Do you have concerns about cruising at this time? Onboard now?

[gottagocit]

With the large increase in the number of people now contracting this new virus in countries such as Italy, South a Korea and Japan and given the scenario that played out on the Diamond are you having second thoughts about cruising this spring/summer? 

 

We were on the Coral when this all began and didn’t really have any idea how it would evolve and weren’t yet concerned about it even with many passengers onboard from China, Hong King and other parts of Asia. But now it seems it may just a matter of time before every country is dealing with outbreaks and perhaps another ship having an one as well. Honestly I’m not sure I would take a cruise right now although we do have a Suez Canal and med cruise booked next year. With it scheduled that far out we are taking a ‘wait and see’ attitude for now. 
 

If you’re on a cruise now what is the vibe like onboard?  Notice any different practices with respect to crew serving food, cleaning...etc. one of the things that has always bothered me when cruising is the number of people coughing openly in public areas without regard to spreading their colds etc to others and this situation doesn’t help matters. Are those with apparent colds being allowed onboard?

 

 

Edited February 23, 2020 by gottagocit

[JF - retired RRT]

Just wondering...were you ever afraid to cruise during flu season? Flu kills more people every year than this new one.

Ever decided not to cruise because you might get Noro? Noro is everywhere...restaurants, planes, nursing homes, schools, cruise ships. More people get Noro every year than this new one.

[gottagocit]

15 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Just wondering...were you ever afraid to cruise during flu season? Flu kills more people every year than this new one.

Ever decided not to cruise because you might get Noro? Noro is everywhere...restaurants, planes, nursing homes, schools, cruise ships. More people get Noro every year than this new one.

Those are all good points. A couple things that come to mind with respect to differences in this situation.
 

One is there are vaccines for the flu that while not always completely effective, it is believed they do prevent many from getting the flu. Two, the noro virus isn’t fatal if contracted although you feel like you’re going to die when you have it. Three, there is still a lot that isn’t known about this virus such as even how it’s spread in some cases or why some don’t even show symptoms but can be a carrier and what is the true incubation period. Finally the response that is apparently needed where an outbreak occurs seems to quickly overwhelm available healthcare providers and facilities due in part to all the unknowns and fear of a increasing the likelyhood of a pandemic. 

Edited February 23, 2020 by gottagocit

[JF - retired RRT]

7 minutes ago, gottagocit said:

One is there are vaccines for the flu that while not always completely effective, it is believed they do prevent many from getting the flu. Only effective if you've actually taken the vaccine. The majority who catch and/or die from the flu neglected/avoided the vaccine.

Two, the noro virus isn’t fatal if contracted although you feel like you’re going to die when you have it. Actually, deaths DO occur with Noro. The elderly, immune compromised, children. 

Three, there is still a lot that isn’t known about this virus such as even how it’s spread in some cases or why some don’t even show symptoms but can be a carrier and what is the true incubation period. Finally the response that is apparently needed where an outbreak occurs seems to quickly overwhelm available healthcare providers and facilities due in part to all the unknowns and fear of a increasing the likelihood of a pandemic. 

#3 is a good point. Lots we don't know.

From what I've read, part of the early, rapid spread of the Corona virus was due to ignorance. Proper sanitation protocols weren't followed. No quarantine initially. Government attempted to hide the problem.

 

As with Noro and the flu...ignorance is a contributing factor. Many think the flu includes gastrointestinal symptoms. They catch the flu and think "oh, it's just a bad cold" and spread it around by going to work, school, family gatherings, cruises.

Many think Noro is a "stomach virus" and they're right, but looking back on my childhood, I'm willing to bet a lot of the many times I stayed home from school with a "stomach virus" ...it was Noro. 

[PrincessLuver]

53 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Just wondering...were you ever afraid to cruise during flu season? Flu kills more people every year than this new one.

Ever decided not to cruise because you might get Noro? Noro is everywhere...restaurants, planes, nursing homes, schools, cruise ships. More people get Noro every year than this new one.

 

We usually are healthy and do long cruises and have a 30 plus day cruise schedule in a couple of months to  Europe.  We have rarely experienced anything more serious then a cold while on cruises or land tours.

 

I would say we are becoming more alarmed by the unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 and also how it is spreading and that there does not seem to be an effective medical treatment protocol at this time.

 

Quaratining ships, villages, cities and plane loads of people seems to be similar to how the great plagues were dealt with in the dark ages.

 

If the spread of COVID-19 continues unchecked around the world then I do not think we would hesitate to cancel our travel plans instead of putting ourselves at increasing risk of contacting the disease or of being quarantined.  The WHO and the CDC are certainly concerned about this becoming a pandemic!!

 

If things continue as is then the travel industry is probably going to take a gruesome financial hit.

Edited February 23, 2020 by PrincessLuver

[riffatsea]

I would not go to Asia on a cruise right now but other than that I have no worries about cruising. We have 3 booked at the moment.

I agree that getting sick on cruise ships happens all the time.

