Anyone else considering not cruising/traveling for the time being? ?

[HappyInVan]

Starting today on the 28^th, the WHO has changed the way it organizes its daily report...

 

 

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports/

 

 

From today onward, it has simplified the status of infected countries (currently 51 in number). You are either 'Imported cases only' (good) or 'Local transmission' (bad).

 

Imported cases refers to people infected abroad and have only infected their immediate circle. In this phase, the authorities are confident that they have identified and interrupted the 'chain of infection'.

 

On the other hand, local transmission means that the disease has escaped into the country and is possibly the beginning of an outbreak.

 

Obviously, the countries with high numbers of infected (China, Korea, Italy, Iran) are experiencing outbreaks.

 

Travelers need to pay attention to the countries with small numbers of reported infection, but described as 'local transmission'. Malaysia has not had a new case for 15 days. Looking good. So, current measures are working.

 

Australia has not had a new case for 3 days. The USA has not had a new case for 2 days. Fingers crossed.

 

Unfortunately, six European countries are currently described as 'local transmission'. Italy, France, Germany, Spain and UK are currently reporting new cases. Caveat Emptor.

 

I am happy to report that Canada is 'imported cases only'. Mexico and Central America have zero reports of infection.

 

[The Beaver]

13 hours ago, haligonian37 said:

My sister and her husband are booked on the Nieuw Statendam 14 day Baltic cruise departing in early May, which is her dream trip. They are in their mid to late 60's and have had their share of health issues in the past but went ahead with final payment a couple of weeks ago (and have cancellation/medical insurance up the wazoo). They plan on being hyper vigilant with disinfecting when/where possible and, as my sister (a cancer survivor) said: "we're going and it will be fabulous; what will be, will be".

We will be on this cruise also  and we have told each other that the only thing we can do is to be very vigilant with disinfecting  as your sister is planning to do , whether on board or on land when we will be on excursions. We came back from the Koning last September with a very bad cold , starting on the eve before disembarcation.  

 

I am more worried of catching something  whilst  on a metal tube for my ~ 7 hour flight from Montreal to Amsterdam with a couple of hundred of passengers. Hence I always carry packs  of disinfecting wipes for the IFE, or anything that I have to touch on board because the carriers don't do a good job of cleaning the passengers' areas in between flights and I don't know who has occupied  my seat during the previous flight.

Edited February 29, 2020 by The Beaver

[ger_77]

2 minutes ago, The Beaver said:

I am more worried of catching something  whilst  on a metal tube for my ~ 7 hour flight from Montreal to Amsterdam with a couple of hundred of passengers. Hence I always carry packs  of disinfecting wipes for the IFE, or anything that I have to touch on board because the carriers don't do a good job of cleaning the passengers' areas in between flights and I don't know who has occupied  my seat during the previous flight.

I agree wholeheartedly with you - to me the flight is more prone to passing along germs than any cruise we've been on.  I carry Clorox wipes and wipe down all possible surfaces that we touch.  After using the restroom, I use a wipe on my hands as soon as I get back to my seat.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[haligonian37]

5 hours ago, The Beaver said:

We will be on this cruise also  and we have told each other that the only thing we can do is to be very vigilant with disinfecting  as your sister is planning to do , whether on board or on land when we will be on excursions. We came back from the Koning last September with a very bad cold , starting on the eve before disembarcation.  

 

I am more worried of catching something  whilst  on a metal tube for my ~ 7 hour flight from Montreal to Amsterdam with a couple of hundred of passengers. Hence I always carry packs  of disinfecting wipes for the IFE, or anything that I have to touch on board because the carriers don't do a good job of cleaning the passengers' areas in between flights and I don't know who has occupied  my seat during the previous flight.

My sister & BIL are of the same mind, flying isn't exactly enjoyable at the best of times and, well, to put it mildly, humans can be disgusting. Unfortunately, it is a necessary evil for travel to Europe unless you can tack on a TA before your cruise (which they did consider!). They always prefer to fly via YUL instead of Pearson but were unsuccessful for this itinerary.

[SeaVuPlay]

On 2/28/2020 at 1:09 PM, calebandjess said:

We are booked on a Mediterranean cruise leaving Civitavecchia on June 27 and ending in Venice on July 9. We have dreamed of this vacation for years and are doing it for our ten year wedding anniversary. It’s nerve wrecking to not know how things are going to play out over the next few months, but we’re not canceling at this point. There’s really no telling what the condition of things will be like at that point. We’ve already paid in full and are hoping for the best. If HAL is forced to cancel our cruise, we’ll just let it get to that point and get reimbursement from them rather than preemptively canceling four months prior in an unpredictable situation. I’d hate to cancel only to see it blow over by then. 

