PRINCESS SHIPS & CORONA VIRUS

[V_icki_e]

48 minutes ago, mcfly666 said:

That's not what I got. I talked to Princess about our March 15th cruise also and I was told I don't get any refund. Just 50% FCC. I am very unhappy about this. Seems like they don't have a consistently policy on how to deal with this. Would like to know more people what they are offered by Princess Cruises.

I have spoken to 3 Princess reps this morning regarding M009 for 15th March ... each one advised it would be my choice to cancel as the cruise was still slated for departure. I was told I'd lose 50% and the other 50% would be refunded via the same way I paid originally. I asked about FCC and there is none on offer as the cruise isn't cancelled ... yet.  

[npcl]

58 minutes ago, sfaaa said:

US already has a fully staff and well equipped military hospital in Japan. Many serious casualties during the Vietnam war were flown directly from Vietnam to Japan for medical treatments.

Quarantine requirements are considerably different from hospital.  While you might quarantine a person in a hospital if they require that level of care.  You do not use up hospital capacity just to hold quarantined individuals.  More likely to use a barracks at a military base for that.  Room might be a little bigger than on a ship, but might not have a tv. Isolation process would remain the same.

Edited February 7, 2020 by npcl

[npcl]

10 minutes ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

Thankyou so much for the most updated 

info! Better than WHO and CDC!

Denise 😊

You might look at this one from John Hopkins

 

https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

[sfaaa]

Just now, npcl said:

Quarantine requirements is considerably different from hospital.  While you might quarantine a person in a hospital if they require that level of care.  You do not use up hospital capacity just to hold quarantined individuals.  More likely to use a barracks at a military base for that.  Room might be a little bigger than on a ship, but might not have a tv. Isolation process would remain the same.

With USMC drill sergeants to enforce the no liberty and washy washy rules.

[Tamerton]

7 minutes ago, V_icki_e said:

I have spoken to 3 Princess reps this morning regarding M009 for 15th March ... each one advised it would be my choice to cancel as the cruise was still slated for departure. I was told I'd lose 50% and the other 50% would be refunded via the same way I paid originally. I asked about FCC and there is none on offer as the cruise isn't cancelled ... yet.  

Perhaps I misunderstood. I will wait a bit longer to see what happens.

[DeeniEncinitas]

1 minute ago, npcl said:

You might look at this one from John Hopkins

 

https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

I have that one already! Thanks 😊 

I also have close members of family who work for CDC  and get a lot of updates. I enjoy the detail with this other site.

Appreciate the response from you!

Denise😊

[hawkeyetlse]

16 minutes ago, dog said:

 

I'm starting to wonder how many of the crew may be quarantined now , possibly with symptoms like fever, cough.

 

Yes, they seem to be very careful to avoid revealing whether any of the confirmed cases are crew members. Because the crew members that are currently working around the ship are _not_ following isolation procedures, which means that with every new case of infection on board, their 14 days should reset… 

 

Hopefully the passengers will be allowed off the ship after 14 days, but that doesn’t mean the ship will be out of quarantine or anywhere near ready to resume any scheduled cruises. 😞

[Aus Traveller]

1 hour ago, Tamerton said:

We are booked on the 15 March Diamond Princess cruise and they are offering a 50% cruise credit if we cancel now.

It looks like they will cancel a few future cruises.

Should we take it or hang on in case of a better offer?

If it is a 50% cruise credit in addition to a full refund, I would take it. But if it is just 50% credit, I would wait. In my opinion, it is likely the 15 March cruise will be cancelled, in which case, you will receive a full refund. The worst-case scenario is that the offer won't get better than 50%.

Edited February 7, 2020 by Aus Traveller

[npcl]

5 minutes ago, hawkeyetlse said:

 

Yes, they seem to be very careful to avoid revealing whether any of the confirmed cases are crew members. Because the crew members that are currently working around the ship are _not_ following isolation procedures, which means that with every new case of infection on board, their 14 days should reset… 

 

Hopefully the passengers will be allowed off the ship after 14 days, but that doesn’t mean the ship will be out of quarantine or anywhere near ready to resume any scheduled cruises. 😞

Where did you get that crew members are not following isolation practices? Some are working, but those would be doing so under the eye of the quarantine monitors.  All of the information I have seen indicate that anyone doing deliveries are properly garbed.

