Those traveling in March or April: thoughts?

[Talex831]

On 3/1/2020 at 5:05 PM, sb1961 said:

Leaving in less than two weeks (maybe) on the Seaside out of Miami.   Like others, I'm not as afraid of the virus itself as I am of the idea of being quarantined - anywhere.  Have discussed potential for extra long absence with the pet-sitters - but it's still an awful thought.  Going with a group and while many would  (perhaps) be relieved if the whole thing was canceled - no one seems to be in favor of bailing .... yet.

 

This is what's on my mind too.  I'm planning to pack an extra couple of weeks of medicine just in case. On the flip-side, I wasn't going back to work after our cruise (Seaside 4/4) as I'm scheduled to have knee surgery (torn ACL, MCL and meniscus) a few days after we get back. So, I'm already off work for a few more weeks, I just may not make it back for the surgery. I'm not planning on canceling anything, but still watch how everything is playing out daily. And--thanks for the reminder about the dog-sitter....I need to put her on notice, just in case.

[sidari]

1 hour ago, resistk said:

It is a "mild" illness except for the elderly and immuno-compromised in which case it is deadly.  Given a lot of cruisers are elderly or not in the best shape; this is cold comfort.

Tell that to the two Chinese doctors who have died! youngest person was 25 so far. So far there is no definable proof of how the virus is passed or how long it will remain active on an inanimate surface. 43 people off the Diamond tested positive after leaving the ship and 14 days Quarantine.

[Homosassa]

1 hour ago, resistk said:

It is a "mild" illness except for the elderly and immuno-compromised in which case it is deadly.  Given a lot of cruisers are elderly or not in the best shape; this is cold comfort.

I have to say as a long time cruiser that started cruising in her twenties and might now be considered  elderly (69, husband 73), you broad brush characterization of "elderly" cruisers  as waiting to die if boarding a cruise ship is off base.

 

Like susceptibility for everyone, it depends on the state of health (which does include physical fitness and the care one takes of one's self on a cruise).

 

We are boarding a ship on Monday.

[Cruising89143]

On 2/29/2020 at 5:26 PM, LAOkie said:

I’m in a similar situation as many of you all here. Cruising from Barcelona with 3 stops in Italy (one in Northern Italy - Genoa) on May 11th.  Now that the state department has issued a Level 3 travel warning for the whole of Italy and a Level 4 for Milan and Venice, I’m really surprised that MSC hasn’t made decisions yet. I called today and they informed me that it’s still “business as usual”, which surprised me. 
 

I’d LOVE to go, but if the current situation is like this or worsens soon, I may just choose to eat some cancellation fees. Ugh. 

I suggest contacting MSC in a few weeks. We were due to cruise out of Barcelona in mid April but canceled. I contacted MSC last week and they took very good care of me. At this time I think that they are only looking at March and April for the Mediterranean. 

[sidari]

The Costa Luminosa sailing from FLL to Venice will terminate it's TA cruise in Le Havre France, the stops in Italian ports have all been cancelled.

[LAOkie]

2 hours ago, cruisingator2 said:

I suggest contacting MSC in a few weeks. We were due to cruise out of Barcelona in mid April but canceled. I contacted MSC last week and they took very good care of me. At this time I think that they are only looking at March and April for the Mediterranean. 

 

The problem is that after March 11th, the cancellation fees go up, so I'm really hoping they'll make a decision soon. I have a feeling I'm going to get hosed.

[Cruising89143]

23 minutes ago, LAOkie said:

 

The problem is that after March 11th, the cancellation fees go up, so I'm really hoping they'll make a decision soon. I have a feeling I'm going to get hosed.

A lot can happen over the next week. It the number of cases continue to rise then MSC may be willing to help you. Just call and ask for the Crisis desk. Be prepared for long wait. 

[LAOkie]

16 hours ago, cruisingator2 said:

A lot can happen over the next week. It the number of cases continue to rise then MSC may be willing to help you. Just call and ask for the Crisis desk. Be prepared for long wait. 

 

I called MSC today and it was a total joke. They refused to transfer me to the Crisis team because my sail date is May 11th - they would only let people who were booked in March/April through to the Crisis desk. I was told there was nothing else they could do, but if I wanted to cancel my cruise, I would incur a penalty. Now just 4 more days that I can cancel without losing half of my cruise fare (right now it's $400 to cancel).

