HAL's Poor Response to Corona Virus

[FlaMariner]

Here is the article about the just announced travel warning to China....

 

http://news.trust.org/item/20200127192459-dowhs

 

 

[RJ2002]

11 minutes ago, sail7seas said:

I just heard U.S. State Department  has issued a  travel   advisory  but not (yet) a ban.

 

 

Yes, a Level 3 Advisory (Reconsider Travel).

[Viv0828]

perhaps the airlines will cancel their flights to and from china??

a friend of ours is a flight attendant for a major us airline. last night there were 20 passengers on her run from china to the usa and it's a BIG plane. if there are no flights, those of us in the usa can't board.

[USN59-79]

45 minutes ago, RJ2002 said:

 

Yes, a Level 3 Advisory (Reconsider Travel).

There are 4 levels and level 3 is a serious advisory.  China is now listed with Sudan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Haiti, etc. as places American tourists should avoid.  My guess is that they are now contacting Port Authorities in other Asian ports to see what can be substituted for China.  I realize that these things take time: for example, it is early morning in Asia right now.

[AncientWanderer]

15 minutes ago, Viv0828 said:

perhaps the airlines will cancel their flights to and from china??

a friend of ours is a flight attendant for a major us airline. last night there were 20 passengers on her run from china to the usa and it's a BIG plane. if there are no flights, those of us in the usa can't board.

 

Flights would be a huge factor and also the availability of ports to receive the ships.  My understanding is that a few of the ships that cancelled thus far headed over to Japanese ports with just crew onboard, no passengers.  It will be interesting to hear how Japan deals with those ships.

Also we don't know where HAL was planning to pick up provisions, and whether that is problematic now.  I can see them carrying on with the cruises, and just cutting out port stops, but they do need provisions.

 

There's just lots we don't know.  It's a huge mess, and I really feel sorry for the crew members who don't have a lot of choice in the matter, as we travelers do. 

 

[Level six]

I have called 3 times.

 

HAL is "concerned with passenger safety and we will keep you informed" is the statement over and over, even the 2 times I chatted online!  They don't care about passenger or crew safety.

 

I am supposed to fly to HK tomorrow!!!  I do have trip insurance but they do not cover "epidemics".  Our only hope is for HAL to cancel.  It is level 3 US state department advisory now. 

 

HAL needs to step up and cancel the cruise.  Or if some still want to cruise, they should give those who don't the option of canceling with full refund.   

 

I don't think I will get the virus, but I think it is very likely that I could get stuck in China on FEB 15th.  By then there may be total travel restrictions and then what?  

 

 

[Viv0828]

14 minutes ago, Level six said:

I don't think I will get the virus, but I think it is very likely that I could get stuck in China on FEB 15th.  By then there may be total travel restrictions and then what?  

 

 

 

even if one were not to cancel, many attractions will be closed. i imagine taxis in ports will be scarce, providing the port even allows the ship to dock.

and who wants to get sick in a strange country? it's bad enough getting sick in your own home town.

my worst fear would be sailing around on a ghost ship, perhaps being sick, and not being allowed to dock. and then being unable to get home. ugh.

we had a 3 week private land tour planned after the cruise and that was cancelled by the tour operator. 

i'm staying home. even if the virus is not as bad as it seems to be, china is not a place to be right now. we plan to reschedule in the fall if possible.

[USN59-79]

Well, I am not panicking.  With the Level 3 travel advisory it is obvious that the Westerdam cannot and will not stop in China.  We are flying to Hong Kong Thursday evening and I will start packing on Wednesday.  (DW has already packed).  I am hoping that the substitute ports are mostly in Japan, as we love traveling there.  Luckily we board in Hong Kong and disembark there 42 days later.  I have real empathy for those who are scheduled to embark or disembark in Shanghai, although I expect that HAL would pick up their extra costs for changing their flights.  

[sail7seas]

1 hour ago, Level six said:

I have called 3 times.

 

HAL is "concerned with passenger safety and we will keep you informed" is the statement over and over, even the 2 times I chatted online!  They don't care about passenger or crew safety.

 

I am supposed to fly to HK tomorrow!!!  I do have trip insurance but they do not cover "epidemics".  Our only hope is for HAL to cancel.  It is level 3 US state department advisory now. 

 

HAL needs to step up and cancel the cruise.  Or if some still want to cruise, they should give those who don't the option of canceling with full refund.   

