PRINCESS SHIPS & CORONA VIRUS

[mcrcruiser]

The World Health Organization  has just declared this Virus a  world wide threat 

 The US state Department t has a level 3 alert on   this virus 

 

 The obvious question is what is Princess doing to protect us ,their passengers & their crews 

 From  exposure  to the virus ?  A Costa  ship is being held for quarantine with 6000 pax  in port of Rome because of a person with possible Corona virus  .This is Latest news 

[Kenswing]

8 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

The World Health Organization  has just declared this Virus a  world wide threat 

 The US state Department t has a level 3 alert on   this virus 

 

 The obvious question is what is Princess doing to protect us ,their passengers & their crews 

 From  exposure  to the virus ?  A Costa  ship is being held for quarantine with 6000 pax  in port of Rome because of a person with possible Corona virus  .This is Latest news 

It'll be interesting to see if the Majestic Princess keeps sailing out of Taipei.  Although not mainland China it's certainly something to keep an eye on. Same with Diamond Princess making calls to Taipei.. 

Edited January 31, 2020 by Kenswing

[mcrcruiser]

Here is a link to a very recent report  by CNBC "

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/30/cdc-confirms-first-human-to-human-transmission-of-coronavirus-in-us.html

[npcl]

The same thing as the other lines.  Rerouting cruises away from China.

 

 

The real question is how are they going to deal with all of the normal cases of upper respiratory infections that normally pop up during longer cruises, make sure that they are not Corona, and deal with passenger reactions when the usual coughing starts up. Especially since identifications require tests to be sent to a few labs that can currently do the analysis.

[mcrcruiser]

We are thinking that any cruise ship with it's inclosed environment is a  high potential for this virus to spread & the same with airlines 

 

[npcl]

1 minute ago, mcrcruiser said:

We are thinking that any cruise ship with it's inclosed environment is a  high potential for this virus to spread & the same with airlines 

 

Not much they can do other than excluding passengers from boarding based on their previous travels.  Unfortunately people do tend to be less than honest with those kinds of questionaires.  The checks like they are doing at the airports is another possibility, but no certainty with those.

[mcrcruiser]

We are booked on B2B Royal Princess  7 night cruise s April 18  Mexico & April 25  ,2020   Coastal Ca .  Although these cruises are far from  China or the orient ,it is not location but people that have the virus spreading it  .

We are very concerned one because of our ages ,80 & 81 & 2nd  our  medical histories 

[mcrcruiser]

1 minute ago, npcl said:

Not much they can do other than excluding passengers from boarding based on their previous travels.  Unfortunately people do tend to be less than honest with those kinds of questionaires.  The checks like they are doing at the airports is another possibility, but no certainty with those.

 

8 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Here is a link to a very recent report  by CNBC "

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/30/cdc-confirms-first-human-to-human-transmission-of-coronavirus-in-us.html

The problem is people traveling  .look at the costa ship that 6000 people can not get off in the port of Rome because of suspected Corona virus  . This is quite scary ;because now it has reached the other side of the world  & on a cruise ship 

[npcl]

2 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

We are booked on B2B Royal Princess  7 night cruise s April 18  Mexico & April 25  ,2020   Coastal Ca .  Although these cruises are far from  China or the orient ,it is not location but people that have the virus spreading it  .

We are very concerned one because of our ages ,80 & 81 & 2nd  our  medical histories 

To be honest if I had any health concerns that would make me in the high risk group for this type disease and was still before final payment I would not travel at this time. The cruise  line will be very limited until you have effective tests that can be run in the doctors office on board ship. They can try and screen by travel history and taking temperature readings during boarding process.  But that will be limited in effectiveness if this becomes widespread and at this stage a lot can happen in 30-60 days.  

[npcl]

5 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

 

The problem is people traveling  .look at the costa ship that 6000 people can not get off in the port of Rome because of suspected Corona virus  . This is quite scary ;because now it has reached the other side of the world  & on a cruise ship 

Note the "suspected" at this time.  The inability of the ships doctor to run a test without having to send results to a lab makes it a problem because it cannot eliminate the virus during the normal URI cases that seem to pop up on a lot of cruises. 