We are in the same situation. We have already made our full payment and we have been dreaming of this cruise for a long time. We are booked with Med Empires May 15 on the Zuiderdam. We are just going to hope and pray for the best.  I hope HAL gives us some guidance soon, as I read the RCL has already taken measures to cancel sailings and ports in Venice. We wish you luck.

[Harters]

Our next trip, which includes a cruise, is at the end of May. Final payment is due on Monday. We plan to pay  and travel (the latter subject to any government advice not to travel). I expect things will be clearer by then.

 

By the by, there's a case diagnosed in a town twenty miles from home.

[Woofbite]

On 2/28/2020 at 6:02 AM, ozzie0075 said:

Have a cruise booked on the Nieuw Statendam leaving on April 5th. Still going and not concerned at this time. We will be diligent about washing our hands.  

We just got off her.  Boy, are you in for a treat.

 

[iancal]

If we were outside the final payment window we would definitely cancel now.

 

Two reasons.  First is uncertainty.  We are on the cusp of this issue, it could go either way.  Why take an unnecessary risk with your time and your money.  Bravado or hope does not mitigate risk in any manner.

 

Second.  We believe that many prudent people will not wait for any cruise line statement/decision.  I suspect a good many booked cruisers will protect their money and cancel.  This will actually create an opportunity for people to rebook inside the final payment window.  By then folks may have a clearer understanding of the situation AND  cruise prices have a good chance of being lower than they were.   A win on both counts.

Edited March 3, 2020 by iancal

[Mary229]

@iancal I agree with your response.  When you say you would cancel what timeline are you thinking?  I just cancelled US travel with my aged mother for the spring.  I have an upcoming June trip to Europe that I need to make a decision about soon?  Thoughts?

[ldog]

We are booked on a TA on the Rotterdam in April.  I'm not particularly worried about getting the virus but I am concerned that museums etc will be closed in Europe.  We have a booked a week in amsterdam/Paris after the cruise.  The Louvre is closed now.

[iancal]

IF we were on the fence we would keep our cruise reservation in place until a few days before the final payment date.    Little point in cancelling prior to that.  Make a decision at that point.  We all have different risk tolerances.  Even if we decided to cruise in June we would probably cancel in the hopes of rebooking at a lower rate inside the final payment window.  But that is us.  We have done exactly this once before.....when there was no C virus but we knew that bookings were light.
 

 

[FlorenceItaly]

19 minutes ago, ldog said:

We are booked on a TA on the Rotterdam in April.  I'm not particularly worried about getting the virus but I am concerned that museums etc will be closed in Europe.  We have a booked a week in amsterdam/Paris after the cruise.  The Louvre is closed now.

Surfer100 just posted this on another thread.  Perhaps this is an option for you.  This is what they posted:

 

I was able to roll my money in this Apr 4 transatlantic to a holiday cruise.

 

I also wrote emailed to HAL to ask that they make rebooking more flexible over coronavirus concerns.

 

Received this reply:

 

"Thank you for your recent correspondence with Holland America Line regarding the Coronavirus. We ask that you please call our special line for this issue at 1-800-577-1729. This line is available 7a-5p, Monday-Friday, 8a-5p Saturday and Sunday. All hours are Seattle time (PST)."

 

As always with this type of CC informational post, YMMV, and any current offers may change or disappear. 

 

[zltm089]

Following this thread.

 

I'm also on the fence and not sure if I should book my Alaska cruise. I'm not bothered with the virus itself but more about quarantined, cancellations, delays and closures etc. How how cruise companies are treating their customers with regards to refunds and compensation. 

[iancal]

I am of the opinion that the only person looking out for my financial interests is me.  Certainly not my bank, my broker, and especially not any cruise line.

[Taters]

I was cancelled off of the Westerdam transpacific from Yokohama to Vancouver beginning April 25th.  A few days later I booked 21 nights on Eurodam - B2B 4 night Pacific Coastal from Vancouver with the 17 night Hawaii r/t from Seattle.  Now Seattle is the hotspot with 9 fatalities in the past 2 days. 

 

I am going to wait it out like I did with Westerdam., but I have bad feelings about whether the cruise will really happen.  At this point I am not stressing at all - I just get to save the hours in my leave bank, I guess.  I'm resigned and sad, not feeling the panic like I did when I was waiting for news of the Westy cruise.

