PRINCESS SHIPS & CORONA VIRUS

[Reader0108598]

10 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

But certainly, in today’s environment, you would not hesitate to put yourself forth for further testing if that was in the best interest of those with which you come into contact.?  Particularly if, as you say, there is no difference in that particular symptom between COPD and the coronavirus?

Of course but would not be on a cruise or in public now...lol just feel for folks ,,there are other reasons for coughing! To assume someone is coughing because of the virus is just wrong.

 

Edited March 24, 2020 by Reader0108598

[wintrev]

Princess are stuffed. How they lied to Australian authorities has sunk them. People are now getting together to sue - power to the people! 
 

Princess have been going down hill for years putting money before everything just like all big corporations. If you have a cruise booked with them I would be cancelling and getting your money back - there will be no cruises leaving from Australia in May - state borders are shut so no one will be getting off as most businesses are now shut. Be warned!

[wearesiamese]

15 minutes ago, samiam1 said:

 

Diamond, Grand and now Ruby - Princess is finished.  These were not coincidences.

How recently was this? it is only Wednesday now in Australia. It does appear to be awfully strange that the majority of covid cases were on Princess ships. I  understand how the  some crew transferred to the GP who did not know they were infected, caused the problem there. but after weeks of this why now the Ruby(but this has tp be a week old news so maybe this is repeat info?) I am not following the cruise ships role in the coved epidemic closely anymore.. I had tentatively booked the LA to Vancouver Pacific Princess cruise for May a couple of months ago, and am now very glad I cancelled This was to be my first cruise with Princess-I never will  cruise with Princess now!

Edited March 24, 2020 by wearesiamese

[Reader0108598]

10 minutes ago, wearesiamese said:

How recently was this? it is only Wednesday now in Australia. It does appear to be awfully strange that the majority of covid cases were on Princess ships. I  understand how the  some crew transferred to the GP who did not know they were infected, caused the problem there. but after weeks of this why now the Ruby(but this has tp be a week old news so maybe this is repeat info?) I am not following the cruise ships role in the coved epidemic closely anymore

Tuesday in the US ..so what is Wednesday like?...lol

[billco]

15 minutes ago, wearesiamese said:

How recently was this? it is only Wednesday now in Australia. It does appear to be awfully strange that the majority of covid cases were on Princess ships. I  understand how the  some crew transferred to the GP who did not know they were infected, caused the problem there. but after weeks of this why now the Ruby(but this has tp be a week old news so maybe this is repeat info?) I am not following the cruise ships role in the coved epidemic closely anymore.. I had tentatively booked the LA to Vancouver Pacific Princess cruise for May a couple of months ago, and am now very glad I cancelled This was to be my first cruise with Princess-I never will  cruise with Princess now!

I’m more likely to book with Princess now than ever. I think their experience over the past few months will enable them to make their ships cleaner and safer than ever. I’ve  sailed Princess 28 times over the past 18 years, including cruises on the Diamond, Ruby, and Grand and never had any serious issues. I have three Princess cruises booked for this year and one next year and looking forward to all of them. 

[Colo Cruiser]

4 minutes ago, billco said:

I’m more likely to book with Princess now than ever. I think their experience over the past few months will enable them to make their ships cleaner and safer than ever. I’ve  sailed Princess 28 times over the past 18 years, including cruises on the Diamond, Ruby, and Grand and never had any serious issues. I have three Princess cruises booked for this year and one next year and looking forward to all of them. 

I feel the same way. Can't wait for the 4 cruises we currently have booked.

[wearesiamese]

 Enjoy! 🙂

I prefer smaller ships than the average Princess ship anyways.

[samiam1]

4 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

I feel the same way. Can't wait for the 4 cruises we currently have booked.

 

Three avoidable catastrophes; I doubt they have learned anything.  Likely won't even change the buffet from self serve.

Edited March 24, 2020 by samiam1

[Aus Traveller]

2 hours ago, wintrev said:

Princess are stuffed. How they lied to Australian authorities has sunk them. People are now getting together to sue - power to the people!

