Caronavirus - effect on A/NZ cruise market

[PerfectlyPerth]

21 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

Explorer Dream by Dream Cruises premium luxury vessel to be based in Australia for the "wave season".

Ahh thank you. I still cant find the article I read!

[The_Big_M]

9 hours ago, Beanb41 said:

 

Below is an extract from a letter Celebrity sent out yesterday and again today pertaining to transiting through China and Hong Kong

 

"To that end, any guest who has transited through mainland China or Hong Kong, 15 days prior to embarkation, will be denied boarding and issued a full refund."

 

This direction is applicable to all RCL ships and seems to be growing across all cruise lines

 

 

 

Talk about hitting things with a blunt stick.

[The_Big_M]

5 hours ago, Cruisegroover said:

This is the email I received today about my upcoming cruises from RCL. I have two cruises 3 Feb and 22 Feb.

 

Dear Guest,

We’re looking forward to welcoming you aboard! Before you embark on our adventure, we have some important information to share with you.

After consultation with medical experts and public health authorities, we’ve decided that regardless of nationality, any guest or crewmember traveling from, to, or through mainland China or Hong Kong less than 15 days prior to their sailing will be unable to board any of our ships. We regret to have to do this, but due to the recent increase of coronavirus cases around the world, this precaution will help avoid the spread of this virus. We take this very seriously and have a responsibility to maintain a safe and healthy environment onboard our ships, as well as in the ports we visit. We take this very seriously and have a responsibility to maintain a safe and healthy environment onboard our ships, as well as in the ports we visit.

Additionally, we’ve tightened our secondary health screening requirements and the following guests will need to undergo extra screenings to ensure safety at the cruise terminal:

• Guests or crewmembers that have been in contact with individuals that have traveled from, to, or through mainland China or Hong Kong in the last 15 days.
• Anyone that holds a Chinese or Hong Kong passport – regardless of when they were there last.
• Anyone that feels unwell or demonstrates flu-like symptoms.

While these measures are conservative, our responsibility is to reduce the spread of coronavirus, in an effort to keep our ships safe and to ensure you are able to enjoy your time with us.

Your vacation and your health are very important to us, so in an abundance of caution, we’ve taken numerous proactive steps to maintain high health standards onboard our ships. This includes:

• Thoroughly sanitizing the cruise ship terminal before and after every sailing,
• Special sanitizing of high traffic areas onboard multiple times a day,
• Adding extra medical staff on each sailing,
• Providing complimentary consultations with medical experts for all guests & crew,
• Plus, the Captain will make two daily announcements during your cruise reminding everyone of how to stay healthy onboard.

And, you can do your part too! To ensure we all have an enjoyable cruise, here are some important tips to help keep you healthy and prevent colds, flus, and stomach viruses – both onboard and on land.

• After using the bathroom and before any meal or snack (it’s a cruise; we know there’s lots of that), make sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
• If you happen to sneeze, cover your nose and mouth with a tissue (or with your upper sleeve). Avoid sneezing or coughing into your hands or without covering your nose and mouth.
• Use hand sanitizer as often as possible. Rub the gel thoroughly, and in-between your fingers, until your hands are dry.

And remember, if you don’t feel well while you’re onboard, it’s imperative that you immediately visit our medical facility on Deck 2 for a complimentary checkup. Our onboard doctors and nurses are always ready to assist. Your safety and wellbeing are always our top priorities, but we also want you to have an amazing time. Stay clean, stay healthy, stay happy!

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Sincerely

 

 

 

Sadly lacking in information on what the fare status is for those denied boarding.

[lissie]

10 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

 

Sadly lacking in information on what the fare status is for those denied boarding.

And a racist one too - how on earth can you deny boarding for someone who has a Chinese passport - who may well live somewhere else - like Australia or NZ??? Hope they get sued 

[Kiwi Kruzer]

The isolation camp for NZ has been announced and it will be the Military Hospital at the end of the Whangaparoa Peninsula. It’s at the entrance to Auckland Harbour in the Hauraki Gulf . It was set up during WW2 and has since been used as a training ground for the Army .

[MicCanberra]

17 minutes ago, lissie said:

And a racist one too - how on earth can you deny boarding for someone who has a Chinese passport - who may well live somewhere else - like Australia or NZ??? Hope they get sued 

It doesn't actually say that, it says there will be additional screenings for those groups, still racist but not actually banning them from boarding.

Additionally, we’ve tightened our secondary health screening requirements and the following guests will need to undergo extra screenings to ensure safety at the cruise terminal: 

[banzaii]

19 hours ago, Beanb41 said:

"To that end, any guest who has transited through mainland China or Hong Kong, 15 days prior to embarkation, will be denied boarding and issued a full refund."

I'm not sure if the cruise lines have considered the impact on their ANZ cruises (both in $ and good will) by including HK transits in this exclusion.

 

Especially as this is out of step with the airlines and most relevant country's travel warnings.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

All travellers to NZ now being processed manually ....no E gates.

 

Wonder if it will come to the closing of International borders ? 
 

