coronavirus Protocol

 

Update Feb 7, 2020:

We have been closely monitoring the coronavirus situation in China, and we continue to update appropriate actions as necessary based on the evolving situation.

The safety, security and well-being of our guests and crew is our number one priority. We are proactively implementing several preventative measures outlined below due to growing concerns regarding coronavirus infections in China. We will continue to consult with The World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and take appropriate additional action as needed.

Policies currently in place include:

• We are in the process of modifying itineraries for Seven Seas Voyager’s February 12, March 1 and March 13 voyages. We will share the revised itineraries as well as further details as they become available.
• Out of an abundance of caution, guests who have traveled from, visited or connected through airports in China, Hong Kong or Macau within 30 days of their voyage embarkation, regardless of nationality, will be denied boarding. The standard incubation period recognized by the WHO and US CDC for this virus is 14 days.
  • Guests who are denied boarding will be issued a refund when they provide proof of travel.
• For all guests, we will continue standard pre-boarding health reporting and evaluation. Any guest who appears symptomatic is subject to pre-boarding medical evaluations including but not limited to temperature checks as deemed necessary.
• Any guest who exhibits symptoms of any respiratory illness while onboard will be subject to additional screening for Coronavirus at our onboard Medical Center and may be subject to potential quarantine and disembarkation.
• We have implemented additional cleaning and disinfection protocols onboard all voyages. These protocols will be enforced in addition to our already rigorous sanitization standards in place.
• Our crew members who have traveled from, visited or transited via airports in China, Hong Kong or Macau within 30 days will not be allowed on board our ships.

The above measures will remain in effect until further notice and are subject to change at any time as we evaluate the situation and continue to consult with local health authorities as well as the WHO and U.S. CDC.

As always, we will closely monitor the situation and take appropriate action as necessary. None of our vessels are currently calling on ports in mainland China, and we are in process of changing itineraries for voyages visiting Hong Kong. We have the flexibility to alter our itineraries as needed to avoid areas of concern.

We apologize for the inconvenience for any guests affected by these measures put in place to ensure the safety and well-being of all our guests and crew.

For frequently asked questions and information regarding the coronavirus, please visit the following websites:

• World Health Organization (WHO)
• WHO Travel Advice
• United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC)
• European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, xrvlcruiser said:

Jackie,

The 2009WC was cancelled due to a technical issue: a fishing line got wound around the pod.

It had nothing to do with a health issue if that was what you were insinuating.

 

Regent did a terrific job getting all of us home or where ever we chose to go.

 

Peggy

 

 

Peggy,

 

Yes - I remember that.  Sorry if it sounded like I was insinuating that it was due to a medical issue.  I have mentioned a few times that it was due to the fishing line around the pod but don't say that in every post.  I was concerned about this WC because more and more ports are not allowing cruise ships.  If this continues (hope not), it could affect your cruise.   

 

Have you been to the South Pacific yet?  I've read that some ports there are closed to cruise ships.  

 

Jackie

 

SSRtown - it would be helpful if these websites were up to date.  The WHO site still has information from last month.  In any case, appreciate your posting this information.

Edited February 8, 2020 by Travelcat2

[Another Court jester]

Wendy the wanderer.  I was not trying to be harsh, the guy in Bali was only given a refund because ( and I assume) Regent had booked his flights through HK.

 

As a very concerned shortly to be Regent cruiser in SE asia I have been tracking boards in Cruise Critic and am absolutely horrified at the posts for NCL a sister company but which apoears to mirror Regent attitude to this situation.

I reiterate that it is not the fault of Regent that the coronavirus outbreak occurred and they bear no responsibility for it.

 

Their response however is their responsibility and to date has been less than ideal to say the least.

 

we booked our cruise almost two years ago, have looked forward to it as it also celebrates a major birthday however the response from Regent has made sure we are neither looking forward to it and have endured significant distress. i also appreciate in comparison to hundreds of thousands affected by this it is a very minor concern to many.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Mariner is in the South Pacific now, not sure exactly where, perhaps Bora Bora, or perhaps beyond.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

3 minutes ago, Another Court jester said:

Their response however is their responsibility and to date has been less than ideal to say the least.

 

As I said, I agree, and hope it works out for you.  I feel very lucky that I'm not travelling right now, and I can imagine how disappointing this is.  I really do hope Regent steps up to the plate, the way Radisson used to do, in the old days.

 

This whole situation, if it continues and escalates, will become reminiscent of the cruise industry after 9/11, of which the SARS crisis was the merest echo.  Let's hope this is short-lived like SARS.

Edited February 8, 2020 by Wendy The Wanderer

[gnomie1]

One normally judges a business not only when things go right, but how well they react when things don't go as planned. It is quite concerning that other cruise companies seem to be much better prepared to handled situations like this than Regent is - they seem to be flying by the seats of their pants and have no contingency team in place.

 

We have friends who were scheduled to cruise through Asia on another luxury line and were impressed as to how quickly and efficiently the situation was handled - they sent out a mass email (and I believe facebook post) singing their praises. It was an excellent summary of how the cruise line handled the situation and one cannot pay for that type of goodwill advertising.

 

In 1992 my parents were on the QE2 when she went aground in New England and Cunard did a horrible job handling the fiasco - it is almost 30 years later and occasionally you can still hear reference to it, esp used as a comparison when something goes horribly wrong.

 

While some people continue to sing the praises of RSSC and their handling the coronovirus, any marketing professional will tell you, esp in this day of social media, a giant misstep may be difficult to overcome. It may be that they are so wrapped up with the christening of their new ship, that the executive level is short staffed and unable to properly handle the crisis at hand.

 

 

[flossie009]

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

it would be helpful if these websites were up to date.  The WHO site still has information from last month.

The WHO websites are up to date; the January advice is still current.

[xrvlcruiser]

 

 

Jackie,

I apologize - I had not seen your earlier messages relating to the '09WC cancellation. I've not been reading CC very regularly.

 

Peggy

 

Edited February 8, 2020 by xrvlcruiser

[Travelcat2]

45 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

The WHO websites are up to date; the January advice is still current.

 

It may be up to date in the U.K., however, it is not in the U.S.  OTOH, information on the CDC website is up to date (according to news reports today).  IMO, the CDC’s decision to  change to daily updates was necessary

 

CORRECTION:  While the WHO website is not up to date on the first page, it is on another page (under “Situation Reports”.  )

 

Peggy - No problem - there is so much going on that it is difficult to keep up.🤤

Edited February 8, 2020 by Travelcat2
Just saw updated information