For Those of Us NOT Cancelling and Sailing Soon

[susanf31]

For those of us NOT cancelling and sailing soon. We are on the Encore - 3/22.

 

What precautions are you taking?  For me, I'm bringing rubber gloves that I will wear when touching any buffet serving utensil.  I'm bringing lots of Clorox wipes and will wipe down all surfaces in my cabin. I will be not being going in the pool or hottubs.  I will be diligent to press elevation buttons with my knuckle or elbow.  I will be diligent not to use handrails unless absolutely necessary.  I will avoid crowds and instead seek more solitude.  And, of course, lots and lots of handwashing and hand sanitizer.  

[joeyancho]

That all sounds good.  

[JamieLogical]

I will stick with my normal cruise hygiene habits, as I am not really any more concerned about COVID-19 than I am about any flu or norovirus. However, I may bring some extra meds and am contemplating bringing my laptop in case I get stuck in quarantine and need to work while away. I sail on the Bliss next weekend.

[forgotmyCCname]

You won't be serving yourself anything, they will be serving you. You don't need gloves.

Also, and I am not being snippy, gloves provide a false sense of security and can lead to INCREASED contamination, just like the face masks do. unless you are well versed in the proper doffing of gloves you may doing more harm than good.

 

[JamieLogical]

Just now, forgotmyCCname said:

You won't be serving yourself anything, they will be serving you. You don't need gloves.

Also, and I am not being snippy, gloves provide a false sense of security and can lead to INCREASED contamination, just like the face masks do. unless you are well versed in the proper doffing of gloves you may doing more harm than good.

 

 

Currently, NCL is allowing self service in the buffet. There was a brief period at the beginning where they were not allowing self-service fleet wide, but that only lasted a week or two.

[forgotmyCCname]

Yay! A voice of reason. 

One of the most important things is to bring 2-3 weeks extra supply of prescription medications or OTC meds that you take regularly.

[electro]

I am going on the Getaway March 29.

I plan to avoid the buffet. We are not doing any excursions so no need to rush off the ship in port, we will have a nice breakfast in the MDR. 

Will bring some clorox wipes to wipe down airplane arms and table. etc.

I never take the elevator so no worry there, will only use railing when necessary and as always, wash my hands often.

[cb at sea]

The only problem I see with cruising right now is possibly being quarantined beyond the end of the cruise.  You are no more likely to contract this virus than any other, just because you're on a ship.

[david_sobe]

IMHO all the masks, rubber gloves, and other panic items are silly.  Its out of our hands.   The issue is letting someone exposed that is allowed to board.  No fear of coronavirus but its the quarantine that is the horrible part.  Was just watching the news this morning and there is a local sheriff's deputy who retired after 35 years of service.  As a retirement gift, he was given a cruise.  Now he is quarantined off the coast of CA.  He is upset and right to be.  There were exposed passengers that got off the cruise ahead of him yet they allowed the next cruise to embark and now they are stuck.  Rubber gloves are not going to help you when you are locked in your room.

[ColeThornton]

Overkill.

 

 

[coastcat]

19 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

I will stick with my normal cruise hygiene habits, as I am not really any more concerned about COVID-19 than I am about any flu or norovirus.

Agreed. I had planned to pack extra-light using an underseat rolling bag. With the slim-but-not-impossible chance of being quarantined, I’ll bring my regular suitcase and pack normally. I’ll also bring a full-size tube of hand moisturizer to counteract the constant washy washy. Otherwise, normal cruise hygiene will do. 
 

Well, okay, I’m also packing an extra bottle of wine. Just in case. 

[forgotmyCCname]

6 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

Overkill.

 

 

Absolutely. You wear a"rubber" glove, touch the serving spoon , OOPS! your hair is in your face, you push it back - or you touch your face. The glove is no different than skin. Then, when you take off the gloves , you pull it off without using proper technique -both your hands and forearms are "contaminated.

 

Gloves offer zero protection unless you have an open wound that needs to be covered- and then you should not be serving yourself anyway! If you serve all your buffet items and then sanitize your hands before you use your utensils you will be FINE!

 

 

[justhappy]

Planning to carry on as normal, but our normal is bringing lots of Purell, washing hands anytime we are near a sink and soap, using Clorox Healthcare wipes to wipe down doorknobs, tv remotes, and any other items we think need it in our room. 
But we also do this at hotels and theme park and casino trips. Also on airplanes we wipe down the seat back trays and seatbelts and armrests.