 

I don't think I will get the virus, but I think it is very likely that I could get stuck in China on FEB 15th.  By then there may be total travel restrictions and then what?  

What  travel insurance do you have that does not cover

   If you don't mind telling us it could be extremely helpful information for those of us making new bookings and buying insurance  to know while we decide with whom we want to insure.

Not necessarily as applied to any specific illness in any locale.

 

 

Quote

 

Thanks in advance.

 

The best of good wishes to you and all who are making these decisions now.

 

Good luck. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 27, 2020 by sail7seas

[kazu]

1 hour ago, Level six said:

 

 

I am supposed to fly to HK tomorrow!!!  I do have trip insurance but they do not cover "epidemics".  Our only hope is for HAL to cancel.  It is level 3 US state department advisory now. 

 

 

 

YIKES.  I feel for you 😞❤️ 

 

Check your travel insurance for advisory warnings and place a call.  You may find there are exceptions?  I don’t know but sometimes I can’t help but hope that companies are sympathetic in times like this.

[VennDiagram]

1 hour ago, Level six said:

I am supposed to fly to HK tomorrow!!!  I do have trip insurance but they do not cover "epidemics".  Our only hope is for HAL to cancel.  It is level 3 US state department advisory now. 

 

Check your credit card insurance and see what cancellation and medical coverage they offer.  I wish you all the best ❤️

[cccole]

Wow,  I love Hong Kong, but wouldn't fly there now.  200 of their 400 cases have been hospitalized.  I am sorry that HAL is not taking more of a leadership role in helping passengers with this decision.  There are reports that some basic necessitities to help prevent getting the virus are in short supply in China so get whatever you can that will help you upon your arrival.  I really hope that your cruise is wonderful, no matter what the itinerary.  Cherie  

[Level six]

1 hour ago, Viv0828 said:

 

even if one were not to cancel, many attractions will be closed. i imagine taxis in ports will be scarce, providing the port even allows the ship to dock.

and who wants to get sick in a strange country? it's bad enough getting sick in your own home town.

my worst fear would be sailing around on a ghost ship, perhaps being sick, and not being allowed to dock. and then being unable to get home. ugh.

we had a 3 week private land tour planned after the cruise and that was cancelled by the tour operator. 

i'm staying home. even if the virus is not as bad as it seems to be, china is not a place to be right now. we plan to reschedule in the fall if possible.

 

Is your insurance paying or are you just going to lose the $$$?

 

We were going on a month long trip around SE Asia after too, but all on our own.  So, that involved 10 flights, bus trips, hotels and some tours.  So, we will be losing that too.  I am sicken about this.

 

I have been on over 30 cruises and have never been treated this way by any cruise line.  I will remember how HAL handles this for a very long time.  I do a travel blog and believe me, my followers will hear about this.  

 

[Level six]

Now CDC issued highest warning.

 

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its highest travel warning on Monday, urging Americans to avoid all nonessential travel to China because of the outbreak of coronavirus."

 

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/480177-cdc-state-department-warn-against-any-travel-to-china

Edited January 28, 2020 by Level six

[RJ2002]

5 minutes ago, Level six said:

Now CDC issued highest warning.

 

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its highest travel warning on Monday, urging Americans to avoid all nonessential travel to China because of the outbreak of coronavirus."

 

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/480177-cdc-state-department-warn-against-any-travel-to-china

 

And a link to the CDC notice is => here.

[kazu]

5 minutes ago, RJ2002 said:

 

And a link to the CDC notice is => here.

 

That should cover most travel insurance policies I am aware of.

 

thanks for posting.

[Viv0828]

50 minutes ago, Level six said:

 

Is your insurance paying or are you just going to lose the $$$?

 

We were going on a month long trip around SE Asia after too, but all on our own.  So, that involved 10 flights, bus trips, hotels and some tours.  So, we will be losing that too.  I am sicken about this.

 

I have been on over 30 cruises and have never been treated this way by any cruise line.  I will remember how HAL handles this for a very long time.  I do a travel blog and believe me, my followers will hear about this.  

 

 

if we cancel we will lose our money.

our travel agent in china will refund our deposit as she is not allowed to book any tours, though ours was booked months ago.

i think we will be able to get our plane reservations refunded.

we have some travel insurance on our credit card which may pay or not.

we will nag HAL to death so they might settle just to get rid of us!!

just hafta wait and see.

i remember my high school math teacher saying, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease."

i plan to be that squeaky wheel!!

