Norwegian Unresponsive to the Coronavirus in Asia

[onetimearoundtheworld]

Banning people because of their passport regardless of the fact if they even have been to an affected country. If that isn't xenophobic what is it. Hope RCI gets the backlash they deserve for that. 

[elwood_98034]

15 minutes ago, blcruising said:

"as well as in the ports we visit."

Someone is paying attention. Trying to control the spread.

[Bonobochick]

15 minutes ago, onetimearoundtheworld said:

Banning people because of their passport regardless of the fact if they even have been to an affected country.

 

I get the point you're trying to make but in this case, they're carrying passports from countries affected which means their residence is in affected countries. 

[luv2kroooz]

16 minutes ago, onetimearoundtheworld said:

Banning people because of their passport regardless of the fact if they even have been to an affected country. If that isn't xenophobic what is it. Hope RCI gets the backlash they deserve for that. 

Not sure what you are reading but I don't think what you wrote accurately describes RCLs press release.

 

[onetimearoundtheworld]

2 minutes ago, Bonobochick said:

I get the point you're trying to make but in this case, they're carrying passports from countries affected which means their residence is in affected countries. 

 

For the vast majority sure, but not necessary. They already had the standard restriction of not having traveled to Greater China in the last weeks. Whatever passport you have doesn't change anything.

 

What it does change is the perception to protect their US customer base who wants to cruise out of an American port, visit places like the Caribbean or Mexico and feel safer with announcements like that. Yes I believe that fuels xenophobia and there have been reports of people with asian descent in western countries getting treated differently since the outbreak. That is exactly what it is about and I don't think it is appropriate of a global operating company to act like that. And stuff like that shouldn't have a place in our world anymore. 

[elwood_98034]

3 minutes ago, Bonobochick said:

 

I get the point you're trying to make but in this case, they're carrying passports from countries affected which means their residence is in affected countries. 

The sad fact is, people will lie about where they have been if to be truthful means they will be quarantined. If you have kids/pets at home and rent that needs to be paid you will lie. 

I have two passports, but I only live in one of the countries, and rarely go to the other. But as I have kids, and a job, etc., if some immigration dude in some nasty foreign country looked like he was going to lock me up with a bunch of sick people for a couple of weeks just because I had travelled through somewhere, I would lie my ass off just to get home. 100%.

[electro]

14 minutes ago, Bonobochick said:

 

I get the point you're trying to make but in this case, they're carrying passports from countries affected which means their residence is in affected countries. 

No it doesn't.

Your place of residence doesn't have to be the same place that your passport is issued. 

I lived in the US for 4 years but have a Canadian passport.

[Bonobochick]

28 minutes ago, electro said:

No it doesn't.

Your place of residence doesn't have to be the same place that your passport is issued. 

I lived in the US for 4 years but have a Canadian passport.

 

Then in that case, you provide additional documentation. Would it be far fetched that others in situations similar to yours in this scenario would then do the same?

[Liljo22]

47 minutes ago, blcruising said:

Not sure what you are reading but I don't think what you wrote accurately describes RCLs press release.

 

No.  That was accruate.  From RCCL's website.

 

Through the month of February 2020, any guest that holds a Chinese, Hong Kong, or Macau passport, will be unable to board any of our ships, regardless of residency.

 

[luv2kroooz]

1 minute ago, Liljo22 said:

No.  That was accruate.  From RCCL's website.

 

Through the month of February 2020, any guest that holds a Chinese, Hong Kong, or Macau passport, will be unable to board any of our ships, regardless of residency.

 

Celebrity doesn't say that. 

 

CORONAVIRUS

We are closely monitoring global developments regarding the coronavirus, and we are fully focused on protecting the health and safety of our guests and crew.

 

After consultation with CDC, WHO and other public health authorities, we are implementing several measures to protect guests and crew. These steps are intentionally conservative and apply to anyone boarding our ships, guests and crew alike. We apologize for the inconvenience created by these precautionary measures.

 

Until further notice, all ships in the Royal Caribbean
Cruises Ltd. fleet will adopt these health screening protocols:

 

1. Regardless of nationality, we will deny boarding to any individual who has travelled from, to or through mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau in the past 15 days. 

 

2. Regardless of nationality, we will deny boarding to any individual that has come in contact with anyone that has travelled from, to or through mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau in the past 15 days.  The CDC characterizes contact with an individual as coming within a six feet (2M) of a person.