How did Princess lie to Australian authorities? While the Ruby Princess was on its shortened cruise to New Zealand, it was not known that there were covid-19 cases on board. Apparently there were a small number of people with coughing and sneezing. In my experience of 85 or so cruises, this always happens. The fault lay with the NSW Health department who said they judged that the Ruby Princess passengers were "low risk" so they cleared everyone to disembark. Department officials had already taken tests from three people on board who exhibited symptoms, but they did not wait for the test results to come back before they cleared the ship.

[Aus Traveller]

2 hours ago, wintrev said:

Princess have been going down hill for years putting money before everything just like all big corporations. If you have a cruise booked with them I would be cancelling and getting your money back - there will be no cruises leaving from Australia in May - state borders are shut so no one will be getting off as most businesses are now shut. Be warned!

Carnival Corporation (the owner of Princess) and all other corporations are just that - they are corporations. Legally their first obligation is to make money for their owners. That is our financial system.

[samiam1]

4 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

How did Princess lie to Australian authorities? While the Ruby Princess was on its shortened cruise to New Zealand, it was not known that there were covid-19 cases on board.

 

Why did the genius' at almost all the cruise lines continue in operation long after the COVID 19 threat was known? I think only Viking and Crystal had the good sense to wind down. The lines have a duty to get their passengers to safety not continue cruising just because they might be able to squeeze in a few more cruises before the inevitable ban. Apparently, the lessons of Titanic and Concordia have not been learned, reckless behavior and passenger ships oft results in disaster.

[brisalta]

25 minutes ago, samiam1 said:

 

Why did the genius' at almost all the cruise lines continue in operation long after the COVID 19 threat was known? I think only Viking and Crystal had the good sense to wind down. The lines have a duty to get their passengers to safety not continue cruising just because they might be able to squeeze in a few more cruises before the inevitable ban. Apparently, the lessons of Titanic and Concordia have not been learned, reckless behavior and passenger ships oft results in disaster.

 

Please get you facts straight.

Viking announced they were halting sailings the same day that Princess announced that.

Crystal made the decision to pause sailing about a week after Princess did.

Edited March 25, 2020 by brisalta

[Aus Traveller]

20 minutes ago, samiam1 said:

 

Why did the genius' at almost all the cruise lines continue in operation long after the COVID 19 threat was known? I think only Viking and Crystal had the good sense to wind down. The lines have a duty to get their passengers to safety not continue cruising just because they might be able to squeeze in a few more cruises before the inevitable ban. Apparently, the lessons of Titanic and Concordia have not been learned, reckless behavior and passenger ships oft results in disaster.

With due respect to you, here are a few facts:

On March 11th, WHO declared a pandemic.

On March 12th Princess Cruises announced a 60 pause. They were followed by Viking and Disney.

On March 13th, RCI announced a pause.

 

One news site says that Princess Cruises was the first to pause its cruises.  It also said that Viking cruises was "one of the first to stop its cruises.

 

This is different from your post that states that "only Viking and Crystal had the good sense to wind down". When you said  "The lines have a duty to get their passengers to safety not continue cruising just because they might be able to squeeze in a few more cruises before the inevitable ban" it implied that the other cruiselines (presumably including Princess) were still cruising, when they had already announced a pause for 60 days.

 

BTW, Princess pause runs until 11th May, where Viking's is until 30th April.

 

No cruiselines continued like the Titanic and Concordia where you commented that "reckless behaviour and passenger ships oft results in disaster".

[samiam1]

9 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

With due respect to you, here are a few facts:

On March 11th, WHO declared a pandemic.

On March 12th Princess Cruises announced a 60 pause. They were followed by Viking and Disney.

On March 13th, RCI announced a pause.

 

One news site says that Princess Cruises was the first to pause its cruises.  It also said that Viking cruises was "one of the first to stop its cruises.

