Corona virus RCI policy

[3monkeys4me]

12 hours ago, ccsclean21 said:

I was in Asia in April last year and the Chinese had temperature monitoring at the airports with officials wearing masks and gloves and a hell of lot of Chinese wearing masks as well and there was no mention of any viruses back then so why the monitoring stations and masks. It really makes you wonder.

 

I wouldn't read too much into that. That has been pretty much my experience traveling through Asia for the last 5 or 6 years at least. October 2018 Japan was doing a temporal temperature check on all kids under 13. The same for Korea, only it was kids under 12 in Feb. 2018. I've not flown into an airport anywhere in Asia since 2015 or so and not at least walked through the scanners that were checking everyone's body temperature as they were walking through. And even I wear a mash when I have the slightish hint of a cold when traveling there, as it is the norm.  

[rich_cathybrock]

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/anthem-of-the-seas-updates

 

I guess we will know shortly what comes next for Anthem, at least on this sailing.  It is looking more like they will defer departure to tomorrow, and who knows what comes next?

 

We are all worried about how this outbreak will impact our travel plans, myself included, as we are scheduled to sail Anthem on March 1.  The real question is, will travel plans remain our greatest worry, or will this disease go unchecked and possibly land on our shores, regardless of who transmits it?  

 

I trust Royal and the CDC to make the best decisions they can with the information they currently have available.  I also bear responsibility for deciding for myself what to do when it comes to sailing time. 

 

If this outbreak remains unchecked and spreads, we will have more to worry about than the cost of a flight or a cruise.   I pray for a cure more than my next vacation.  Just saying...

 

[LoveTheSoul]

3 minutes ago, rich_cathybrock said:

If this outbreak remains unchecked and spreads, we will have more to worry about than the cost of a flight or a cruise.   I pray for a cure more than my next vacation.  

Absolutely agree. There are some who have died from this virus and while we want to enjoy a vacation and make memories with our loved one, we must remind ourselves what is most important. 

[Unicorns]

4 minutes ago, LoveTheSoul said:

Absolutely agree. There are some who have died from this virus and while we want to enjoy a vacation and make memories with our loved one, we must remind ourselves what is most important. 

Totally agree 

[Mrs CruisinCritter]

14 minutes ago, rich_cathybrock said:

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/anthem-of-the-seas-updates

 

I guess we will know shortly what comes next for Anthem, at least on this sailing.  It is looking more like they will defer departure to tomorrow, and who knows what comes next?

 

We are all worried about how this outbreak will impact our travel plans, myself included, as we are scheduled to sail Anthem on March 1.  The real question is, will travel plans remain our greatest worry, or will this disease go unchecked and possibly land on our shores, regardless of who transmits it?  

 

I trust Royal and the CDC to make the best decisions they can with the information they currently have available.  I also bear responsibility for deciding for myself what to do when it comes to sailing time. 

 

If this outbreak remains unchecked and spreads, we will have more to worry about than the cost of a flight or a cruise.   I pray for a cure more than my next vacation.  Just saying...

 

The link you shared states the departure is delayed until Monday due to the length of time it is taking the CDC to process the test because of the high volume of tests they’ve received.
 

RCL is offering full refunds for anyone choosing not to sail on the shortened voyage. They are also offering to pay for hotels or flight change fees. Up to $200 reimbursement for hotels. Also up to $200 for domestic flight change fees and $400 for international change fees. 

Edited February 8, 2020 by Mrs CruisinCritter

[rich_cathybrock]

Thank you @LoveTheSoul and @Unicorns! 

 

I had just posted when the update came from Royal regarding refunds for passengers, and even airfare and hotel offsets for those impacted.  Their phone lines must be swamped, as they told customers "If you do not show up to the pier on Monday, we will understand that you decided not join us and we will automatically process your refund."  Refunds don't even appear to be tied to insurance, so Royal is clearly backing their customers, at least for now.

 

If enough people are a no-show, the current Anthem sailing may just be cancelled in another "abundance of caution", but if she sails, this might be one fabulous cruise, since those who do sail probably won't have to fight for a deck chair, and will have the run of one of the most beautiful ships in Royal's fleet. 

 

What comes in the next days and weeks, no one knows.  Meantime, I pray there is a way to curtail this Corona thing, and soon.   

[Unicorns]

5 minutes ago, rich_cathybrock said:

Thank you @LoveTheSoul and @Unicorns! 

 

I had just posted when the update came from Royal regarding refunds for passengers, and even airfare and hotel offsets for those impacted.  Their phone lines must be swamped, as they told customers "If you do not show up to the pier on Monday, we will understand that you decided not join us and we will automatically process your refund."  Refunds don't even appear to be tied to insurance, so Royal is clearly backing their customers, at least for now.

