Coronavirus

[renatops]

13 minutes ago, MrMike45 said:

NCL just posted that all sailings on the Spirit (which is currently in China/Singapore/Hong Kong) have been cancelled thru December 2020.  Cancelling 10 months worth of cruises (and refunding all those passengers) plus giving them all a credit for a future booking is likely costing them millions of dollars.  Which they would not do at a whim.  So leads me to believe that the cruise lines fear this might be a long ongoing issue.  

Till Dec? On what basis? This is a big unknown to take such decision.

Would you happen to have the link for the site? I am curious to understand more of its details.

[BermudaBound2014]

47 minutes ago, ebonybee said:

 

Okay, so they have to find and pay for lodging for a night?  Does cruise insurance cover this?  How about the folks that don't have insurance?  No----I haven't read every line in a cruise contract.

 

RCL is paying for a hotel tonight.

[MrMike45]

9 minutes ago, renatops said:

Till Dec? On what basis? This is a big unknown to take such decision.

Would you happen to have the link for the site? I am curious to understand more of its details.

Don't know if it's on their site.  But from the NCL section of Cruise Critic, anyone with a cruise booked on the Spirit rec'd this email a little while ago

 

IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION CANCELLATION

Reservation: xxxxxx   Date: 02/07/2020   Dear Valued Guests and Travel Partners: On behalf of Norwegian Cruise Line, thank you very much for your loyalty and for making us your vacation of choice. Due to growing concerns regarding Coronavirus in Asia, all Norwegian Spirit sailings from April 15, 2020 through December 7, 2020 operating in Asia have been canceled. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this causes. Please be advised that a full refund will be processed automatically to the form of payment provided at the time of booking. As a goodwill gesture, we have arranged for a future cruise credit, worth 10% toward your future cruise, to be issued. This credit will be available within 7 days and can be applied towards any of our currently published sailings if you book a new cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line in the next 45 days. Furthermore, we will cover up to $300 per person for any airfare change fees. Please submit your receipts at www.ncl.com/case-submission. When you are interested in choosing another sailing, please contact Norwegian Cruise Line at 1-866-234-7350 or your travel professional. For any guests booked outside of the U.S. and Canada, please visit www.ncl.com for local contact information. We greatly appreciate your understanding and thank you for choosing Norwegian Cruise Line for your upcoming vacation at sea. We look forward to welcoming you aboard.       Sincerely, Katty Byrd Vice President, Guest Services

[renatops]

1 minute ago, MrMike45 said:

Don't know if it's on their site.  But from the NCL section of Cruise Critic, anyone with a cruise booked on the Spirit rec'd this email a little while ago

 

IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION CANCELLATION

Reservation: xxxxxx   Date: 02/07/2020   Dear Valued Guests and Travel Partners: On behalf of Norwegian Cruise Line, thank you very much for your loyalty and for making us your vacation of choice. Due to growing concerns regarding Coronavirus in Asia, all Norwegian Spirit sailings from April 15, 2020 through December 7, 2020 operating in Asia have been canceled. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this causes. Please be advised that a full refund will be processed automatically to the form of payment provided at the time of booking. As a goodwill gesture, we have arranged for a future cruise credit, worth 10% toward your future cruise, to be issued. This credit will be available within 7 days and can be applied towards any of our currently published sailings if you book a new cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line in the next 45 days. Furthermore, we will cover up to $300 per person for any airfare change fees. Please submit your receipts at www.ncl.com/case-submission. When you are interested in choosing another sailing, please contact Norwegian Cruise Line at 1-866-234-7350 or your travel professional. For any guests booked outside of the U.S. and Canada, please visit www.ncl.com for local contact information. We greatly appreciate your understanding and thank you for choosing Norwegian Cruise Line for your upcoming vacation at sea. We look forward to welcoming you aboard.       Sincerely, Katty Byrd Vice President, Guest Services

 

Thanks for sharing it.

 

I can understand a temporary cancelation, as we know all the troubles Westerdam is having to find a port of call, for example, and the Diamond Princess quarantine.

 

But it just surprises me the 11 month decision when we have so many unkowns.

[tim716]

I'm also on Splendida grand voyage from Singapore in a few days, and reading all the annonuncements and restrictions I expect total paranoid madness at embarkation. 

Has MSC published any special notices on what happens if you tragically sneeze at embarkation and are denied boarding according the new restriction? Will be any refund of the cruise fare and/or the drink package?

I have zero fear of the virus which is milder than the plain flu, but I'm trembling with fear of all this hysteria.

[Beardface]

5 minutes ago, renatops said:

 

Thanks for sharing it.

 

I can understand a temporary cancelation, as we know all the troubles Westerdam is having to find a port of call, for example, and the Diamond Princess quarantine.

 

But it just surprises me the 11 month decision when we have so many unkowns.