 

This is different from your post that states that "only Viking and Crystal had the good sense to wind down". When you said  "The lines have a duty to get their passengers to safety not continue cruising just because they might be able to squeeze in a few more cruises before the inevitable ban" it implied that the other cruiselines (presumably including Princess) were still cruising, when they had already announced a pause for 60 days.

 

BTW, Princess pause runs until 11th May, where Viking's is until 30th April.

 

No cruiselines continued like the Titanic and Concordia where you commented that "reckless behaviour and passenger ships oft results in disaster".

 

Diamond Pricess was first week of February.  Princess already should have known at that point this was going to be a fleet wide problem. Grand Princess was first week of March. Ruby Princess embarked March 8, the same day the US State Department advised against cruising. You don't wait for WHO to declare a pandemic on March 12 to protect passengers.

[Ride-The-Waves]

19 minutes ago, samiam1 said:

 

Diamond Pricess was first week of February.  Princess already should have known at that point this was going to be a fleet wide problem. Grand Princess was first week of March. Ruby Princess embarked March 8, the same day the US State Department advised against cruising. You don't wait for WHO to declare a pandemic on March 12 to protect passengers.

Yep.  Process continued to transfer employees between ship AFTER they discovered the COVID-19 infection. 

[K.T.B.]

3 hours ago, samiam1 said:

 

Diamond Pricess was first week of February.  Princess already should have known at that point this was going to be a fleet wide problem. Grand Princess was first week of March. Ruby Princess embarked March 8, the same day the US State Department advised against cruising. You don't wait for WHO to declare a pandemic on March 12 to protect passengers.

 

Not just Princess, but ALL cruise lines.

[samiam1]

3 hours ago, K.T.B. said:

 

Not just Princess, but ALL cruise lines.

 

Yes, Carnival, MSC, Norwegian, RCL, none showed any common sense or restraint in the face of what was obviously shaping up to be a pandemic.  Suspending cruising after ports are repeatedly shut and travel advisories are in effect is not being proactive. But I am not surprised, I once eavesdropped on a cruise management conference that took place onboard.  These people were marketers not mariners.

[subaru94]

21 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

How did Princess lie to Australian authorities? While the Ruby Princess was on its shortened cruise to New Zealand, it was not known that there were covid-19 cases on board. Apparently there were a small number of people with coughing and sneezing. In my experience of 85 or so cruises, this always happens. The fault lay with the NSW Health department who said they judged that the Ruby Princess passengers were "low risk" so they cleared everyone to disembark. Department officials had already taken tests from three people on board who exhibited symptoms, but they did not wait for the test results to come back before they cleared the ship.

Agree with you and why didn't they take all their temperatures, it would not have taking that long I think there is even a machine you can walk through that detects temperatures, that would have alerted authorities?

[cruisingthomas]

Interesting video of Head of Australia Border Force (ABF) regarding the Ruby Princess. Along with indicating ABF followed procedures, he also commented about Princess's Captain/Lead Doctor following procedure and doing things correct. (providing exerts from emails between Princess and NSWHealth). He indicated the NSW Health did not come on the ship the day of passengers disembarked. He also indicated procedure were done right for the Golden Princess in Melbourne  by VicHealth.

 

https://www.facebook.com/7NewsAustralia/videos/australian-border-force-commissioner-michael-outram-addresses-media-in-relation-/349208279344902/

[SeaHunt]

8 hours ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

Yep.  Process continued to transfer employees between ship AFTER they discovered the COVID-19 infection. 

 

Not Princess, but right now I feel like I am watching a possible replay of this same scenario when reading about the current situation on HAL's Zaandam (the worst kind of deja vu):

 

"At least 77 people on board Holland America's MS Zaandam cruise ship, including 30 passengers and 47 crew members, have reported "flu-like" symptoms to the ship's medical center.

There are 1,243 passengers and 586 crew members on the ship, including 305 Americans.

Flu symptoms and coronavirus symptoms are similar, so the cruise line "out of an abundance of caution" told passengers to stay in their staterooms on Sunday. There are no test kits for COVID-19 on board, Holland America said in a statement provided by spokesperson Erik Elvejord.

