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

[dog]

On Island Princess March 7-17th. Believe me, you will hear from me if there is any kind of outbreak.

We are going on with our lives as normal. Have no control over others, but always take precautions to stay healthy.

[tawlaw1526]

6 hours ago, idahospud said:

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. 

Hi Idahospud!   I have a question about your time on Royal, were you able to serve yourself in the buffet or did Princess staff serve the food to all the guests?

[Maui Girl]

We are boarding the Ruby in Sydney on March 8,  so far things look good down under, hopefully we will be fine.  Will take extra precautions anyway.   
I’ve noticed a few people on here talking about people with colds should stay in their cabins.  I have allergies that cause me to cough, sometimes frequently, although I still cough into my elbow or a Kleenex.  My DH has COPD which causes him to cough also. I hope we aren’t banished to our cabin because people think we are “ sick” 😳🤔

[idahospud]

45 minutes ago, tawlaw1526 said:

Hi Idahospud!   I have a question about your time on Royal, were you able to serve yourself in the buffet or did Princess staff serve the food to all the guests?

Self serve as usual.  

[ano]

11 hours 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.

Just wonder, how many times has the flu caused the quarantine of thousands of people on a cruise ship, or cancelled the Mobile World Congress, or cancelled the Carnival in Venice, or started talk about cancelling the Olympics due to flu?  I don't remember that ever occurring for the flu. 

[Mackenzie1]

3 hours ago, wishIwascruising said:

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? 

I’m in the same predicament as you. I’m currently on the March Crown Princess cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome, and am keeping my fingers crossed that all of this will blow over by March. The spread of Covid-19 in Italy is most concerning, though, especially since we are planning to dock in Northern Italy where the coronavirus is currently spreading.  In Florence, I’m booked on a Princess excursion to Milan, but it may be best to just stay onboard.  Also, what about whether we will be able to dock in Rome?  I’m going to wait until just before we leave to see where things stand, but it’s all very concerning. 

[quakershaker]

I definitely would not take a cruise anywhere in Asia right now. I’m scheduled for a Panama Canal Cruise in one week. I thought about canceling, but Panama/Caribbean/central and South America do not seem to be areas of concern right now. My main reason for this cruise is to see the Panama Canal, so I still have concerns that the canal port could be cancelled. From the Princess website it seems that they have to report any respiratory illness and fever to local authorities,so I wonder if it’s a matter of time before ships are turned away from various ports because someone has regular flu. The main reasons I’m not canceling is that I think the risk is fairly low for this itinerary and various factors at home make it unlikely we’ll be able to take another cruise like this any time soon. I do have Princess Platinum insurance as well as an outside policy with CFAR , so my worst case would be 75% credit for a future cruise- but like I said, the next year is tricky.

[tawlaw1526]

2 hours ago, idahospud said:

Self serve as usual.  

Thank you!!!   

[Dandylyon]

2 hours ago, Maui Girl said:

We are boarding the Ruby in Sydney on March 8,  so far things look good down under, hopefully we will be fine.  Will take extra precautions anyway.   
I’ve noticed a few people on here talking about people with colds should stay in their cabins.  I have allergies that cause me to cough, sometimes frequently, although I still cough into my elbow or a Kleenex.  My DH has COPD which causes him to cough also. I hope we aren’t banished to our cabin because people think we are “ sick” 😳🤔

 

I have the same issue. I have a pretty constant cough and sometimes runny nose due to allergies. I also cough, sometimes severely, because I often swallow something (food or beverage) the "wrong way." This leads to a coughing fit where I usually have to leave the room for a few minutes to go cough my head off outside or in the restroom.

[40yearcruiser]

We are also concerned but still intend to continue with our travel plans. We leave for Australia on March 14 and board Ruby Princess in Sydney on March 21 for their Fiji cruise. We know that some of the ports on our itinerary are not allowing the ships in right now but feel that Princess will adjust the itinerary if the ports are still closed. After that cruise and a few days in Sydney we are joining the Golden Princess for the trans-Pacific to Los Angeles. We are aware that we could hit problems at anywhere on the itineraries, but so far Australia looks safe and after 18 months of planning we are reluctant to cancel unless the situation begins to look really dangerous. I'm certain that Princess does not want another ship quarantined and will do everything they can to avoid ports where the virus is active. No travel is 100% safe so you just have to decide what risk you are willing to take.

[crystalspin]

3 hours ago, idahospud said:

Self serve as usual.  

Sorry to hear that. HAL went to employee service some years ago. So much nicer! and safer.

[Maui Girl]

1 hour ago, Dandylyon said:

 

I have the same issue. I have a pretty constant cough and sometimes runny nose due to allergies. I also cough, sometimes severely, because I often swallow something (food or beverage) the "wrong way." This leads to a coughing fit where I usually have to leave the room for a few minutes to go cough my head off outside or in the restroom.