[aprilF]

5 minutes ago, LAOkie said:

 

I called MSC today and it was a total joke. They refused to transfer me to the Crisis team because my sail date is May 11th - they would only let people who were booked in March/April through to the Crisis desk. I was told there was nothing else they could do, but if I wanted to cancel my cruise, I would incur a penalty. Now just 4 more days that I can cancel without losing half of my cruise fare (right now it's $400 to cancel).

Thanks for posting.  I wont bother with calling today, thank you for saving my time and making the queue a little shorter for others.  🙂

[paulsurf]

I have a Yacht Club sailing on the Seaside on March 21 out of Miami.

Was to be our second SS Yacht Club expérience. With the situation now with the Grand Princess off the coast of San Francisco, we decided last night to cancel. Miami also has an Ultimate Music Festival on 3/20 - 3/22 with over 70,000 people from 50 countries around the world . Just don’t feel comfortable. Thank goodness we have a cancel for any reason at 75% of loses. Delta was kind to redeposit my 160,000 points with no penalty for our first class seats. Hilton canceled our hotel reservations on South Beach and redeposited my points . Will look at rebooking later as hopefully things calm down. 
Our TA was very helpful........... Cheers and happy sailing !

[cellfree]

Still cruising end of March on Meraviglia. 

[muskrat191]

1 hour ago, LAOkie said:

 

I called MSC today and it was a total joke. They refused to transfer me to the Crisis team because my sail date is May 11th - they would only let people who were booked in March/April through to the Crisis desk. I was told there was nothing else they could do, but if I wanted to cancel my cruise, I would incur a penalty. Now just 4 more days that I can cancel without losing half of my cruise fare (right now it's $400 to cancel).

 

My sail date for a Mediterranean cruise is May 9th -- we have decided to cancel while the cancellation penalty was only $400 CAD. We do have trip cancellation insurance that has a travel advisory as a covered reason, our cruise had Genoa as a stop, and there is a current Canadian travel advisory that covers Genoa. I'm hoping our cancellation insurance will cover the $400.

[LAOkie]

1 minute ago, muskrat191 said:

 

My sail date for a Mediterranean cruise is May 9th -- we have decided to cancel while the cancellation penalty was only $400 CAD. We do have trip cancellation insurance that has a travel advisory as a covered reason, our cruise had Genoa as a stop, and there is a current Canadian travel advisory that covers Genoa. I'm hoping our cancellation insurance will cover the $400.

 

That's what I'm leaning towards doing as well. I did see that there's a big meeting with all of the cruise line executives tomorrow in Florida, so there may be some updates as a result of that and maybe they'll be a little more lenient with their cancellation policies.

 

I may try calling back on Saturday or Sunday to see if their story has changed. If not, I may just cancel at eat my $400.

[BermudaBound2014]

Nothing new on the MSC site other than some enhanced screening. Am I missing something?

 

[Fly2where]

@BermudaBound2014

 

I pull this from MSC USA site, which included whole Italy on all cruise ( not just Bellissima and Lirica). The old wording is something like "affected area in northern part of Italy".. 

 

3/6/2020

 

UPDATE: MARCH 6, 2020 - 1:15pm EST

NEW TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS ADDED

 

ENHANCED EFFORTS TO HELP PROTECT ALL GUESTS & CREW 

 

 

We have today updated our precautionary health measures for all guests and all crew who are due to travel on any of our cruises.
 
The enhanced changes are to ensure the health and well-being of everyone onboard our ships.
 
These are additional measures to the ones we introduced on January 24th, in light of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak that originated in China.
 
We want to reassure you that everyone’s health and safety on our ships is our top priority and we can confirm there have been no cases of coronavirus on board any of our ships.
 
Guests embarking on a cruise are requested to take the following into account:
 
 

Rigorous pre-embarkation screening:
 

• MSC Cruises has conducted and continues to conduct pre-boarding screening by thermal cameras to exclude persons who may be at risk, and passengers with signs or symptoms of illness such as fever (≥38 C°/100.4 F°) or feverishness, chills, cough or difficulty breathing will be denied embarkation. The same rules apply to their travel companions and will also result in a denial of boarding;

  
Keeping the ship free from infectious diseases:
 

• Throughout the cruise, at ports of call, guests and crew embarking and disembarking will be frequently checked by thermal cameras for fever symptoms;

• In addition, there has been and will continue to be an elevated deep-sanitation on every ship in our entire fleet. There is increased continuous disinfection of public areas especially frequently touched areas such as handrails, elevator buttons, door handles and reception desks, and people are reminded constantly to thoroughly hand-wash and use alcohol-based hand-sanitizers.

