If HAL had a ship returning after a port in China with flu outbreak

[sansterre]

I don't think any Holland America ships have recently been in China where there is a flu epidemic.  But surely there have been some cruise ship visits.  After hearing yesterday's announcement that anyone entering U.S. having been in China will be quarantined, I have to wonder if they would quarantine an entire Cruise Ship.  Perhaps they would make sure that it was at least 14 days at sea before allowing them to return to a port?  And perhaps it would be much longer IF someone on board had come down with the flu?

It makes me think twice about visiting that area of the world right now.

And reminds me that something like this could outbreak anywhere in the world.

How do cruise ships handle a serious air-borne disease outbreak?

 

[ski ww]

I think all cruise ship visits to China have been cancelled.

[milolii]

1 hour ago, sansterre said:

I don't think any Holland America ships have recently been in China where there is a flu epidemic.  But surely there have been some cruise ship visits.  After hearing yesterday's announcement that anyone entering U.S. having been in China will be quarantined, I have to wonder if they would quarantine an entire Cruise Ship.  Perhaps they would make sure that it was at least 14 days at sea before allowing them to return to a port?  And perhaps it would be much longer IF someone on board had come down with the flu?

It makes me think twice about visiting that area of the world right now.

And reminds me that something like this could outbreak anywhere in the world.

How do cruise ships handle a serious air-borne disease outbreak?

 

A ship was quarantine earlier this week, but the passenger was found to have the flu. 6000 passengers according to the reports. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2020/01/30/coronavirus-costa-cruise-ship-passengers-held-onboard-amid-tests/4618718002/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2020/01/30/coronavirus-costa-cruise-ship-passengers-held-onboard-amid-tests/4618718002/

[CruiserBruce]

51 minutes ago, milolii said:

A ship was quarantine earlier this week, but the passenger was found to have the flu. 6000 passengers according to the reports. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2020/01/30/coronavirus-costa-cruise-ship-passengers-held-onboard-amid-tests/4618718002/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2020/01/30/coronavirus-costa-cruise-ship-passengers-held-onboard-amid-tests/4618718002/

That was in Italy, not China...an Asian passenger.

[milolii]

Right, agreed.   I interpreted it as the OP was wondering what would happen if any ship was quarantine.  Not just from China.  
 

 

[levity]

The Westerdam picked up passengers in Hong Kong yesterday.

[mcrcruiser]

1 hour ago, levity said:

The Westerdam picked up passengers in Hong Kong yesterday.

And Hong Kong is part of China  .what is HAL thinking of ?

[TAD2005]

A few days ago, Hong Kong had closed it's border with Mainland China for exactly this reason.   

[Level six]

Westerdam already missed Manila due to Manila not wanting them to dock(from someone on board reporting on CC).  I think they will miss more ports for this very reason.  A cruise coming from HK, where 500, 000+ people arrived from Wuhan(from some reports) just before the travel ban from Wuhan went into effect. Who would accept that cruise?

 

I was supposed to be on the Westerdam cruise leaving HK yesterday.  HAL  was horrible about the whole situation.  Even after CDC recommended no travel to China and WHO said it was a worldwide emergency, they still insisted that there was no option but to be on the cruise or lose your money.  Even when some people's airlines canceled their flights to HK. 

 

I am happy with my decision to not go.  I have trip insurance, but it does not pay.  Oh well.  I hope that no one on board gets sick, but I do think HAL was just thinking of money and not of customers or crew.  I am losing lots of money, but my health and peace of mind are more important.  I have spent the whole week upset and stressed about this. 

 

I will never spend a penny with HAL again and I am selling my stocks first thing tomorrow, even if I lose money on that too. I will not support any business that treats customers like the way they treated me.  

[sail7seas]

On 2/1/2020 at 10:40 AM, sansterre said:

I don't think any Holland America ships have recently been in China where there is a flu epidemic.  But surely there have been some cruise ship visits.  After hearing yesterday's announcement that anyone entering U.S. having been in China will be quarantined, I have to wonder if they would quarantine an entire Cruise Ship.  Perhaps they would make sure that it was at least 14 days at sea before allowing them to return to a port?  And perhaps it would be much longer IF someone on board had come down with the flu?