 

3. There will be mandatory specialized health screenings performed on:

 

All holders of China, Hong Kong and Macau passports, regardless of country of residency and when they were last in China, Hong Kong or Macau.

Guests who are uncertain about contact with individuals who have traveled from, to or through mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau in the past 15 days;

 

Guests who report feeling unwell or demonstrate any flu-like symptoms;

 

Any guest presenting with fever or low blood oximetry in the specialized health screening will be denied boarding.

 

All guests that are denied boarding due to these restrictions will receive full refunds. We have cancelled eight China sailings through March 4th on Spectrum of the Seas, our only ship currently homeported in China. Guests will receive full refunds for these cancellations. We have rigorous medical protocols in place to help passengers and crew members who feel unwell while sailing. Our protocols include professional medical treatment; quarantine of unwell individuals from the general ship population; and intensified ship cleaning, air filtration, and sanitization procedures. We are assessing developments constantly and will update these measures, as needed. Guests with questions may contact the customer care department of our individual cruise lines. 

 

 

[Newleno]

2 hours ago, elwood_98034 said:

I was reading a Science article last night. It was quite long, but boiled down to the scientists don't really know for sure where this is headed yet. It is still early days because they are having problems getting reliable information out of China for various reasons, and are having to rely on what is coming out of Western countries, where it is still extremely early days, and there is little reliable information as yet. Some scientists suspect it probably will become a pandemic, but of course nothing is a given. Another thing, there has been a case where a person was shedding virus but had minimal symptoms. Also, a passenger on the Princess ship tested positive, but had no symptoms. Does that make her a carrier? I don't know.

What I do know is that the hospital system I work for has set up one hospital with an isolation unit. It is the same one they set up for Ebola a few years ago. All patients who test positive within the hospital system are to be sent there, as they have specialized staff and equipment. Another hospital that I know of is asking for volunteers to be part of a special unit to just deal with virus patients if they get any.

As I said, the scientists consider this to be extremely early days, and have no idea where this is headed, how bad it will get, or how long it will go on for. What I did see this morning is that there has been 6,000 new cases reported in China in two days, and the Japanese Transport Minister is urging regional governors to close all ports to cruise ships. A guy on the radio last night was saying that the estimates of 100,000 cases in China are probably conservative, and that they are under reporting.

Stay safe my friends.

very informative thanks

[Newleno]

51 minutes ago, onetimearoundtheworld said:

 

For the vast majority sure, but not necessary. They already had the standard restriction of not having traveled to Greater China in the last weeks. Whatever passport you have doesn't change anything.

 

What it does change is the perception to protect their US customer base who wants to cruise out of an American port, visit places like the Caribbean or Mexico and feel safer with announcements like that. Yes I believe that fuels xenophobia and there have been reports of people with asian descent in western countries getting treated differently since the outbreak. That is exactly what it is about and I don't think it is appropriate of a global operating company to act like that. And stuff like that shouldn't have a place in our world anymore. 

it is all about preventing a new mutated virus from turning into a world wide pandemic  that is the goal but some people are gonna believe what they want  and fuel all sorts of unfounded ideas about the "real" reason.

[D C]

2 hours ago, elwood_98034 said:

I was reading a Science article last night. It was quite long, but boiled down to the scientists don't really know for sure where this is headed yet. It is still early days because they are having problems getting reliable information out of China for various reasons, and are having to rely on what is coming out of Western countries, where it is still extremely early days, and there is little reliable information as yet. Some scientists suspect it probably will become a pandemic, but of course nothing is a given. Another thing, there has been a case where a person was shedding virus but had minimal symptoms. Also, a passenger on the Princess ship tested positive, but had no symptoms. Does that make her a carrier? I don't know.

What I do know is that the hospital system I work for has set up one hospital with an isolation unit. It is the same one they set up for Ebola a few years ago. All patients who test positive within the hospital system are to be sent there, as they have specialized staff and equipment. Another hospital that I know of is asking for volunteers to be part of a special unit to just deal with virus patients if they get any.

As I said, the scientists consider this to be extremely early days, and have no idea where this is headed, how bad it will get, or how long it will go on for. What I did see this morning is that there has been 6,000 new cases reported in China in two days, and the Japanese Transport Minister is urging regional governors to close all ports to cruise ships. A guy on the radio last night was saying that the estimates of 100,000 cases in China are probably conservative, and that they are under reporting.

Stay safe my friends.