I’m sure we aren’t the only ones!   I’m guessing people at this point will be a little extra sensitive to the sound of coughing,  hopefully they will also be extra sensitive to their own hygiene too.  I’m pretty OCD about hand washing and sanitizer.  

[caribill]

16 hours ago, gottagocit said:

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.

 

This flu season about 5000 people a month are dying in the USA from the flu and its complications per the CDC. 

 

The vaccine may be effective for some, but not for others and many people do not get the vaccine.

 

5000 people dying each month is a lot of people.

[BigAl94]

9 hours ago, ano said:

Just wonder, how many times has the flu caused the quarantine of thousands of people on a cruise ship, or cancelled the Mobile World Congress, or cancelled the Carnival in Venice, or started talk about cancelling the Olympics due to flu?  I don't remember that ever occurring for the flu. 

I think you need to educate yourself about COVID-19

[gottagocit]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

 

5000 people dying each month is a lot of people.

Yes it is. 

[Coral]

9 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Sorry to hear that. HAL went to employee service some years ago. So much nicer! and safer.

I completely agree!

[Jetstreamer]

The only problem with cruising Asia is the overreaction from several states effectively banning cruise ships until further notice.  If ports were open I see no more issue in Asia (excluding China) than anywhere else.  I haven't seen anything saying Japan has closed its ports but the cruise lines have still suspended cruises.  This is disappointing and hopefully Diamond does enter service again at the end of April in Japan.

 

Thinking of it as just an Asian problem is probably helpful to a lot of people so they can go on their Caribbean cruise and not have to worry.  Truth is that this thing is a threat everywhere but it needn't be a reason not to cruise.

 

Hopefully this won't happen, but if there was suddenly an outbreak in Miami would the cruise lines act the same as they have in Asia?  Would they act with the same "abundance of caution"? 

[rabin1]

16 hours ago, wishIwascruising said:

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? 

 

 

I was on that cruise on Crown and cancelled about a month ago. I am totally convinced and have been for months this is worse that we are hearing about. Glad I did read below plus if this gets worse and I think it will the WHO will issue a pandemic warning and I believe it is very close to doing so. I don;t want to be on a ship and not be able to go to ports which is why I booked the cruise or be quarantined . Countries are getting more worried by the second.

I live in FTL and worried about all the ships sailing out of here and the people coming off them. I am glad very soon they will all head to Europe for the summer.

 

Read this below I just saw it on CNN

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new travel advisories Sunday night for Italy and Iran following a rise in confirmed cases in both countries.

 

Kathy

[villauk]

4 minutes ago, rabin1 said:

am glad very soon they will all head to Europe for the summer.

 

 

Or will they?

[Colo Cruiser]

3 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

 

Or will they?

Do you have a source that says they will not head to Europe?

[villauk]

Just now, Colo Cruiser said:

Do you have a source that says they will not head to Europe?

 

 

Not at all. Just wondering if it spreads through mainland Europe over the next couple of weeks, and certain ports aren’t available for docking, will the cruise lines then have to make contingency plans? Some countries are already issuing advisories about travelling to parts of Italy.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-51614639

 

I think the next couple of weeks will be crucial for the cruise lines as to what will happen over on this side of the pond in the coming months.

[rabin1]

21 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

 

Or will they?

What I mean is they all leave here in Ft. Lauderdale and go to Europe or the Meditteranean for their summer/fall cruises. The TA.

Then they will be back here in FTL in what we call snow bird season. No source it is just a fact. Very few cruises out of FTL in the summer and I am happy for that.

Kathy

[villauk]

21 minutes ago, rabin1 said:

What I mean is they all leave here in Ft. Lauderdale and go to Europe or the Meditteranean for their summer/fall cruises. The TA.

Then they will be back here in FTL in what we call snow bird season. No source it is just a fact. Very few cruises out of FTL in the summer and I am happy for that.

Kathy

 

I know exactly what you meant. That’s why I think the cruise lines will have to wait and see what happens with the outbreak in Europe over the next few weeks first.

[Farts]

I cancelled all cruises this year. 

 

I am thinking about maybe cruising next year during Feb-Mar for a special event, but I am very nervous given that 3 ppl on the DP already died. 

 

WHO is saying that the window for containment is closing fast, so I am very concerned. We don't even have anti-virals to treat pts. 

[BrennerM]

I'm not overly concerned about catching/surviving the virus as my wife and I are healthy younger people (compared to cruise average ages).  But getting quarantined in our inside cabin for weeks just because one person got on the ship with the virus would be really bad.  That is a lot of time to spend in a tiny windowless box with one person, even someone you love.

 

We've paid our full fare for a mid-March cruise and we're still planning to go at this point but we are keeping a very close watch on the situation.  If the outbreaks in Italy/Korea/Iran continue to spread and more pop up around the world we might think twice about going.  We still have 3 weeks to decide.