It makes me think twice about visiting that area of the world right now.

And reminds me that something like this could outbreak anywhere in the world.

How do cruise ships handle a serious air-borne disease outbreak?

 

We can all  guess bu t, is there someone  here  who would  really know if an entire ship fully  crewed and full of guests could/would be quarantined.  Hypotheticals  are not my favorite but my

 

guess, is Yes.  If there were confirmed cases of the virus, they would  load  necessary provisions, tie up the ship, quarantine all   on board and only those who would assist in  taking care of the ill and assessing the situation would  come aboard.  CDC , NIH,  in   (  U.S.),   WHO and the like

 

bUT it would be terrific if someone here could give a reliable response    to a very interesting (IMO)  question.

 

 

 

Edited February 3, 2020 by sail7seas

[gilboman]

7 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

And Hong Kong is part of China  .what is HAL thinking of ?

well the US gov't has no restrictions on Hong Kong either. Hong Kong is not same as mainland china

[sail7seas]

2 hours ago, Level six said:

Westerdam already missed Manila due to Manila not wanting them to dock(from someone on board reporting on CC).  I think they will miss more ports for this very reason.  A cruise coming from HK, where 500, 000+ people arrived from Wuhan(from some reports) just before the travel ban from Wuhan went into effect. Who would accept that cruise?

 

I was supposed to be on the Westerdam cruise leaving HK yesterday.  HAL  was horrible about the whole situation.  Even after CDC recommended no travel to China and WHO said it was a worldwide emergency, they still insisted that there was no option but to be on the cruise or lose your money.  Even when some people's airlines canceled their flights to HK. 

 

I am happy with my decision to not go.  I have trip insurance, but it does not pay.  Oh well.  I hope that no one on board gets sick, but I do think HAL was just thinking of money and not of customers or crew.  I am losing lots of money, but my health and peace of mind are more important.  I have spent the whole week upset and stressed about this. 

 

I will never spend a penny with HAL again and I am selling my stocks first thing tomorrow, even if I lose money on that too. I will not support any business that treats customers like the way they treated me.  

Did /do  you have travel insurance from a  third party?  I know we had a thread re: insurance and how some will not pay but I regret I do not recall specifically if you commented.     Sorry

 

 

 

 

[Level six]

Thanks, 3rd party.  I appreciate it.  

Edited February 3, 2020 by Level six

[Viv0828]

2 hours ago, Level six said:

I was supposed to be on the Westerdam cruise leaving HK yesterday.  HAL  was horrible about the whole situation.  Even after CDC recommended no travel to China and WHO said it was a worldwide emergency, they still insisted that there was no option but to be on the cruise or lose your money.  Even when some people's airlines canceled their flights to HK. 

 

please, you were so nice to me - try again to negotiate with HAL about a refund or a transfer to a different cruise. our TA, who booked the cruise, is doing that for us. i have read of some folks having good sucess rebooking but i have not read of any refunds. good luck. our daughter is so pissed she wants to take them to small claims court.

[Level six]

18 minutes ago, Viv0828 said:

 

please, you were so nice to me - try again to negotiate with HAL about a refund or a transfer to a different cruise. our TA, who booked the cruise, is doing that for us. i have read of some folks having good sucess rebooking but i have not read of any refunds. good luck. our daughter is so pissed she wants to take them to small claims court.

 

Thanks, but it has caused me so much stress this week I ended up getting sick, it is not worth it.  Plus, I honestly will never step foot on a HAL ship again, even if it were free, so I am not interested in rebooking.  I would rather lose the money.  

 

I feel the same support for you.  I hope it works out for you.  Nice people deserve good things.  Good luck.  

[sail7seas]

13 hours ago, Viv0828 said:

 

please, you were so nice to me - try again to negotiate with HAL about a refund or a transfer to a different cruise. our TA, who booked the cruise, is doing that for us. i have read of some folks having good success rebooking but i have not read of any refunds. good luck. our daughter is so pissed she wants to take them to small claims court.

 

 

A suit against HAL must be brought  in  locale so designated in our cruise documents.   I think that could be State of Washington,  City of Seattle.  I am not an attorney and  do not have a copy of docs  handy which I  could have used for verification.  Small claims does not require counsel.Verify the rules of small claims, as to is  there a limit  as to a possible  max amount  one can sue for in  that venue.

