Just Released : State Department warns against traveling by cruise ship during coronavirus outbreak

[KrustyTheClown]

So the 6,000 people on a cruise ship are bad, but the 25,000 jammed into Miami arena down the street are okey dokey.  There is a disconnect somewhere.  At least it is not being called a hoax anymore (by most people).

[rnr4thatsme]

I’m uneasy for sure..  while I’m not terrribly afraid of the virus itself, I am concerned with border closures and quarantines.  I am going to hold off booking my New Years cruise and watch this play out a while.       

[reg947]

We've been booked on the Escape for several months for January 2021, with final payment due September 2, 2020.  We, too, are keeping watch to determine if we need to cancel before September.

[krittykat]

2 hours ago, stefmaia said:

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article241013416.html

 

 

This source is a newspaper. Nothing is on the US State Depart website other than that which correlates with the CDC recommendations...caution for the elderly and chronic health issues.

[krittykat]

2 hours ago, stefmaia said:

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article241013416.html

 

 

This source is a newspaper. Nothing is on the US State Depart website other than that which correlates with the CDC recommendations...caution for the elderly and chronic health issus

 

This was posted by an infectioud disease doctor:

I'm a doctor and an Infectious Diseases Specialist. I've been at this for more than 20 years seeing sick patients on a daily basis. I have worked in inner city hospitals and in the poorest slums of Africa. HIV-AIDS, Hepatitis,TB, SARS, Measles, Shingles, Whooping cough, Diphtheria...there is little I haven't been exposed to in my profession. And with notable exception of SARS, very little has left me feeling vulnerable, overwhelmed or downright scared. 

I am not scared of Covid-19. I am concerned about the implications of a novel infectious agent that has spread the world over and continues to find new footholds in different soil.  I am rightly concerned for the welfare of those who are elderly, in frail health or disenfranchised who stand to suffer mostly, and disproportionately, at the hands of this new scourge. But I am not scared of Covid-19.

What I am scared about is the loss of reason and wave of fear that has induced the masses of society into a spellbinding spiral of panic, stockpiling obscene quantities of anything that could fill a bomb shelter adequately in a post-apocalyptic world. I am scared of the N95 masks that are stolen from hospitals and urgent care clinics where they are actually needed for front line healthcare providers and instead are being donned in airports, malls, and coffee lounges, perpetuating even more fear and suspicion of others. I am scared that our hospitals will be overwhelmed with anyone who thinks they " probably don't have it but may as well get checked out no matter what because you just never know..." and those with heart failure, emphysema, pneumonia and  strokes will pay the price for overfilled ER waiting rooms with only so many doctors and nurses to assess. 

I am scared that travel restrictions will become so far reaching that weddings will be canceled, graduations missed and family reunions will not materialize. And well, even that big party called the Olympic Games...that could be kyboshed too. Can you even 
imagine?

I'm scared those same epidemic fears will limit trade, harm partnerships in multiple sectors, business and otherwise and ultimately culminate in a global recession. 

But mostly, I'm scared about what message we are telling our kids when faced with a threat. Instead of reason, rationality, openmindedness and altruism, we are telling them to panic, be fearful, suspicious, reactionary and self-interested.

Covid-19 is nowhere near over. It will be coming to a city, a hospital, a friend, even a family member near you at some point. Expect it.  Stop waiting to be surprised further. The fact is the virus itself will not likely do much harm when it arrives. But our own behaviors and "fight for yourself above all else" attitude could prove disastrous. 

I implore you all. Temper fear with reason, panic with patience and uncertainty with education. We have an opportunity to learn a great deal about health hygiene and limiting the spread of innumerable transmissible diseases in our society. Let's meet this challenge together in the best spirit of compassion for others, patience, and above all, an unfailing effort to seek truth, facts and knowledge as opposed to conjecture, speculation and catastrophizing.

Facts not fear. Clean hands. Open hearts.
Our children will thank us for it.

#washurhands #geturflushot #respect #patiencenotpanic

[wampuscat7]

 

20 minutes ago, krittykat said:

This source is a newspaper. Nothing is on the US State Depart website other than that which correlates with the CDC recommendations...caution for the elderly and chronic health issues.

You mean this State Department website? https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-with-special-considerations/cruise-ship-passengers.html

 

Where it says "U.S. citizens, particularly travelers with underlying health conditions, should not travel by cruise ship"?

 

To be fair, I've read that same doctor's words, but what one doctor from Toronto posts on Facebook is not necessarily the views of the scientific community as a whole. He might be right. He might be wrong. Certainly he's more of an expert than (probably) anyone here. 

 

Edited March 9, 2020 by wampuscat7

[GettotheSun]

So is this overly precautionary?   Or is this a big "don't cruise" warning with merit?  This is not helping our anxiety levels.  

 

I think a lot of people are going to cancel on Tuesday.  

[krittykat]

They have updated since I looked. I do enjoy they still include cruise travel tips.