We wash our hands at home the moment we get into the house from being outside.

We wash our hands on the ship when we get back to our cabin.

A "cold" is not the same as a flu virus.This corona virus is not killing more people than have died from a typical flu . It is just that in China it wasn't handled properly when it first started.

The rest of the countries dealing with it seem to have a correct handle on how to approach it now. I am not worried.

[Coral]

I have a long cruise in about 2 months (not to Asia).

 

I do have to say I am concerned. Right now, I would go on this itinerary but who knows what the next 2 months will bring. Being honest here.

 

I did book Princess insurance for this trip (plus another to cover me for medical as Princess's insurance doesn't do medical well).

 

BTW - I am one who does get the flu shot every year and got the flu last year on a strain that is covered by the flu shot. Go figure.

Edited February 23, 2020 by Coral

[gottagocit]

30 minutes ago, Coral said:

 

I did book Princess insurance for this trip (plus another to cover me for medical as Princess's insurance doesn't do medical well).

 

BTW - I am one who does get the flu shot every year and got the flu last year on a strain that is covered by the flu shot. Go figure.

ditto on both of these items. 

I haven’t formed a hard opinion about what I’d do at the moment if we had a trip planned in the next few weeks but for once I’m sort of glad we don’t. Not out of fear but simply not sure what we would do if we did and instead we have the option of seeing how this all plays out before we have to make that decision.
Thankfully we got our cruise fix for the moment after Antarctica and are so happy we did that one. 

[Coral]

1 minute ago, gottagocit said:

Thankfully we got our cruise fix for the moment after Antarctica and are so happy we did that one. 

That is definitely a once in a lifetime cruise! Wish I could have been on that trip.

[gottagocit]

5 minutes ago, Coral said:

That is definitely a once in a lifetime cruise! Wish I could have been on that trip.

It sure was amazing in our opinion. 
They have the same voyages set for next December and January so there’s still a chance to do it. 

[neverbeenhere]

I’m scared to skydive, if I get scared of cruising, Life is over. 

[PescadoAmarillo]

I have to admit that on our disembarkation from the Majestic Princess in Sydney a week and a half ago, we both said it was the first time we’d ever been happy to leave a ship. When we got on the plane from Sydney from LA, it was the first time we were ever happy to board a plane for a 14 hour flight. Maybe it seemed much more real to us on that side of the planet, and on the Majestic Princess with its larger percentage of Asian (or who had just flown through Asian airports) demographic, but we were concerned- not frightened, but highly aware- that things could go very wrong, as they were right then on the Diamond. 
 

We have nothing planned until the fall, but are very much in ‘wait and see’ mode right now. I think each person has a different level of tolerance with regard to the risks. If the virus is anywhere in my vicinity, I will catch it and I will get sicker than the average person. We know that and it has made us understandably concerned. 

[idahospud]

2 hours ago, gottagocit said:

If you’re on a cruise now what is the vibe like onboard?  Notice any different practices with respect to crew serving food, cleaning...etc. one of the things that has always bothered me when cruising is the number of people coughing openly in public areas without regard to spreading their colds etc to others and this situation doesn’t help matters. Are those with apparent colds being allowed onboard?

We just came off the Royal Princess yesterday after doing three B2Bs. We did have to fill out the new health form, but otherwise things were as they usually are. Passengers doing their thing and crew doing theirs. And yes, we had people with colds onboard.
 

Talking to the crew, some are a bit stressed as they have friends on the Diamond. One thing to note - Princess just this week has given all crew across the fleet access to use WhatsApp without needing to purchase WiFi. They now can message, call, and video chat for free through the app. Kudos to Princess for providing open (and free) communication between crew and their families. 

Edited February 23, 2020 by idahospud

[Wehwalt]

I'm not going to stop cruising, though I will not go to Asia anytime soon (especially Japan).  But the incident served as a reminder of how helpless you are to control your fate on a cruise ship. 

[botbien]

Our cruise to Alaska (first Alaskan cruise) is in July.  I think (and hope) this virus will die down soon.  I am not overly concerned about it, and neither my teenage children.  However, hubby thinks differently and said if the issue is not getting better by final payment date (April), he wants us to cancel the trip.

 

 

Edited February 23, 2020 by botbien

[rabin1]

Look and read on CNN we are on the verge of a Pandemic. I have believed for some time this is worse than they are saying and I did in fact cancel my cruise. One thought to keep in mind. You personally may be washing hands, using tissues to not touch anything but what about the other 3000 or more people what are they doing? That is what scares me. Plus some people would not even report they are sick because they paid a lot of money for the cruise & want to enjoy it as much as they can. Italy is now the now the # one place for people with the coronvirus besides China. No thank you I will pass on going on a ship that the pathogens cannot be controlled.

I did a lot of research on CDC and elsewhere and one of the few masks to keep the particles out is N95 8670F by 3m, I orginally bought 15 of them and went back to buy more. No where can they be found.

Good luck and God Bless to you all.