Oddly enough, if the # of cases was 100,000 that would be a good thing mortality-wise.....if the number of deaths wasn't proportionately higher as well.   More cases without more deaths means the mortality rate is lower than calculated with fewer cases.   Influenza kills a lot of people, but a REALLY lot of people contract it, so the mortality rate is very small.   

[Norwegian Cruise Line]

The safety, security and well-being of our guests and crew is our number one priority. We have proactively implemented several preventative measures outlined below due to growing concerns regarding Coronavirus infections in China. We will continue to consult with The World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and take appropriate additional action as needed. 

 

Policies currently in place include:

• Any guest that holds a Chinese, Hong Kong, or Macau passport, will be unable to board any of our ships, regardless of residency.

 

• 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.

• • Guests who are denied boarding will be issued a refund when they provide proof of travel.

 

• The recent Hong Kong port closure will result in itinerary modifications and we will share the revised itinerary as well as further details as they become available.

 

• Prior to the port closure in Hong Kong, we implemented non-touch temperature screenings for all passengers embarking from this destination and any guest who registered a body temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius or higher, were not allowed to board. Guests on these voyages were also subject to temperature screenings when returning from shore excursions at ports of call.

• • Guests who were unable to sail due to a high temperature were advised to open a travel insurance claim with their insurance provider.

 

• For all guests, we will continue standard pre-boarding health reporting and evaluation. Any guests who appear symptomatic are subject to pre-boarding medical evaluations including but not limited to temperature checks as deemed necessary.

 

• Any guest who exhibits symptoms of any respiratory illness while on board will be subject to additional screening at our onboard Medical Center and may be subject to potential quarantine and disembarkation.

 

• We have implemented additional cleaning and disinfection protocols on board all voyages. These protocols will be enforced in addition to our already rigorous sanitization standards in place.

 

• Any of our crew members that hold a Chinese, Hong Kong, or Macau passport, will not be allowed to board any of our ships, regardless of residency.  In addition, crew members who have traveled from, visited or transited via airports in China, including Hong Kong and Macau within 30 days will not be allowed on board our ships.

 

• Singapore and the Philippines are not currently allowing Chinese nationals to disembark at their ports. Guests with a Chinese passport who are traveling on voyages that disembark in one of these regions will not be allowed on board our ships. If additional port restrictions are put into place we may have to modify this policy as needed.
  • Guests who are denied boarding due to this will be issued a refund.

 

The above measures will remain in effect until further notice and are subject to change at any time as we evaluate the situation and continue to consult with local health authorities as well as the WHO and U.S. CDC. 

 

At this time, we have made a number of itinerary changes and none of our vessels are currently calling to ports in mainland China.  We also have the flexibility to alter our itineraries as needed to avoid areas of concern. All itineraries that call in mainland China for the next six months are currently under review and we will communicate any itinerary revisions as soon as possible. As always, we will closely monitor the situation and take appropriate action as necessary.

 

We apologize for the inconvenience to any guests affected by these measures put in place to ensure the safety and well-being of all our guests and crew. 

[luv2kroooz]

I was waiting for the 5 pm announcement on a Friday. Thank you.

[willsears94]

Right on time.

[hamrag]

4 minutes ago, blcruising said:

I was waiting for the 5 pm announcement on a Friday. Thank you.

You really can't help yourself! 😏

[luv2kroooz]

Just now, hamrag said:

You really can't help yourself! 😏

Thanks for noticing!

[MazzyKn]

9 minutes ago, Norwegian Cruise Line said:

The safety, security and well-being of our guests and crew is our number one priority. We have proactively implemented several preventative measures outlined below due to growing concerns regarding Coronavirus infections in China. We will continue to consult with The World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and take appropriate additional action as needed. 

 

Policies currently in place include:

• Any guest that holds a Chinese, Hong Kong, or Macau passport, will be unable to board any of our ships, regardless of residency.

 

• 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.

• • Guests who are denied boarding will be issued a refund when they provide proof of travel.

 

• The recent Hong Kong port closure will result in itinerary modifications and we will share the revised itinerary as well as further details as they become available.

 

• Prior to the port closure in Hong Kong, we implemented non-touch temperature screenings for all passengers embarking from this destination and any guest who registered a body temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius or higher, were not allowed to board. Guests on these voyages were also subject to temperature screenings when returning from shore excursions at ports of call.

• • Guests who were unable to sail due to a high temperature were advised to open a travel insurance claim with their insurance provider.