 

They did announce that one of the twenty was a crew member.

 

Those in engineering and ship maintenance and operation might be a different story, but I would expect them to be limited to essential personnel only, carefully monitored, not in contact with any of the passengers.

[Aus Traveller]

1 hour ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

I don't see how 14 days works, even if the longest incubation period is at or less than 14 days.  So on day 7 or 12, the Nth patient gets sick, and thus infects a few others (or might).  That's a new start for the 14 days...

 

There IS some interaction, even if passengers are confined to cabins.  What happens to the used food trays?  Do the crew change safety suits between visits to cabins (for food delivery, cleaning - IS there housekeeping provided??)...

 

A lot of information is possible from this, but at considerable inconvenience to a lot of people.  It almost seems that keeping everyone ON the ship is almost guaranteed to facilitate at least *some* viral transmission.  The ship is not set up like a hospital, with all of the isolation procedures, and staff *familiar* with those procedures.  And disposable gowns for each entry into each room, and then disposal...  etc...

 

GC

There is no housekeeping provided. I expect that soon, a bag of fresh sheets and towels will be delivered to each room, probably together with a bio-hazard bag for the used linen. There does not have to be disposable gowns for each entry into each room because there is no entry into the rooms. Food isn't delivered into the cabins - it is only taken to the door by a crew member wearing a mask.

 

The reason to keep passengers isolated from each other in their cabins is so the 14-day quarantine does not have to be re-set if another passenger tests positive. Because the infected person left the ship several days ago (maybe nearly a week), there should be no new infections, just those from the initial contacts.

[mcfly666]

45 minutes ago, dog said:

 

If they are offering a 50% cruise credit and a refund for the March 15th cruise take it now.

My guess is they will be cancelling this cruise. I'm starting to wonder how many of the crew may be quarantined now , possibly with symptoms like fever, cough. It has been reported that 33 crew members on the ship in Hong Kong have symptoms of the virus.

They have not cancel the cruise yet. They just said if I cancel right now, I only get 50% FCC. No refund. Sounds like I am getting played by that Princess Cruises person. I would love to at least get 100% refund. I would cancel right away.

Edited February 7, 2020 by mcfly666

[JennAngel9]

1 hour ago, Vacationdreamer<>< said:

ok - thank you.  I was reading the PP as they can cancel without compensation...

 

And post #436 is also confusing me.

Sorry vacationdreamer, I had edited to say that if they cancel they had to refund.  I was actually under the impression that Princess was calling to passenger to offer them a 50% credit with refund b/c Princess had cancelled the sailing but now I see that they have not canceled it.

[billyg3]

Horrible news. 41 more cases on the Diamond.

 

(per ABC News)

Edited February 7, 2020 by billyg3

[obnurse]

The one thing predictable about flu/other viruses, is that they are unpredictable. One may get mildly ill while another seriously ill.

[Aus Traveller]

In case someone hasn't read it here is the news report:

Diamond Princess cruise ship reports dozens of new coronavirus cases

Posted 8 minutes ago

Forty-one new coronavirus infections have been confirmed on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama, according to Japan’s health ministry. 

It brings the total number of confirmed cases on board to 61.

[Te Aroha]

If one 80 year old passenger managed to infect this many passengers and crew, then this is very contagious. I do not believe that all of those infected had bad hygiene.

 

This is the scary part. I also think that China is under reporting the extent of this outbreak. 

[freetalkfreelaugh]

Agree, let’s hope the infections are light and everyone recovers quickly

[silkismom]

Following, so worried about all the passengers!!

[Snick500]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-07/spike-of-coronavirus-cases-on-board-cruise-ship/11943302

41 more cases according to this site.

[hawkeyetlse]

10 minutes ago, npcl said:

Where did you get that crew members are not following isolation practices? Some are working, but those would be doing so under the eye of the quarantine monitors.  All of the information I have seen indicate that anyone doing deliveries are properly garbed.