[mcrcruiser]

11 minutes ago, npcl said:

To be honest if I had any health concerns that would make me in the high risk group for this type disease and was still before final payment I would not travel at this time. The cruise  line will be very limited until you have effective tests that can be run in the doctors office on board ship. They can try and screen by travel history and taking temperature readings during boarding process.  But that will be limited in effectiveness if this becomes widespread and at this stage a lot can happen in 30-60 days.  

We just passed final payment  . I need to call my TA 

[npcl]

4 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

We just passed final payment  . I need to call my TA 

Then I suspect not much you can do expect wait and watch what happens and see how it spreads. 

[Ombud]

I think the common flu is being reported as a bigger threat than coronavirus 

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/4564133002

[RMMariner]

Don't panic. The fact is that you are still far more likely to die in a car accident or die from the regular flu than from this coronavirus. (globally between 290,000 and 600,000 people die every year of the normal flu) The sky is not falling. We have these panics every 5 years or so. Remember SARS, H1N1, Zika and MERS. The coronavirus is not even particularly lethal compared to some of the previously mentioned diseases. It also does not spread as easily as the common flu. 

 

If I had previous health concerns, I would be leery of travelling to that part of the world right now, but as far as worrying about it very much any place else, there are far more dangerous and statistically probable things to worry about.

 

Wash your hands. Eat healthy food. Work out. Sleep properly. Work on your stress level, and look both ways when you cross the street. Get a flu shot and keep your vaccines updated. Just the increased blood pressure from worrying about this will probably impact your health far more than the coronavirus ever will.

 

The media loves a good panic. Read what the real experts are saying, not what social media is spouting off about. You can mock me later, and bring this post up to remind me how wrong I was, but if this so called pandemic is still a problem in two months, I will be very much surprised.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mcrcruiser]

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/30/cdc-confirms-first-human-to-human-transmission-of-coronavirus-in-us.html

 

Here is current information on the spread of this corona virus 

[2 cruises a year]

15 minutes ago, RMMariner said:

Don't panic. The fact is that you are still far more likely to die in a car accident or die from the regular flu than from this coronavirus. (globally between 290,000 and 600,000 people die every year of the normal flu) The sky is not falling. We have these panics every 5 years or so. Remember SARS, H1N1, Zika and MERS. The coronavirus is not even particularly lethal compared to some of the previously mentioned diseases. It also does not spread as easily as the common flu. 

 

If I had previous health concerns, I would be leery of travelling to that part of the world right now, but as far as worrying about it very much any place else, there are far more dangerous and statistically probable things to worry about.

 

Wash your hands. Eat healthy food. Work out. Sleep properly. Work on your stress level, and look both ways when you cross the street. Get a flu shot and keep your vaccines updated. Just the increased blood pressure from worrying about this will probably impact your health far more than the coronavirus ever will.

 

The media loves a good panic. Read what the real experts are saying, not what social media is spouting off about. You can mock me later, and bring this post up to remind me how wrong I was, but if this so called pandemic is still a problem in two months, I will be very much surprised.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think that I will bring it back up everyday, not to mock you, but because you make so much sense.

Good on you!!

Edited January 31, 2020 by 2 cruises a year

[Colo Cruiser]

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

The obvious question is what is Princess doing to protect us ,their passengers & their crews 

 From  exposure  to the virus ?  

Well we know what they are not doing....fear mongering.

[history_bits]

I agree with some of the other posters.

 

While I'm slightly concerned for my February 23rd sailing, there is indeed a lot of fearmongering going on. I saw the headline this morning, followed a few hours later by the "all clear" article ( https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51314138) .

 

What's more fascinating to me is that it's far, far, far more difficult to find the "all clear after a few hours on the quarantined cruise ship" article than the "THOUSANDS STUCK ON CRUISE SHIP BECAUSE CORONAVIRUS!!!!!!" articles. Go figure.

 

I've done a bit of research myself and simply plan to do what I normally do on a cruise ship - wash hands regularly. 

[mcrcruiser]

27 minutes ago, history_bits said:

I agree with some of the other posters.