 

• For all guests, we will continue standard pre-boarding health reporting and evaluation. Any guests who appear symptomatic are subject to pre-boarding medical evaluations including but not limited to temperature checks as deemed necessary.

 

• Any guest who exhibits symptoms of any respiratory illness while on board will be subject to additional screening at our onboard Medical Center and may be subject to potential quarantine and disembarkation.

 

• We have implemented additional cleaning and disinfection protocols on board all voyages. These protocols will be enforced in addition to our already rigorous sanitization standards in place.

 

• Any of our crew members that hold a Chinese, Hong Kong, or Macau passport, will not be allowed to board any of our ships, regardless of residency.  In addition, crew members who have traveled from, visited or transited via airports in China, including Hong Kong and Macau within 30 days will not be allowed on board our ships.

 

• Singapore and the Philippines are not currently allowing Chinese nationals to disembark at their ports. Guests with a Chinese passport who are traveling on voyages that disembark in one of these regions will not be allowed on board our ships. If additional port restrictions are put into place we may have to modify this policy as needed.
  • Guests who are denied boarding due to this will be issued a refund.

 

The above measures will remain in effect until further notice and are subject to change at any time as we evaluate the situation and continue to consult with local health authorities as well as the WHO and U.S. CDC. 

 

At this time, we have made a number of itinerary changes and none of our vessels are currently calling to ports in mainland China.  We also have the flexibility to alter our itineraries as needed to avoid areas of concern. All itineraries that call in mainland China for the next six months are currently under review and we will communicate any itinerary revisions as soon as possible. As always, we will closely monitor the situation and take appropriate action as necessary.

 

We apologize for the inconvenience to any guests affected by these measures put in place to ensure the safety and well-being of all our guests and crew. 

You have cancelled all NCL Spirit sailings to Asia from April due to the Corona Virus, however you are expecting thousands of guests to travel to Singapore over the coming weeks to board NCL Jade. Many will spend several days in Singapore before boarding the ship. Singapore has the 2nd largest number of Corona Virus cases and is on Orange alert. Clearly the safety of passengers and crew is not your number one priority. If it were you would allow passengers to cancel with a full refund.

 

[Lou33]

Hey NCL, thank you for posting updates here.  Will you take a minute to read concerns of a long time customer who is booked on the Jade Feb 17th sailing:

 

The thing that I'm upset about is that NCL is basically holding us hostage and forcing us to do something that we feel may not be safe.  And we have good reason based on the events of the last few days.  We can't afford to lose our cruise payment so we are basically forced to go and hope for the best.  We would have been happy to do a future cruise of equal or greater value.  Passengers on Royal Quantum were offered this option when their similar cruise was also changed to Singapore round trip:

 

While we’re taking every precaution possible to avoid the spread of this virus and maintain a safe and healthy environment onboard all of our ships, it’s important to us that if you prefer to remain at home, you may do so. If you want to postpone your cruise and come back at a later time, we will provide you with a 100% Future Cruise Credit in hopes that you’ll join us again in the near future.

 

I was just on the phone with an agent and her supervisor, and the supervisor (Elizabeth) was quite rude, had no interest in listening to my concerns, and I didn't sense any compassion from her.  She kept reminding me that I didn't have NCL insurance with cancel for any reason.  Excuse me, but I chose to buy other insurance and we are covered for normal health and travel issues.  I never expected to need insurance because I felt the cruise may not be safe.   But I'm even more concerned about the chance that our ship may be banned from ports or quarantined if Singapore should have questions about the health of the passengers and crew.  The Jade Feb 17 sailing just seems like an "incident waiting to happen".

 

If NCL could offer to exchange our cruise for FCC, it wouldn't hurt their bottom line that much as they would be keeping our money.  And since our air travel is through NCL, they could recoup that part from the airlines.  If our ship should get quarantined or refused docking at the destination, like three other ships in Asia, then NCL would have an easier time if there are fewer people on the ship.  Their approach doesn't seem to make sense, but I know that we are now considering canceling a future NCL cruise.  I will hope for the best, but if there is a major incident, they may lose a lot of customers.

Edited February 7, 2020 by Lou33

[Masekr11]

32 minutes ago, Norwegian Cruise Line said:

The safety, security and well-being of our guests and crew is our number one priority. We have proactively implemented several preventative measures outlined below due to growing concerns regarding Coronavirus infections in China. We will continue to consult with The World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and take appropriate additional action as needed. 