[3rdGenCunarder]

34 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

That should cover most travel insurance policies I am aware of.

 

thanks for posting.

 

It might mean HAL'S insurance would kick in, allowing them to cancel and refund. If I were HAL, I'd do what they did with the azipod episode. Change the itinerary to avoid China--USN59-79's suggestion of Japanese ports would be the way to go, if possible. Help people pay for flight changes. Refund those who want to cancel or book them elsewhere. It isn't as easy as the changes for NA because there aren't nearby alternate cruises that people could substitute while keeping their flight arrangements. 

 

If I were booked on this cruise, if they took away all the China ports, I'd go. If they didn't, I would stay home.

 

[DivotMaker]

15 minutes ago, Viv0828 said:

 

i remember my high school math teacher saying, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease."

i plan to be that squeaky wheel!!

 

Good luck to you.  And I'm very sorry you're in this situation.

[AncientWanderer]

58 minutes ago, RJ2002 said:

 

And a link to the CDC notice is => here.

 

This clear warning from CDC will surely prompt action on HAL's part. It's to be expected that HAL would have to wait for official agencies to assess things.

 

[kazu]

51 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

It might mean HAL'S insurance would kick in, allowing them to cancel and refund. If I were HAL, I'd do what they did with the azipod episode. Change the itinerary to avoid China--USN59-79's suggestion of Japanese ports would be the way to go, if possible. Help people pay for flight changes. Refund those who want to cancel or book them elsewhere. It isn't as easy as the changes for NA because there aren't nearby alternate cruises that people could substitute while keeping their flight arrangements. 

 

If I were booked on this cruise, if they took away all the China ports, I'd go. If they didn't, I would stay home.

 

 

Whilel I agree with you, one needs to realize that it is now in Japan, Taiwan, etc.

 

It’s not as prevalent of course, but there are a number of cases.

I do hope HAL reacts appropriately for the sake of those going and I hope those on the Asia cruises now are safe and still having a decent cruise despite what I suspect are a lot of itinerary changes and worries.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I was just on United's site, checking on my upcoming flight (domestic, not to China), and noticed the link for travel notices. Refunds on all cancellations on flights to Wuhan and waiving change fees on other China flights, including Beijing and Shanghai. 

 

The refund offer on Wuhan flights goes through March 29, so it looks like they aren't expecting this to go away soon.

Edited January 28, 2020 by 3rdGenCunarder

[npcl]

4 hours ago, USN59-79 said:

Well, I am not panicking.  With the Level 3 travel advisory it is obvious that the Westerdam cannot and will not stop in China.  We are flying to Hong Kong Thursday evening and I will start packing on Wednesday.  (DW has already packed).  I am hoping that the substitute ports are mostly in Japan, as we love traveling there.  Luckily we board in Hong Kong and disembark there 42 days later.  I have real empathy for those who are scheduled to embark or disembark in Shanghai, although I expect that HAL would pick up their extra costs for changing their flights.  

They will for those that booked their flights through the cruise line.  For those that booked their flights independently maybe not. There have been other cases of where cruise lines have had to change embarkation or disembarkation ports for events outside of the control of the cruise line and treatment of those that have not booked through the cruise line has varied.

[npcl]

1 hour ago, kazu said:

 

Whilel I agree with you, one needs to realize that it is now in Japan, Taiwan, etc.

 

It’s not as prevalent of course, but there are a number of cases.

I do hope HAL reacts appropriately for the sake of those going and I hope those on the Asia cruises now are safe and still having a decent cruise despite what I suspect are a lot of itinerary changes and worries.

For that matter it is also in the US, Australia and some European countries. They need to balance risk and outside of China itself it is still pretty low at this time.

[Seasick Sailor]

I am also hoping HAL changes opinion. I would not want to sail until we know what this virus is all about.

 

As of Monday morning, Holland America hadn’t announced any changes to the itineraries.

“Although the risks to our guests, crew and business are very low, we are closely monitoring the situation,” the line said in a statement sent to The Points Guy.

In light of the outbreak, Holland America said it was implementing stepped-up screening procedures for all of its ships, including a requirement for temperature and questionnaire screening for persons from affected areas. (This is how airports are screening travelers for this coronavirus.)