 

 

[Viv0828]

1 hour ago, sail7seas said:

A suit against HAL must be brought  in  locale so designated in our cruise documents.   I think that could be State of Washington,  City of Seattle.

 

my neice lives in tacoma just south of seattle. she lives for conflict!

[Tampa Girl]

On 2/2/2020 at 2:05 PM, mcrcruiser said:

And Hong Kong is part of China  .what is HAL thinking of ?

 

Perhaps I am misunderstanding your comment, but what would you have suggested that HAL do?  Leave the passengers stranded in Hong Kong?  Weren't the passengers from the Westerdam?

[SilvertoGold]

19 hours ago, gilboman said:

well the US gov't has no restrictions on Hong Kong either. Hong Kong is not same as mainland china

 Hong Kong borders southern China.  Any number of people could have crossed over.

[TAD2005]

The Diamond Princess has an actual passenger onboard right now who is confirmed with the virus.   He is 80 years old, and traveled from Hong Kong to Yokohama, Japan to board the Diamond for a 5 day cruise.   He has symptoms before boarding,  and he was quarantined on board.   The whole ship is quarantined in Japan for a minimum of 24 hours and no one can leave until Japanese authorities check every passenger.   

[AncientWanderer]

8 minutes ago, TAD2005 said:

The Diamond Princess has an actual passenger onboard right now who is confirmed with the virus.   He is 80 years old, and traveled from Hong Kong to Yokohama, Japan to board the Diamond for a 5 day cruise.   He has symptoms before boarding,  and he was quarantined on board.   The whole ship is quarantined in Japan for a minimum of 24 hours and no one can leave until Japanese authorities check every passenger.   

 

I don't think that is exactly what has unfolded here, but I won't try to make corrections because I'd probably be wrong as well.  There is a thread on the Princess board that sets out the timeline pretty well.  It is for sure a source of concern.

 

This virus event is sort of like that old telephone game; the story changes each time it is re-told.

[Level six]

 

 

I don't know if this is reliable or not, but?

 

https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Diamond-Princess-quarantined-in-Japan

[sail7seas]

6 hours ago, Viv0828 said:

 

my neice lives in tacoma just south of seattle. she lives for conflict!

 

 

Well, that does simplify lots about that possible 'road block'

 

"She lives for "conflict"     LOL    🤗

[IRL_Joanie]

On 2/2/2020 at 7:10 PM, sail7seas said:

We can all  guess bu t, is there someone  here  who would  really know if an entire ship fully  crewed and full of guests could/would be quarantined.  Hypotheticals  are not my favorite but my

 

guess, is Yes.  If there were confirmed cases of the virus, they would  load  necessary provisions, tie up the ship, quarantine all   on board and only those who would assist in  taking care of the ill and assessing the situation would  come aboard.  CDC , NIH,  in   (  U.S.),   WHO and the like

 

bUT it would be terrific if someone here could give a reliable response    to a very interesting (IMO)  question.

 

 

 

 

 

I think the cruise line(s) have to wait to see what official responses are from varying agencies, CDC, US Embassy, and other types of carriers such as Airlines and possibly Cargo ships.

 

This morning my Yahoo News has this: "Frankfurt am Main (AFP) - Cruise lines worldwide will deny boarding to passengers and crew who have recently travelled to China, a global industry body said Monday, as fears grow over the deadly new coronavirus." Full story here: https://www.yahoo.com/news/cruise-ships-ban-recent-china-visitors-global-industry-102710302.html

 

I believe that everyone is trying their darndest to keep the Corona Virus from spreading and killing millions.

 

Joanie

[zelker]

Ran across this yesterday: 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/st-lucia-turns-away-cruise-ship-due-to-coronavirus-concerns/ar-BBZBtu0?ocid=spartanntp

 

As anyone who's ever been on a cruise ship knows, no ship is ever 100% illness-free, and lately it seems like there are more and more people on board who are walking around the ship coughing and sneezing and blowing their noses.  If ports are going to start turning away ships because there are crew and pax with upper respiratory illness not specifically diagnosed as coronavirus, no ship will ever be allowed to dock.