 
We are denying boarding to anyone from high-risk areas:
 

• Anyone who has traveled to, from or through mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea and Italy (or transited via airports) in the past 14 days, or visited, will be denied access to the ship. The same rules apply to such passengers’ travel companions (parent, spouse, child, siblings, or a companion who shares a stateroom) PLEASE NOTE: Travelers choosing to travel with their Italian passport but residing elsewhere must show official proof of residency. Residency must not be in one of the above countries. Travel history must also show that travelers did not come through one of those territories during the past 14 days;

• For guests embarking on MSC Bellissima and MSC Lirica from Dubai only. On top of the restrictions above we are denying boarding also to anyone who lives in, or has travelled to, from or through mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Iran and Italy. This restriction does not apply if guests have only transited in sterile areas of relevant mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Iran and Italy airports as coming from other non affected areas;

• Anyone who, within 14 days before embarkation, has had close contact with, or helped care for, anyone suspected or diagnosed as having coronavirus, or who is currently subject to health monitoring for possible exposure to novel coronavirus, will be denied boarding. 

 

For more information, download our infographic. 

Edited March 7, 2020 by Fly2where

[smz4psu]

so is it a fair assumption, based upon the new travel restrictions that include all of Italy, that any/all Italian ports on Med cruises will be cancelled?

[sidari]

45 minutes ago, smz4psu said:

so is it a fair assumption, based upon the new travel restrictions that include all of Italy, that any/all Italian ports on Med cruises will be cancelled?

Only the US site has changed on this issue, the UK and Europe sites have not been changed as of yet! So is it just for the Caribbean sailings ?

[jules815]

20 hours ago, cellfree said:

Still cruising end of March on Meraviglia. 

We're still cruising on Seaside, mid-April.

 

[Talex831]

6 minutes ago, jules815 said:

We're still cruising on Seaside, mid-April.

 

April 4th for us on Seaside. Unless they cancel the cruise, we are going. We are healthy and won't let fear control our lives.

[aprilF]

1 hour ago, smz4psu said:

so is it a fair assumption, based upon the new travel restrictions that include all of Italy, that any/all Italian ports on Med cruises will be cancelled?

 

I suppose if you can teleport onto the ship you will be allowed to sail.  Just dont get off at any Italian ports.  :eyeroll:

41 minutes ago, sidari said:

Only the US site has changed on this issue, the UK and Europe sites have not been changed as of yet! So is it just for the Caribbean sailings ?

The sites are where you are booking from, independent of where you are sailing to.  So that shpuldnt be what they are conveying.  But its MSC so who the f$#@ really knows.

[jules815]

Just now, Talex831 said:

April 4th for us on Seaside. Unless they cancel the cruise, we are going. We are healthy and won't let fear control our lives.

Got a text from my neighbor last night asking "still planning on going on your cruise?"  I told her yes, unless we're told otherwise, no plans to cancel.  

 

 

 

[cellfree]

CDC estimates that 56,000 die from flu or flu-like symptoms yearly. We never seem concerned over those numbers. Cruising has always gone on. Coronavirus is really getting a lot of hype and publicity. 

[BermudaBound2014]

MSC is taking some heat for not providing a revised cancellation policy already. Looks like Ken Muscat has committed to Monday, March 9th.

 

With many of the major cruise lines now updating their cancellation policies because of the potential risk coronavirus, MSC customers are left in limbo waiting for the cruise line to say what it’s temporary policy will be.

https://cruisewaves.co.uk/2020/03/07/msc-cruise-guests-left-in-limbo-as-other-operators-announce-coronavirus-cancellation-policies/

 

[sidari]

3 hours ago, cellfree said:

CDC estimates that 56,000 die from flu or flu-like symptoms yearly. We never seem concerned over those numbers. Cruising has always gone on. Coronavirus is really getting a lot of hype and publicity. 

Maybe because of how it exists longer than other viruses ?

 

https://www.livescience.com/how-long-coronavirus-last-surfaces.html

[LAOkie]

Update: Called MSC to check on my Med cruise in May on the Divina, since it looks like they’re going to be denying embarkation to anyone who had traveled to, from, or through Italy (as another poster mentioned). 
 

Was told that they will have updates and a new policy rolled out by Monday, so I’ll call back then and update you all on what I hear.