 

If enough people are a no-show, the current Anthem sailing may just be cancelled in another "abundance of caution", but if she sails, this might be one fabulous cruise, since those who do sail probably won't have to fight for a deck chair, and will have the run of one of the most beautiful ships in Royal's fleet. 

 

What comes in the next days and weeks, no one knows.  Meantime, I pray there is a way to curtail this Corona thing, and soon.   

At last, relief for so many, take care and hopefully people can now sort things out 

[xxHadleyxx]

2 hours ago, alfaeric said:

Honest question- if you saw people that were Asian, would you walk up to them or walk around them right now?

 

I'm betting that most people, including fellow Asians, will be cautious and keep their distance.  

 

Fear of getting sick when the largest segment of people who have been exposed are from China is kind of a hard problem to balance between being fair and not getting sick.

 

Same thing would happen if this came out if Ireland- I would keep my distance from any other European.

Honest answer, no I'm not planning on avoiding the girl in the GS troop which I lead, whose mother is originally from China. Or her mom at Tuesday's meeting.  I wasn't bothered that several members of the flight crew as I went from Toronto to Germany today appeared to be of Asian descent--- the one in our area I'd guess as Chinese or Korean ancestry if I had to try. I can't promise I never have a racist reaction, but I sure as heck don't intentionally do it.  There's no reason to believe flight crew on a YYZ-FRA flight operated by Air Canada was recently in China after all.

 

Did I have fleeting worries about airports in general right now and wash my hands even more often and more thoroughly than usual?  Yes.  But that's about the extent of it.

Edited February 8, 2020 by xxHadleyxx

[alfaeric]

48 minutes ago, xxHadleyxx said:

Honest answer, no I'm not planning on avoiding the girl in the GS troop which I lead, whose mother is originally from China. Or her mom at Tuesday's meeting.  I wasn't bothered that several members of the flight crew as I went from Toronto to Germany today appeared to be of Asian descent--- the one in our area I'd guess as Chinese or Korean ancestry if I had to try. I can't promise I never have a racist reaction, but I sure as heck don't intentionally do it.  There's no reason to believe flight crew on a YYZ-FRA flight operated by Air Canada was recently in China after all.

 

Did I have fleeting worries about airports in general right now and wash my hands even more often and more thoroughly than usual?  Yes.  But that's about the extent of it.

Thinking about it, I should clarify-

For someone you DON'T know-  would you really walk up to someone who looked Asian, or would you try to avoid them?  

I applaud you for not over reacting, but I do suspect that your honesty that it could happen to you to avoid people you don't know is the reality in the world right now.  People are scared.  And it's not as if China is helping.

[dotwarner]

6 hours ago, alfaeric said:

Honest question- if you saw people that were Asian, would you walk up to them or walk around them right now?

 

I'm betting that most people, including fellow Asians, will be cautious and keep their distance.  

 

Fear of getting sick when the largest segment of people who have been exposed are from China is kind of a hard problem to balance between being fair and not getting sick.

 

Same thing would happen if this came out if Ireland- I would keep my distance from any other European.

 

I live in a major city and  just went shopping in an Asian grocery store this afternoon. My husband asked if I wanted to get Chinese takeout tonight. I haven't decided, but the virus will have no bearing on my decision. I'm appalled that you would avoid the diaspora of an entire race of people, many of whom have never been to China and have no connection to China. 

 

By the way, I see from your profile that you live in Michigan which, except for small pockets, is majority Caucasian. If the virus came out of Ireland, I don't believe for one second that you would actively avoid every single European ancestry person you see, as you claim. 

Edited February 8, 2020 by dotwarner

[mugtech]

6 hours ago, pink845 said:

For those people complaining about RCCL and their travel restrictions, Norwegian has also imposed very rigid restrictions.  Note the 30 days while RCCL is 14 days.

 

Guests who have traveled from, visited or transited via airports in China, including Hong Kong and Macau, within 30 days of their voyage embarkation, regardless of nationality, will not be allowed to board any of our vessels. The standard incubation period recognized by the WHO and U.S. CDC for this virus is 14 days. 

Except NCL did not follow its own rules  The Jade is currently in Thailand, reportedly dumping a few hundred pax who cannot be on the ship or the next stop, Vietnam, will not allow them in port.  Wonder what it is like to get kicked off the ship in Thailand. 