 

Most likely a business decision.  I would strongly suspect that tourism to that region of the globe is going to see a significant cut for a while after this.  Would not be surprised if NCL saw a rash of cancellations for Asia sailings over the past few weeks and realized it was unlikely they were going to make a profit on those sailings through the end of the year.  Probably looking to reposition to maximize revenue until the virus fears settle down.

 

I would not be shocked if we see the Asian itineraries for non-Asian cruise lines shrink for the next few years until the lines have assurances the crowds are coming back.  The paranoia over this is going to linger for a while.

[MrMike45]

11 minutes ago, renatops said:

 

Thanks for sharing it.

 

I can understand a temporary cancelation, as we know all the troubles Westerdam is having to find a port of call, for example, and the Diamond Princess quarantine.

 

But it just surprises me the 11 month decision when we have so many unkowns.

 

My assumption (and totally just my opinion)...they don't think this epidemic is ending any time soon, and rather than have people cancel on their own, they got the jump on it and did it for them.  IMO, if I was booked on one of these cruises, I would be relieved that NCL did this.  The stress of deciding do we or don't we go.  Yes, it's disappointing a planned vacation is cancelled.  But knowing that far out, can always plan something else.  

 

My feeling is that other cruise lines are going to follow NCL's lead and will be doing something similar.  Especially if there are more reports of ships and possible contamination/quarantines.  

Edited February 7, 2020 by MrMike45

[CruisingFox27]

CC has been full of desperate posters wanting cruises to be canceled and saying they've called to ask if they can, perhaps NCL have just decided to appease their passengers and cancel all sailings rather than sail half full. They can the redeploy those ships and lose less money.

[MrMike45]

1 minute ago, CruisingFox27 said:

CC has been full of desperate posters wanting cruises to be canceled and saying they've called to ask if they can, perhaps NCL have just decided to appease their passengers and cancel all sailings rather than sail half full. They can the redeploy those ships and lose less money.

 

Agreed...although CC is like what, 5% of the passengers on a given cruise?  But in general, if I had a trip currently planned to anywhere in Asia, I would be very apprehensive and nervous.  Cancelling now, for a huge block of time, takes that away.  And maybe (?) psychologically, NCL is hoping those passengers feel a sense of relief and book another cruise with NCL feeling like they relieved some stress.    

[Liviucostin]

1 hour ago, MrMike45 said:

NCL just posted that all sailings on the Spirit (which is currently in China/Singapore/Hong Kong) have been cancelled thru December 2020.  Cancelling 10 months worth of cruises (and refunding all those passengers) plus giving them all a credit for a future booking is likely costing them millions of dollars.  Which they would not do at a whim.  So leads me to believe that the cruise lines fear this might be a long ongoing issue.  

She is not currently in Asia. She is in a drydock in Marseille and was supposed to sail to Dubai, then Cape Town and then to Singapore and rest of Asia 

[MrMike45]

3 minutes ago, Liviucostin said:

She is not currently in Asia. She is in a drydock in Marseille and was supposed to sail to Dubai, then Cape Town and then to Singapore and rest of Asia 

 

You are correct about the drydock, apologies...however, there were 9 months worth of sailings when it got back in rotation in Asia that were cancelled.  Currently the Jade is sailing in Asia.  And per another post, when you try to do a new booking on NCL's website for any cruise between now and April (when the Jade leaves Asia and the Spirit was scheduled to dock there), you get an error message saying that it is unavailable.  So I think it's a fair assumption is that the next few months of cruises on the Jade will be cancelled as well.  

 

Again, all I'm really doing is reading the NCL board and posting info here.  I am not booked on any of these cruises so no inside or first hand knowledge

Edited February 7, 2020 by MrMike45

[Liviucostin]

I think that Spirit being away in Europe and not yet in Asia made it a lot easier for them to cancel before the rest of the other ships and companies that are already there.

[GrannyGear]

20 minutes ago, Liviucostin said:

I think that Spirit being away in Europe and not yet in Asia made it a lot easier for them to cancel before the rest of the other ships and companies that are already there.

 

 

So I just requested a cancellation and full refund on the Feb 22 MSC Seaside cruise. I calmly made my request to MSC with the justification that we are in the middle of a public health crisis, and the worse place to be in these circumstances would be a cruise boat.

 

Their response was if the cruise preceding our cruise does not have any issues, then the cruise we booked will be leaving and no refunds will be issued. So essentially MSC is not allowing passengers to cancel their cruise without penalty until one of  their ships have an out brake in the Caribbean I guess. 

 

Hello MSC. If you are monitoring this thread, your customers are not pleased with your response.  Please be proactive here....

[Beardface]

4 minutes ago, GrannyGear said:

 

 

So I just requested a cancellation and full refund on the Feb 22 MSC Seaside cruise. I calmly made my request to MSC with the justification that we are in the middle of a public health crisis, and the worse place to be in these circumstances would be a cruise boat.