 

While I'm slightly concerned for my February 23rd sailing, there is indeed a lot of fearmongering going on. I saw the headline this morning, followed a few hours later by the "all clear" article ( https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51314138) .

 

What's more fascinating to me is that it's far, far, far more difficult to find the "all clear after a few hours on the quarantined cruise ship" article than the "THOUSANDS STUCK ON CRUISE SHIP BECAUSE CORONAVIRUS!!!!!!" articles. Go figure.

 

I've done a bit of research myself and simply plan to do what I normally do on a cruise ship - wash hands regularly. 

The corona virus is spread for person to person from sneezing to coughing   mostly  . Handling a  food ladle  in the buffet  from some one with corona virus might also be a way for getting the disease ,so  hand washing is one way . Protecting  oneself from Nuro  is only by washing hands & Chlorox wipes 

[npcl]

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

I think the common flu is being reported as a bigger threat than coronavirus 

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/4564133002

Yes.  However, the group greatest as risk for negative outcomes with Corona is similar to the flu, those with weakened. immune systems and elder with other health issues.a group the OP indicated they were in. The difference is that one can get a flu shot to mitigate risk.  At this stage with Corona one cannot do that.  We also do not know what this will look like in a few weeks.  If it turns out like SARS or MERS, not much issue.  If it spreads then it can be an issue for those at high risk.

 

Those of us that cruise frequently know how often we see URIs spread on a cruise (sometimes called cruise crud).  For most people not much of an issue for those in the high risk group then being on a cruise might not be a good idea.  If I was in the high risk group and prior to final payment I would certainly reconsider my cruise plans until we see which way this outbreak is going to go. At this point I would put the odds on the not too much of an issue on US/Mexico cruises in the April time frame as mentioned by the OP.  But if it breaks the wrong way in the next 3-4 weeks.

 

One key is the number of travelers from Chine that left to other countries prior to the travel crackdown.  In 2-3 weeks, after their incubation period the Health departments should have a good idea on how much of an issue that is.  Places like Thailand are going to key places to watch.

[Ombud]

Yes, elderly and immune compromised are always at greatest risk for everything

[leck57]

1 hour ago, RMMariner said:

Don't panic. The fact is that you are still far more likely to die in a car accident or die from the regular flu than from this coronavirus. (globally between 290,000 and 600,000 people die every year of the normal flu) The sky is not falling. We have these panics every 5 years or so. Remember SARS, H1N1, Zika and MERS. The coronavirus is not even particularly lethal compared to some of the previously mentioned diseases. It also does not spread as easily as the common flu. 

 

If I had previous health concerns, I would be leery of travelling to that part of the world right now, but as far as worrying about it very much any place else, there are far more dangerous and statistically probable things to worry about.

 

Wash your hands. Eat healthy food. Work out. Sleep properly. Work on your stress level, and look both ways when you cross the street. Get a flu shot and keep your vaccines updated. Just the increased blood pressure from worrying about this will probably impact your health far more than the coronavirus ever will.

 

The media loves a good panic. Read what the real experts are saying, not what social media is spouting off about. You can mock me later, and bring this post up to remind me how wrong I was, but if this so called pandemic is still a problem in two months, I will be very much surprised.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well said (and Ombud's post as well). Of course this virus is serious but the press just look to sell papers or, on the Net, for clickbait. 

Some of the comments I read are just bordering on hysterical. We have two confirmed cases now in hospital just 5 miles from where I live in Australia. So, that's it, I'm locking myself inside my house and not coming out. Not. 

[capriccio]

3 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

 Costa  ship is being held for quarantine with 6000 pax  in port of Rome because of a person with possible Corona virus  .This is Latest news 

 

Not the latest news even when you posted this.  Major news organizations were reporting 6 - 7 hours ago that there was no quarantine necessary because the patient was diagnosed with the flu. 

[CineGraphic]

No matter what Princess does, we have to be responsible for ourselves as well.

My wife and I will avoid crowded elevators, hand rails, etc....just like always.

[zahav1]

From BBC

 

Six thousand people on board a cruise ship in Italy have been allowed to disembark after health officials said a Chinese passenger who had symptoms of coronavirus had tested negative.