[alfaeric]

3 hours ago, dotwarner said:

 

I live in a major city and  just went shopping in an Asian grocery store this afternoon. My husband asked if I wanted to get Chinese takeout tonight. I haven't decided, but the virus will have no bearing on my decision. I'm appalled that you would avoid the diaspora of an entire race of people, many of whom have never been to China and have no connection to China. 

 

By the way, I see from your profile that you live in Michigan which, except for small pockets, is majority Caucasian. If the virus came out of Ireland, I don't believe for one second that you would actively avoid every single European ancestry person you see, as you claim. 

Good for you, but you don't have to be a jerk about my honest question.  Given the fear mongering going on, you really expect people to be like you?  Especially since they are now asking if you are interacting with anyone from China, Hong Kong, or Macau?  

 

Human nature can be pretty nasty.  As can people who pretend that they are better than everyone else....

[dotwarner]

1 hour ago, alfaeric said:

Good for you, but you don't have to be a jerk about my honest question.  Given the fear mongering going on, you really expect people to be like you?  Especially since they are now asking if you are interacting with anyone from China, Hong Kong, or Macau?  

 

Human nature can be pretty nasty.  As can people who pretend that they are better than everyone else....

 

They are not asking if you are interacting with anyone from China, Hong Kong, or Macau. They are asking if you have been interacting with people "who have traveled from, to or through mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau in the past 15 days."

 

But good job twisting their words from a very small subset - which by the way isn't dependent on race as there are MANY non Asian people who travel from, to, and through those countries - to a blanket avoidance of over a billion people based on your guess of their ethnicity. 

 

By the way, I know this sounds hard to believe, but there are more sub-Saharan Africans in China than there are Chinese in your home state of Michigan. I guess you're avoiding all black people too? 

Edited February 9, 2020 by dotwarner

[dotwarner]

(double post)

Edited February 9, 2020 by dotwarner

[The_Big_M]

10 hours ago, LoveTheSoul said:

Absolutely agree. There are some who have died from this virus and while we want to enjoy a vacation and make memories with our loved one, we must remind ourselves what is most important. 

 

The same as the flu and any other virus.

 

Let's not fearmonger and make like this is any worse than it is. There is no cure for a flu or other virii, either.

Edited February 9, 2020 by The_Big_M

[dotwarner]

(double post)

Edited February 9, 2020 by dotwarner

[dotwarner]

(double post)

[dotwarner]

1 hour ago, alfaeric said:

Good for you, but you don't have to be a jerk about my honest question.  Given the fear mongering going on, you really expect people to be like you?  Especially since they are now asking if you are interacting with anyone from China, Hong Kong, or Macau?  

 

Human nature can be pretty nasty.  As can people who pretend that they are better than everyone else....

 

48 minutes ago, dotwarner said:

 

They are not asking if you are interacting with anyone from China, Hong Kong, or Macau. They are asking if you have been interacting with people "who have traveled from, to or through mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau in the past 15 days."

 

But good job twisting their words from a very small subset - which by the way isn't dependent on race as there are MANY non Asian people who travel from, to, and through those countries - to a blanket avoidance of over a billion people based on your guess of their ethnicity. 

 

By the way, I know this sounds hard to believe, but there are more sub-Saharan Africans in China than there are Chinese in your home state of Michigan. I guess you're avoiding all black people too? 

 

There are also several times more white people in China than there are people of Chinese ethnicity in Michigan. Gotta avoid white people too. 

Edited February 9, 2020 by dotwarner

[PhoenixCruiser]

@dotwarner please stop

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[bonsai3s]

A high percentage of crew members...especially those in the dining room...are Asians.

[sfaaa]

18 hours ago, iceberg1116 said:

They might as well say "you can't board if you are Asian, know any Asian, walk by any Asian, or serve by any Asian. You should hole up for 2 weeks and drive to Port yourself."

Did RCCL say this or you are just making it up to stir the pot? 

[LoveTheSoul]

9 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

 

The same as the flu and any other virus.

 

Let's not fearmonger and make like this is any worse than it is. There is no cure for a flu or other virii, either.

Worse than it is? Have you seen what is going on in China?

Edited February 9, 2020 by LoveTheSoul

[dotwarner]

12 hours ago, PhoenixCruiser said:

@dotwarner please stop

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 

 

Stop pushing back against ignorance and racism? There is a poster who is actively avoiding anyone who looks to be of Asian ethnicity in Michigan, and he thinks that is perfectly reasonable. 

Edited February 9, 2020 by dotwarner

[mugtech]

Turned into a racism thread, still better than the NCL coronavirus thread, which turned into an insurance thread.

[The_Big_M]

12 hours ago, LoveTheSoul said:

Worse than it is? Have you seen what is going on in China?

 

Yes. Doesn't make fearmongering right.