Kathy

Edited February 23, 2020 by rabin1

[CynCyn]

I am more worried about the quarantine aspect because it seems that no one has any rights in the situation.  In my current position, being gone for one week is difficult, so being out for three or more weeks could be a catastrophe.  I certainly don’t have that much leave built up.  I also worry about family and pets.

[mthomp5]

Not worried about colds but am concerned about COVID-19.  We made final payment in December for a cruise in March 2020.  After seeing what happened on the Diamond concerns me if just one person infected with COVID-19 was on the ship.  Our cruise is to the Caribbean and sails out of Ft. Lauderdale so hoping that if anything were to happen like it did on the Diamond, the ship could return to Ft. Lauderdale.  If we’re sick, I’d like to be in a US hospital and covered by my health insurance.

 

Definitely would not cruise or take any trips to Asia right now.  I wanted to do the Caribbean cruise that leaves from New York to Ft Lauderdale in November...thinking of 2021.  I’m glad that’s awhile away.  

 

We usually get Princess insurance and this is the first time we purchased insurance through our TA which has higher medical/evacuation coverage.  Next time, I am going to buy both Princess insurance for cancel for any reason and the third party insurance for the higher coverage amounts.

Edited February 23, 2020 by mthomp5
Typo

[mthomp5]

5 minutes ago, CynCyn said:

I am more worried about the quarantine aspect because it seems that no one has any rights in the situation.  In my current position, being gone for one week is difficult, so being out for three or more weeks could be a catastrophe.  I certainly don’t have that much leave built up.  I also worry about family and pets.

Yes...my exact concern too.   No rights at all.   And while it is understandable the Diamond had to quarantine, it does not make it easier on the impact to people lives.  

[gottagocit]

11 minutes ago, CynCyn said:

I am more worried about the quarantine aspect because it seems that no one has any rights in the situation.  In my current position, being gone for one week is difficult, so being out for three or more weeks could be a catastrophe.  I certainly don’t have that much leave built up.  I also worry about family and pets.

I would like to think Princess and Japan (and the world for that matter) learned a lot about quarantines with the Diamond situation. It came from out of nowhere and was unprecedented so hopefully if it were to happen again everyone involved with have a better plan for how to handle it. It will take some time to implement any improvements. 
 

In reality there are practical limits to what can be done in an environment like a ship or airplane.  I think a good start would be to require anyone on a ship who has symptoms of even a cold be confined to their cabin. This won’t necessarily eliminate this sort of virus from spreading but in general it would best for all passengers/crew and reduce overall cases of sickness onboard. 
 

We can only hope researchers and scientists can come to better understand how this virus started in China, how it spreads and how to eliminate or vaccinate against it at least. 
 

I would also like to see improvements in air filtration onboard planes. Maybe that will also come out of this. Time will tell. 

[PrincessLuver]

1 hour ago, richsea said:

Really??? Boy, am I naive😳

 

Me too....I guess another government conspiracy is all that there is is too COVID - 19....so relieved I heard it first on CC and it is now safe to go back in the water and cruise.....oy vey!!! 

[gottagocit]

54 minutes ago, rabin1 said:

You personally may be washing hands, using tissues to not touch anything but what about the other 3000 or more people what are they doing? That is what scares me.
I agree completely. On the Coral in late Jan and early Feb I paid closer attention to others when I heard them coughing etc. It is disgusting how many people cough openly even when severing themselves in the horizon court. I also saw e

several there cough into their hand and moments later use that hand to serve themselves food. In the theater I saw many openly coughing  into those in the row in front of them. 

 

Plus some people would not even report they are sick because they paid a lot of money for the cruise & want to enjoy it as much as they can.

This bothers be as well. If they would simply stay in their cabin at least it would help prevent so many problems for others. 

 

Italy is now the now the # one place for people with the coronvirus besides China. No thank you I will pass on going on a ship that the pathogens cannot be controlled.

Yes this one is not a good sign. I saw reports on the news this morning indicating they can’t find a definitive “patient zero” for this outbreak and don’t know for sure how it get started there. Not good. 

54 minutes ago, rabin1 said:

 

 

[kywildcatfanone]

Avoid Asia

[wishIwascruising]

We are 48 days out from our cruise on the Crown starting in Barcelona and ending up in Rome.  Besides generator problems on the ship, I am apprehensive about cruising.  The virus is now in Northern Italy.  Who knows what will happen in the next 48 days?  Besides getting the illness itself what about missing ports? We don't want to be like I believe one of the Holland America ships where no country wanted the ship to come into port.  We do have Princess Travel Insurance and I just spoke with Princess and was asked to wait until 40 days to make a decision and by then Princess may also have decided to change itinerary or even cancel the cruise.  I actually don't see that happening.  I just know I will be very disappointed if we are ON the ship but yet can't get to the destinations and sights we've planned on seeing.  Oh what to do? 

[oskidunker]

Going to Ny and Canada on Cunard in Sept. hopefully all will be well there. Will re evaluate before final payment.