No NCL, money is your number one priority. As others have said, you canceled other Asian cruises starting in April due to the Coronavirus but refuse to cancel the one leaving 2/17 from a country that ranks in the top 3 reported cases of Coronavirus. Singapore recently raised their alert to orange and you expect passengers to travel there?  Everyday there are news stories about ships being quarantined or turned away. You refuse refunds or even credits and hide behind your contract instead of doing the moral thing and allowing flexibility. You change the port 11 days before sailing and state you will pay “reasonable” airfare changes yet fail to state how much you are willing to reimburse. So I pay several thousand dollars to change my flight and NCL will probably reject that because it isn’t “reasonable”. Numerous airlines, hotels, cruise lines, etc. are being flexible and offering refunds but not NCL. Your response is not proactive rather it is reactive. You didn’t change the HK port until it was closed and now you are forcing this cruise when it’s clearly unsafe.  

[Starry Eyes]

2 hours ago, onetimearoundtheworld said:

Banning people because of their passport regardless of the fact if they even have been to an affected country. If that isn't xenophobic what is it. Hope RCI gets the backlash they deserve for that. 

It looks like RCI now has company.  Per the recent post (#315), NCL now has a similar ban.  Rather than xenophobia, I wonder if ports of call and disembarkation ports want to see passenger manifests without said passports.  

 

I think it stinks for the passport holder living in a low risk area who associates with low risk individuals to be denied boarding.  Though In the face of rising panic, maybe it could come to pass that such a person might arguably be better off safely at home (one thing worse than being denied boarding would be being denied disembarkation/re-entry).

[Lou33]

55 minutes ago, Masekr11 said:

No NCL, money is your number one priority...........

 

Very well said.  The Jade Feb 17 cruise in particular is an "incident waiting to happen".    In the next few weeks you may see pictures of the Jade all over the news, and people may be asking how could any company force passengers onto that ship knowing the risks?  The Jade has called in Hong Kong and Singapore several times since the outbreak started.  This Feb 17  sailing may have more risk than any cruise that is still scheduled.

 

I don't know if the Royal Quantum is still scheduled to leave Singapore on Feb 15.  But here's the big difference.  Royal gave their passengers a choice to take FCC.  If that ship should be quarantined, and least those passengers will know that they weren't forced onto the ship. 

Here's a message for NCL executives.  What would you do if you had family or friends who are booked on that cruise?  Would you force them to go?  Would you pull a few strings to help them?

Edited February 7, 2020 by Lou33

[AliciaandMark]

NCL’s formal response as listed above has some significant flaws and therefore feels disingenuous! Cancelling cruises in Asia from April due to risks associated directly with the Coronavirus as outlined in their written advice to passengers yesterday, yet for some reason feeling as though the Jade sailings happening right now in the midst of the epidemic don’t hold the same risks or consideration. Knowing that the majority of people travelling will not be covered by their insurance policies which largely  exclude epidemics in the event of illness or disruption to the current sailings and yet still not being willing to offer FCC (I’m not even advocating for refund!) in good faith and in return for loyalty to the brand. So many other cruise lines have demonstrated what it looks like to REALLY put their crew and passengers first, I for one will be choosing future cruises with those lines. NCL has lost my business and no doubt that of many others caught up in this epidemic. NCL communication and response to this issue has been appalling in my opinion. 

[luv2kroooz]

That's well said. And ultimately it is the right answer. Call it what you want but at the end of the day we have the free choice to support or not support this business. This is the kind of stuff that separates solid companies from average companies. And I can't imagine a company being worse than NCL at customer service....maybe equally as bad (maybe IRS?)...but how could they be worse?

 

They've continued to state their concern, for safety and well-being via posts here on cruisecritic (does any other cruiselines do that?), but most fair minded people observe their actions which are in direct contradiction as evidenced by the negative reaction in this forum.

 

They clearly know they are operating in a high risk geographic area. But they apparently have no problem incurring the risk of sailing a ship with their crew and officers into these areas. They have no problem asking customers to travel through and around these areas. They apparently have no concern about infecting people in the ports of call to which they sail. They have no concern about a possible quarantine situation such as Diamond Princess or a stranded at sea situation such as Westerdam.

 

The best thing that could happen right now for passengers booked on the Feb 17 departure would be for governments to continue to close ports. This is the only opportunity that I see to curb this greedy, reckless and careless cruise lines behavior.