But Holland America Line has deployed another one of its ships, the Rotterdam, which is carrying no guests, to meet up with the Zaandam by Thursday to provide extra supplies, staff members, COVID-19 test kits and additional support".

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2020/03/24/coronavirus-flu-holland-america-ship-limbo-77-ill/2910349001/

[bluesea321]

43 minutes ago, cruisingthomas said:

Interesting video of Head of Australia Border Force (ABF) regarding the Ruby Princess. Along with indicating ABF followed procedures, he also commented about Princess's Captain/Lead Doctor following procedure and doing things correct. (providing exerts from emails between Princess and NSWHealth). He indicated the NSW Health did not come on the ship the day of passengers disembarked. He also indicated procedure were done right for the Golden Princess in Melbourne  by VicHealth.

 

https://www.facebook.com/7NewsAustralia/videos/australian-border-force-commissioner-michael-outram-addresses-media-in-relation-/349208279344902/

 

Hmm... the video just "passes the buck", the head of the Border Force blames the NSW Health for the snafu.  Here is another take on it but regardless of who was at fault the facts remain, a large number of infected passengers were allowed to disembark and proceed worldwide.

https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/coronavirus-stricken-cruise-ship-was-let-in-by-nsw-health-border-force-says-c-761502?fbclid=IwAR1EWT04O_oUia_X390OaGm6588vqzyAxJ4fFkAB5F8UiqG82np0ONhyhls

 

And here is the BBC / Australia perspective.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-51999845

[Aus Traveller]

10 hours ago, samiam1 said:

 

Diamond Pricess was first week of February.  Princess already should have known at that point this was going to be a fleet wide problem. Grand Princess was first week of March. Ruby Princess embarked March 8, the same day the US State Department advised against cruising. You don't wait for WHO to declare a pandemic on March 12 to protect passengers.

All cruiselines waited until 12th March, some even later, to announce a pause in their cruises.

 

We disembarked from the Sea Princess on 8th March and did not feel we were at risk on that 14-day cruise to New Zealand. In Aust, the Sea Princess and the Ruby Princess both set off on cruises on 8th March, and the Golden on the 10th, but it was only on the Ruby that there was an infection that has now spread. The disembarkation was bungled by the New South Wales Health Department. They admit they made a mistake in allowing people to disembark before the tests for covid-19 came back. It was a crazy decision.

[Aus Traveller]

10 hours ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

Yep.  Process continued to transfer employees between ship AFTER they discovered the COVID-19 infection. 

From what I have read, no staff were transferred from the Diamond Princess after the infection was discovered. It was announced that staff from the Grand were transferred BEFORE the infection was discovered.

[Aus Traveller]

3 hours ago, subaru94 said:

Agree with you and why didn't they take all their temperatures, it would not have taking that long I think there is even a machine you can walk through that detects temperatures, that would have alerted authorities?

There is a machine that people can walk through to have temperatures taken. We walked through one of those during the swine flu outbreak in 2009. This would not have been immediately available at the cruise terminal in Sydney. The New South Wales Health Department have admitted they made an error in allowing people to disembark.

[Aus Traveller]

By the way, BBC is the British Broadcasting Commission, not the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC).

 

When I read the news reports quoting people who were on the Ruby Princess, I wonder what some of them were thinking was happening.

 

When they embarked on the 8th March, every one of them had to know that the covid-19 was a worldwide issue. Their cruise was cut short when Princess announced their shut-down of cruising because of the virus. Near the end of the cruise all passengers had to complete a form that asked if they had a high temperature, sore throat, cough etc. Anyone who has cruised before knows this is not normal procedure. They were all given written instructions that they had to self-isolate at home for 14 days - once again not normal procedure after a cruise.

 

Now several passengers are reported as saying they had no idea they could be at risk of contracting covid-19. Well, I have news for them. We are all at risk of contracting it, some more than others.