Edited March 3, 2020 by Taters

[Btimmer]

We have a cruise on the Maasdam to Mexico and ending in Vancouver, BC scheduled and paid for beginning April 15 and our current plans are to be on board.  We have a land trip in Europe for the first part of June that we likely will be canceling due to the proximity to current virus issues and the chance of being stranded in Europe without a return possibility.  For the Grand Africa cruise, we're waiting until June 5 to make a final decision.  We're not panicked, but just trying to be prudent.

 

[TiogaCruiser]

1 hour ago, Btimmer said:

We have a cruise on the Maasdam to Mexico and ending in Vancouver, BC scheduled and paid for beginning April 15 and our current plans are to be on board.  We have a land trip in Europe for the first part of June that we likely will be canceling due to the proximity to current virus issues and the chance of being stranded in Europe without a return possibility.  For the Grand Africa cruise, we're waiting until June 5 to make a final decision.  We're not panicked, but just trying to be prudent.

 

I’m on right before you, and I’m going.

Often I get an inside but this time I have an OV I’ve been wanting to try. 
 

Just in case I’ll pack a few DVDs and fill my iPad with extra books and videos. If we were to be isolated or quarantined I highly doubt they would be lending DVDs. 

[kayakcove]

We are booked with our adult son for 10 days in the Baltic on HA in July and we will continue to monitor as everyone else.  I am responding to this topic in response to the multiple negative comments on travel in Asia.  There certainly been issues with some cruises, but we just returned from an alternative option in Vietnam and Cambodia.  We were on an AMA Waterways 7-night Mekong river cruise with a total of 8 days land extension on the start and end. We never felt uneasy about exposures. There were 84 guests from 8 different countries on board, 55 on the land portion. The crew and guides were all Cambodian or Vietnamese except for the Hotel Manager.  I had been following local news stories from the areas being visited and Vietnam took swift and clear action to protect its residents, closing its border with China and cutting off flights from potential risk areas.  Anyone coming into the country from risk areas is being quarantined. Everywhere you went, even in the smallest villages, there were posters and signs advising people of the issues and ways to control infection. There was a clear reduction in tourists at all the tourist areas. 

On board, all buffet service was being done by staff and anytime we entered or exited the restaurant, lounge or any transportation we were given hand sanitizer. We did rebook our return flights to avoid travel through Seoul as did others.

 

This itinerary is certainly not for everyone, but we found it enjoyable and enlightening.  Things can change quickly, but for those who must feed their travel habit, maybe now is the time to go the less traveled places. 

[Mary229]

I do think I am going to err on the side of caution for my early summer land based Euro travel.  I still run a business and added time away for a quarantine would be a hardship not an adventure. Additionally I worry that there will be more closures to tourist sites.  I will take my fall/winter cruise regardless. For that journey I will be fully inoculated for pneumonia, flu and whatever else is available 😉

[HappyInVan]

Not keen on travelling till at least May. America still struggling with test kits and capacity ...

 

"Widespread coronavirus testing could still be weeks away
Public health experts say administration claims on testing capacity are misleading."

 

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/03/widespread-coronavirus-testing-weeks-away-119846

 

The irony is that Europe may be clear in May, and the States is under travel advisory.

 

 

[atexsix]

On 2/29/2020 at 5:51 AM, ger_77 said:

I agree wholeheartedly with you - to me the flight is more prone to passing along germs than any cruise we've been on.  I carry Clorox wipes and wipe down all possible surfaces that we touch.  After using the restroom, I use a wipe on my hands as soon as I get back to my seat.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

 

I've been doing this for eons....but some years ago I was laughed at in this very forum for it.  Someone even called me "bubble boy".  

 

Whose laughing now?

[echoshipmate]

And we have been ridiculed for wearing a glove in the buffet. Even though we are being served by staff, mostly.

[HokiePoq]

Heading to Antarctica on an expeditionary cruise next week....no way to cancel and probably no need.   The virus situation has taken a lot of the joy out of going however.

Have a 37 day HAL cruise scheduled for next year and hope all will be resolved by then.

Also have a trip to Israel (land based) booked for December.  Wait and see on that one.   

[cruisemom42]

3 hours ago, atexsix said:

 

I've been doing this for eons....but some years ago I was laughed at in this very forum for it.  Someone even called me "bubble boy".  

 

Whose laughing now?

 

3 hours ago, echoshipmate said:

And we have been ridiculed for wearing a glove in the buffet. Even though we are being served by staff, mostly.

 

I wouldn't ridicule but I still think these are a bit extreme. Certainly way above what is recommended by the CDC, WHO, etc. unless one is immunocompromised in some way.

[bennybear]

https://inews.co.uk/news/health/world-health-organisation-chief-warning-elderly-crowded-places-2005411

 

I am concerned regarding  the implication of WHO’s recent recommendations for over 60.