 

Their response was if the cruise preceding our cruise does not have any issues, then the cruise we booked will be leaving and no refunds will be issued. So essentially MSC is not allowing passengers to cancel their cruise without penalty until one of  their ships have an out brake in the Caribbean I guess. 

 

Hello MSC. If you are monitoring this thread, your customers are not pleased with your response.  Please be proactive here....

 

With all due respect, this is the kind of paranoia that doesn't help at all.

 

Neither MSC nor any of the other major cruise lines are going to cancel cruises in the coming weeks in the Caribbean because of a disease that is going on in China and Asia.  They're not, and they're not going to honor people who have no connection to those regions who are trying to back out at the last minute.  You knew what you signed up for when you booked.  You knew the rules, and you should have understood what it meant by "non-refundable final payment".

 

There are just over 31k people globally who have contraced this virus.  The number could be higher, but that's what we know right now..  The number of people who have contracted this and aren't living in China?  About 300.  The number of people who have contracted this and haven't recently been to China?  Less than 10, officially.

 

Right now, you have a greater chance of getting into a car accident and dying on the way to the ship than you do of actually having to worry about this on your vacation.  And with MSC stepping up and outright barring anyone who has a recent China stamp on their passport, or any Chinese national who has the sniffles, or anyone who has associated with someone who fits in that description, the chances you'll be impacted are even lower.  So at this point, there is nothing stopping you from going outside of your own fear and paranoia over something that has yet to come to fruition.  And the cruise line doesn't have to reimburse you for your own paranoia.

[GrannyGear]

4 minutes ago, Beardface said:

 

With all due respect, this is the kind of paranoia that doesn't help at all.

 

Neither MSC nor any of the other major cruise lines are going to cancel cruises in the coming weeks in the Caribbean because of a disease that is going on in China and Asia. 

With all due respect, my concern has been heightened today due to the Antham of the Seas situation in NJ. It appears that the outbreak is not limited to China and Asia. 

[Beardface]

1 minute ago, GrannyGear said:

With all due respect, my concern has been heightened today due to the Antham of the Seas situation in NJ. It appears that the outbreak is not limited to China and Asia. 

 

The Anthem situation occurred because they boarded 12 Chinese people who came from the area of infection.  MSC's updated policies would prevent this from happening.  In fact, the flight restrictions that the US implemented last week where our borders are closed to anyone from the regions of infection within China, and any US citizen who was recently there has to undergo a mandatory 14 day quarantine upon entry into the US, would have prevented this, but they went into effect after the Anthem set sail on this cruise.

[MrMike45]

8 minutes ago, GrannyGear said:

With all due respect, my concern has been heightened today due to the Antham of the Seas situation in NJ. It appears that the outbreak is not limited to China and Asia. 

 

I live here in NY and all 19 of our cruises have departed from NY.  It is my understanding that they suspected possible virus in 27 people.  23 of which were cleared.  The other 4 have been taken to a local hospital in NJ but they do not believe that they have the virus.  BUT all 27 people were Chinese nationals who traveled to China in the last few weeks and were able to not only board the ship but fly into America.  Assuming they tighten up their screening process at both the airlines and cruise ports (which truthfully might be tough), you're probably ok to sail to Caribbean 

Edited February 7, 2020 by MrMike45

[js]

8 minutes ago, GrannyGear said:

With all due respect, my concern has been heightened today due to the Antham of the Seas situation in NJ. It appears that the outbreak is not limited to China and Asia. 

 

I thought that the passenger(s) in question were tested and did not have the corona virus.  One actually has Influenza A, which I'm sure you know is all over the United States.

 

Guessing hotels are the same.

 

I'm on your sailing and hadn't thought to cancel.

[GrannyGear]

3 minutes ago, js said:

 

I thought that the passenger(s) in question were tested and did not have the corona virus.  One actually has Influenza A, which I'm sure you know is all over the United States.

 

Guessing hotels are the same.

 

I'm on your sailing and hadn't thought to cancel.

I would think that cruise boats and planes would be the worst, followed by hotels and public places. I guess we shall see what we shall see.

[jkgourmet]

2 hours ago, MrMike45 said:

NCL just posted that all sailings on the Spirit (which is currently in China/Singapore/Hong Kong) have been cancelled thru December 2020.  Cancelling 10 months worth of cruises (and refunding all those passengers) plus giving them all a credit for a future booking is likely costing them millions of dollars.  Which they would not do at a whim.  So leads me to believe that the cruise lines fear this might be a long ongoing issue.  

 

It would be so much better if people posted the actual facts.

 

NCL has cancelled all ASIA itineraries on the Spirit through 2020.  No doubt they will simply move the ship to another part of the world and book new passengers.  They will not leave cabins empty or  lose "10 months worth if cruises."