 

[lissie]

26 minutes ago, Kiwi Kruzer said:

All travellers to NZ now being processed manually ....no E gates.

 

Wonder if it will come to the closing of International borders ? 
 

 

We won't survive long as  a country if that happens.  I can see some justification for NZ to  ban people who have been to China in 14 days - as we don't have any cases. But to follow that logic we should also ban people who have been to every other country that has it including the US, Australia, UK etc etc There is definitely an element of policits/racism in play 

Edited February 2, 2020 by lissie

[Kiwi Kruzer]

38 minutes ago, lissie said:

We won't survive long as  a country if that happens.  I can see some justification for NZ to  ban people who have been to China in 14 days - as we don't have any cases. But to follow that logic we should also ban people who have been to every other country that has it including the US, Australia, UK etc etc There is definitely an element of policits/racism in play 

Let’s hope it never comes to that .....rather than politics or racism It could be survival .

 

[banzaii]

45 minutes ago, lissie said:

We won't survive long as  a country if that happens.  I can see some justification for NZ to  ban people who have been to China in 14 days - as we don't have any cases. But to follow that logic we should also ban people who have been to every other country that has it including the US, Australia, UK etc etc There is definitely an element of policits/racism in play 

Only a handful of countries have confirmed cases for persons having contracted the virus outside of Wuhan.  

 

They are Thailand, Taiwan, Germany, Vietnam, Japan, France and the United States

[OzKiwiJJ]

It's just been announced that a man in HK who has been diagnosed with Coronavirus did a short cruise from Yokohama to HK on Diamond Princess. They aren't sure whether he had the virus onboard or whether he got it in HK afterwards. 

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/4/141062/Two-more-preliminary-positive-cases-for-coronavirus

[NumnuT]

1 hour ago, banzaii said:

Only a handful of countries have confirmed cases for persons having contracted the virus outside of Wuhan.  

 

They are Thailand, Taiwan, Germany, Vietnam, Japan, France and the United States

1 person has died in the Philippines.

First death outside of mainland China, he was from Wuhan province.

Craig

 

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, NumnuT said:

1 person has died in the Philippines.

First death outside of mainland China, he was from Wuhan province.

Craig

 

That is bad news for more than the main reason of his death.

[NumnuT]

3 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

That is bad news for more than the main reason of his death.

yep...

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/02/world/asia/philippines-coronavirus-china.html

 

[nickfritz]

I'd like to know what happens if for example you have a temperature over 38 and are denied boarding, do you get a refund? What if it's your child etc? :o

[The_Big_M]

If it's your child they won't let minors be unattended.

 

As for refund, that appears to be on a case by case basis, with some mentioning insurance, and some credits. I don't think it's good enough, but that's not the first time they've been lacking in a policy and making good has not been straightforward.

[NSWP]

19 hours ago, nickfritz said:

I'd like to know what happens if for example you have a temperature over 38 and are denied boarding, do you get a refund? What if it's your child etc? 😮

Different cruise lines seem to have different policies on this issue.  The industry should get their heads together and have some consistency concerning refunds.

[lissie]

19 hours ago, nickfritz said:

I'd like to know what happens if for example you have a temperature over 38 and are denied boarding, do you get a refund? What if it's your child etc? 😮

Your insurance pays surely - illness resulting in loss of cruise you'd claim for cancellation and medical costs.   If it was partner of a couple than the other would claim based on the denial of boarding of their partner. 

[nickfritz]

But the insurance states they don't do claims on epidemics/pandemics ... So just worried we'll be denied boarding at the gate, might ring cruise ship closer to date (11 march) to see what their stance is. (Carnival)

Edited February 4, 2020 by nickfritz

[The_Big_M]

The situation may well have changed by then.

 

However, I doubt the cruise line would give any commitment before something happened. They haven't in past experience.

[CupcakeSusie]

Another man has died outside China - in Hong Kong. As with the majority of other deaths so far, he had underlying health issues. 

[MicCanberra]

5 hours ago, nickfritz said:

But the insurance states they don't do claims on epidemics/pandemics ... So just worried we'll be denied boarding at the gate, might ring cruise ship closer to date (11 march) to see what their stance is. (Carnival)

It is a tough thing, while you may not claim directly for epidemics or pandemics, if the country's website says do not travel, then you shouldn't travel .

[BuzzBuzzen]

We we are currently on Voyager of the Seas , joined in Sydney today , even met the famous GBenjo. We are no longer going to Mare , Port Vila, Lifou or Mystery Island. So far, we are still going to Noumea, Lautoka, Suva with a new overnight stop in Tauranga NZ, then onto Eden. It is a bit of a mystery tour. Cheers, Buzz.

[LittleFish1976]

4 minutes ago, BuzzBuzzen said:

We we are currently on Voyager of the Seas , joined in Sydney today , even met the famous GBenjo. We are no longer going to Mare , Port Vila, Lifou or Mystery Island. So far, we are still going to Noumea, Lautoka, Suva with a new overnight stop in Tauranga NZ, then onto Eden. It is a bit of a mystery tour. Cheers, Buzz.

Hope it's a healthy one for all of you.