[ellis101]

not planning on changing anything to my normal routine on a cruise - as long as everyone is sensible and follows hand hygeine (like we all should in daily life anyway!) we will be fine.  Common sense should prevail, but alas it hardly ever does when the media are sh*t storming the way they are.

[BirdTravels]

We're sailing next month. We have no intention of cancelling right now. 

 

In general, we normally carry an extra week of prescription meds (basically an extra 7-day pill minder) "just in case" we are delayed on the ship or on land returning home. ... may carry an extra two weeks of meds on the cruise next week...

 

And we normally carry a make-up bag of OTC drugs (tylenol, advil, imodium, allergy meds, etc.). Not necessarily because we plan to get sick, but we get a bit too much sun or too much adult beverage or some funky local foods and being able to take a tablet never hurts. 

 

wrt to rubber gloves, what you need to do is wash your hands, washy washy your hands before you actually start eating. 

Edited March 8, 2020 by BirdTravels

[boatseller]

Keep in mind, ~700 people die of Norovirus complications every year in the US and practically no on thinks twice about cruising.

[Weluv2cruise2gether]

Nothing new. I always take healthcare grade Clorox wipes (I get the ones with peroxide not bleach just in case it would open in my luggage, my clothes won’t get ruined), Lysol spray and Purell. Always have packed these items since a norovirus outbreak on the gem when I was on it.  We rarely use elevators and will continue to take stairs as much as possible, but we do this for exercise. We will avoid the buffet, never eat there much anyway. DH is going to pack his laptop in case of a quarantine so he can work remotely. I on the other hand work in an ER so if there is a quarantine I will just be using some of the many hours of accumulated sick time to cover me. 

[tutuwahineLV]

9 minutes ago, boatseller said:

Keep in mind, ~700 people die of Norovirus complications every year in the US and practically no on thinks twice about cruising.

And thousands die from influenza, but the media doesn't report that.  Those of us who are traveling are more likely to be exposed to something on the planes, and other public transportation.   Use those wipes on the plane, not just your stateroom. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

We carried on as usual, however, I did wash my hands way more than I've ever done in the past and for longer periods of time.  On previous sailings I relied heavily on the hand sanitizers outside all the venues.  And because we always take the stairs, I traveled with a paper napkin in my purse that I used to hold on to the hand rails and would throw away when finished.  That's about it...no mask, no rubber gloves, etc.  

Edited March 8, 2020 by Georgia_Peaches

[luv2kroooz]

I hope NCL does not allow rubber gloves. There is no way for NCL to control the cleanliness of gloves brought to the buffet by you or me. Just not a good idea, in my opinion.

[Sand and Seas]

Like others, just planning to continue our usual travel precautions with Lysol wipes, etc but we will add an extra two weeks of RXs plus some OTC meds.   It sounds like they will be doing additional screenings pre and post cruise which I am OK with.   I think our cruise will be less than full which might be nice for those of us who choose to cruise.  

[Georgia_Peaches]

6 minutes ago, blcruising said:

I hope NCL does not allow rubber gloves. There is no way for NCL to control the cleanliness of gloves brought to the buffet by you or me. Just not a good idea, in my opinion.

Agree.  If someone is that concerned about contracting something from the buffet then they should probably skip it altogether and find another venue.  

[FamilyCruiseDiva]

Thank you to everyone on this thread!  For the past few days, our family members, friends and coworkers have all been acting like we're crazy for not canceling. 

 

We'd started wondering if perhaps we WERE being foolhardy.   But many of the comments here echo our own thoughts regarding managing fears and using common sense rather than freaking out and changing plans at the last minute, which would cost us quite a bit.  Thanks again! 

[Bequia]

Just got off the Joy this morning, ship was spotless the entire cruise, staff constantly spraying and wiping, guests cooperating with hand washing, sanitizer etc., No guests or staff wearing masks. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again

Edited March 8, 2020 by Bequia
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[CruiseFanatic223]

We had been booked on a different line for this week which was cancelled (emergency repairs, not virus related). Instead of just taking the money, we booked with NCL in May despite all this going on. I'm not too worried about this virus. I'm taking slightly more precautions than with the regular flu season, but not anything drastic. Just wash your hands often and don't shake hands. The ship crew will be working to keep the ship sanitized and cleaned often, even more so than regularly.
I work in the public transit industry we're doing basically that. No changes other than an increased cleaning procedure. I'm still out in the field and with the public, just making sure not to shake hands (which I don't in this field anyways regardless of virus) and wash hands often.