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/22418-norwegian-cancels-spirit-s-2020-asia-program.html

[MrMike45]

2 minutes ago, jkgourmet said:

 

It would be so much better if people posted the actual facts.

 

NCL has cancelled all ASIA itineraries on the Spirit through 2020.  No doubt they will simply move the ship to another part of the world and book new passengers.  They will not leave cabins empty or  lose "10 months worth if cruises."

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/22418-norwegian-cancels-spirit-s-2020-asia-program.html

 

It would be so much better if people read fully before commenting. 

 

I posted the actual email from NCL and clarified my initial post about 30 mins after that the Spirit is currently in dry dock and was scheduled to be in Asia starting in April.  

 

And of course they are re-positioning this ship to another place.  They aren't going to leave a ship on the docks doing nothing.  However that has nothing to do with the fact that the thousands of reservations currently made on the Spirit between the time frame of April thru December are indeed CANCELLED and REFUNDED.  In addition to refunding that money, they are giving all those passengers a discount on future cruises PLUS refunding them up to $300 per person to change flight plans.  Costing NCL money, despite wherever they re-position the Spirit for that time frame.  

[jkgourmet]

1 hour ago, Beardface said:

 

With all due respect, this is the kind of paranoia that doesn't help at all.

 

Neither MSC nor any of the other major cruise lines are going to cancel cruises in the coming weeks in the Caribbean because of a disease that is going on in China and Asia.  They're not, and they're not going to honor people who have no connection to those regions who are trying to back out at the last minute.  You knew what you signed up for when you booked.  You knew the rules, and you should have understood what it meant by "non-refundable final payment".

 

There are just over 31k people globally who have contraced this virus.  The number could be higher, but that's what we know right now..  The number of people who have contracted this and aren't living in China?  About 300.  The number of people who have contracted this and haven't recently been to China?  Less than 10, officially.

 

Right now, you have a greater chance of getting into a car accident and dying on the way to the ship than you do of actually having to worry about this on your vacation.  And with MSC stepping up and outright barring anyone who has a recent China stamp on their passport, or any Chinese national who has the sniffles, or anyone who has associated with someone who fits in that description, the chances you'll be impacted are even lower.  So at this point, there is nothing stopping you from going outside of your own fear and paranoia over something that has yet to come to fruition.  And the cruise line doesn't have to reimburse you for your own paranoia.

 

Finally.  Somebody who gets it. 

 

Y'all should be more frightened of the annual flu season we get in the USA,  whivh statistically kills more than double the numbers that die from corona.   BTW how many of you didn't bother getting an annual flu shot???

 

We sail out of miami on feb 16th.  We've got our fingers crossed that lots of people cancel, especially those with kids.  

[jkgourmet]

2 hours ago, renatops said:

 

 

But it just surprises me the 11 month decision when we have so many unkowns.

 

Because they know passengers are not going to visit Asia for awhile.    Like any other business,  NCL has to make a profit.  That means they need to fill those cabins.  Smart business decision to move the ship and do itineraries that people will book.

 

I've no doubt that other cruiselines will do the same.

 

Beardface gets it again.  See his post #45

Edited February 7, 2020 by jkgourmet

[MrMike45]

While the sheer number of people who have died from the flu this year staggers those who have died from the coronavirus...that isn't an accurate view of things.

 

FLU

Estimated 19,000,000 people have contracted the flu this year with 10,000 of those people dying.  Or 0.05%

 

CORONAVIRUS

Last check, 28,018 confirmed cases this month with 563 deaths.  Or 2.0%

 

Yes 10,000 is a tremendously larger number than 563.  But 2% vs 0.05% is equally as tremendous.  And we're talking 1 month of the Coronavirus vs 1 year of the flu.  Who knows what the numbers will be if the Coronavirus lasts for 12 months 

Edited February 7, 2020 by MrMike45

[CruisinCrow]

13 minutes ago, jkgourmet said:

 

Finally.  Somebody who gets it. 

 

Y'all should be more frightened of the annual flu season we get in the USA,  whivh statistically kills more than double the numbers that die from corona.   BTW how many of you didn't bother getting an annual flu shot???

 

We sail out of miami on feb 16th.  We've got our fingers crossed that lots of people cancel, especially those with kids.  

 

I'm worried about being quarantined indefinitely, not the virus itself.  I don't think cruise lines have ever quarantined ships for 2 plus weeks over the flu.  And yes, I did get a flu shot, as I do every year.

 

We're supposed to sail on the 18th and I've got my fingers crossed that things are much more under control by then.  But if they aren't, it is my decision whether or not to cancel based on my calculations of the risk.  I'm not asking MSC to refund my money.  It will be my loss if I decide it's not worth the risk.

Edited February 7, 2020 by CruisinCrow