 

I don’t have any inside information, but the photos/videos I saw, they were just in masks, and certainly not keeping distance from each other while working. There will also be crew working in the food storage/prep areas and in the galleys. I guess they don’t need to be side by side all day. But the whole idea of food being prepared and delivered by people who are themselves under quarantine must be bending the rules, isn’t it? And then the crew live together 2 or 3 to a cabin, not necessarily with the same people they work with outside the cabin, so this potentially creates chains of contact across cabins and across crew groups. 

 

I am sure the authorities have thought of all this and more, and if they’re satisfied with the quarantine conditions, great. I would love to see everyone safely off the ship as soon as possible, and the ship back in service. But there are so many details to wonder about, and worry about, and the limited amount of information coming from the ship is not very reassuring. 

[Pet72Vet]

3 minutes ago, Snick500 said:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-07/spike-of-coronavirus-cases-on-board-cruise-ship/11943302

41 more cases according to this site.

Yes, seems to be escalating.

[elliair]

Posted a few pages back (2 days ago) that the R0 was around 4.0.  Some didn't like what I posted, but looks like the numbers fit.  At the time of posting, there were 10 people on board who tested positive.  Now there's 42, and that number will grow as well.  Incubation is 1-14 days, and, you can contract the virus again.

 

Update (1955ET): Just when you thought it was safe to buy the ***** record high melt-up, TBS News reports that Japanese authorities have found another 42 people on the Diamond Princess cruise ship anchored in Yokohama have tested positive for Coronavirus.

 

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/wed-rather-die-home-chinese-citizens-rebel-against-mandatory-quarantine-lockdonw

Edited February 7, 2020 by elliair

[matadams4u]

News from other threads -

— there are now for ships with issues.  The latest is Crystal Symphony being denied a port in Manila.  Apparently the virus does not differentiate rich from poor.  Also the Genting Dream in Hong Kong and Westerdsm.

- Britain is pretty much requiring self quarantine for 14 days for returnees from pretty much everywhere in Asia. 
- Norwegian cancelling one ship through September and repositioning to the Mediterranean.

 

Now everyone can post the sources.

[npcl]

1 hour ago, Te Aroha said:

If one 80 year old passenger managed to infect this many passengers and crew, then this is very contagious. I do not believe that all of those infected had bad hygiene.

 

This is the scary part. I also think that China is under reporting the extent of this outbreak. 

I do not expect all were infected by the initial passenger.  I expect that some caught the illness from him and then went on to infect others.  In a close environment like a cruise ship with lots of people in close proximity URIs like them can infect others very easily and quickly no matter how ones hygiene.  Stand next to them in the theater or in line and you are a candidate for infection.  Take for example the seating in the theater sitting there for 30 minutes and you probably have 36 people sitting within 6 feet of the individual. Similar situation around the pool, in the buffet and main dining room.  Spend 5 days and a cruise ship and one probably passed within the 3-6 foot zone of several hundred people.

[Te Aroha]

8 minutes ago, npcl said:

I do not expect all were infected by the initial passenger.  I expect that some caught the illness from him and then went on to infect others.  In a close environment like a cruise ship with lots of people in close proximity URIs like them can infect others very easily and quickly no matter how ones hygiene.  Stand next to them in the theater or in line and you are a candidate for infection.  Take for example the seating in the theater sitting there for 30 minutes and you probably have 36 people sitting within 6 feet of the individual. Similar situation around the pool, in the buffet and main dining room.  Spend 5 days and a cruise ship and one probably passed within the 3-6 foot zone of several hundred people.

That was exactly my point, if one passenger was responsible that was bad enough but if others have now tested positive, how many more have possibly been infected. A very sad situation for all concerned. How can they trace all contacts.... not possible. They will have to test everyone.

 

My hygiene comment was more about transmission, as many seem to think that washing hands will protect against this infection. I am not saying that hygiene is not important but a sneeze in a lift or at the theater you cannot protect yourself from that.

 

As Princess continues to cancel future cruises on this ship the longer this looks like it could drag on for the passengers and crew.