[wampuscat7]

1 minute ago, krittykat said:

They have updated since I looked. I do enjoy they still include cruise travel tips.

Government websites are generally slow to update. Kind of like NCL's website. 

Because of the state of journalism/the internet, there is always a push to get news out as quickly as humanly possible. To the detriment of the journalism industry, unfortunately. 

[BLK03GT]

2 minutes ago, GettotheSun said:

So is this overly precautionary?   Or is this a big "don't cruise" warning with merit?  This is not helping our anxiety levels.  

 

I think a lot of people are going to cancel on Tuesday.  

IMO, and it's just that, this is a warning with merit....it's a State Dept. & CDC travel advisory. I don't know how much more legitimate it can get other than an outright ban, which at this point wouldn't surprise me.  

[SimplyCool]

2 hours ago, *Luv2Cruz* said:

Can those who the state department and CDC recommend not to cruise get their money back, or is the only option the FCC? TIA

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
 

I am wondering the same but the cruise industry doesn’t want to issue refund, their profit margin would suffer.

 

We have a cruise in 4 weeks and is very confused what to do, I’m not sure how long this Covid 19 is going to last and getting a FCC, you still would have to use it within the next two years and it’s a good chance that the  cruise price would skyrocket  once things get better. Maybe it will get better maybe not, no one is sure right now how long this virus will last.

[erdoran]

Let’s also not forget the CDC link

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/covid-19-cruise-ship

 

I came on CC today looking for reasons NOT to cancel my upcoming cruise, thinking I was over-reacting to a bunch of media hype meant to sell papers and clicks—but the Italian quarantine and the speed at which new cases were turning up made me think not.  Anyway, I wanted to see what the cruise community had to say.  Ultimately the above two links -CDC and State Dept-to me hold much more weight than an opinion piece based on a physician’s personal experience.  Not to invalidate his opinion, but I know that the CDC in particular had significant pressure from this administration NOT to make this “don’t cruise” recommendation, and the fact they made it anyway says a lot.  

 

I’m a scientist and I look for data...I read the opinion and I can buy into hype for a bit, but every bit of data I see is that governments are very worried about this disease.  I hope they are all wrong and overreacting—in which case there will be lots of cruises to go on in the future.

[John E. Canuck]

2 hours ago, mjcatlvr said:

UGH! Now what to do? I don't want to fly to Miami this Saturday and not be able to board. Might the CDC close cruising down for a couple of months? I sure as hell hope not!

 

Is that possible? We also land in Miami on Saturday.

[John E. Canuck]

Questioning shore excursions. The ship(s) may be cleaned regularly. What's the standard for ship > excursion transit? 

 

 

 

[iamaqt2]

I just wish I had more money and time off so I could jump on some of these cruise fire sales.  I'm young, healthy, and work in a hospital.  Covid-19 doesn't worry me. 

[CJsailing233]

We were to going to Hawaii in a month and cruise around the islands, but will be rebooking. I'm in my 60's going with parents in their 80's.... not worth the worry to me. As erdoran said, plenty of cruises to go on in the future. Health comes first.

[LibertyBella]

I am supposed to cruise in less than a month.  I am very pleased that the cruise lines have put in place such generous cancellation policies.  Now, we just need the airlines to follow the same route.

(By the way, I have been following the virus news for months as I was booked on a China tour this year as well)

[dockman]

We have little idea how far the virus has spread because so few people have been tested.

 

Everyday there are millions of people all over the world walking through crowded airports, coughing and sneezing then getting into a metal tube sitting near, sharing toilets,  and interacting with hundreds of fellow passengers who have likely been through even more airports and connecting flights.  The vast majority of these passengers get off the plane and go on their merry way.  We literally have little if any idea as to how many of these people might have been infected and maybe showing no symptoms. 

 

 These passengers then go to the local mall, local sporting events, concerts, churches, work places, etc possibly infecting even more people.  Again, we have little idea how far the virus has spread because so few people have been tested.  Many of the infected likely think they have the flu or a cold and just stay home (hopefully) a few days and recover without ever going to a doctor or being tested for corona.

 

Meantime all over the world there are hundreds of cruise ships sailing around with tens of thousands of passengers embarking and disembarking. Not a word about any problems or testing. Out of all these ships the media has picked up on fewer than ten ships that have had a problem. Unfortunately in the age of BREAKIN NEWS these stories have been hyped to the heavens spreading a lot of disinformation and fear.  

 

The Lt Gov of Hawaii is calling for a complete ban of all cruise ships docking in the state for 60 days.  Hawaii thus far has ONE confirmed case of the virus from one man who happened to sail on a Princess ship and then flew home to the islands.  How anyone knows if he caught the virus on the ship or perhaps on his flight home of course is not explained.

 

  Meantime every day thousands of people arrive in Hawaii via airplanes, stay in hotels with thousands of others, ride around on tour buses,go to shopping malls etc....also at the same ports everyday dozens of cargo ships pass through full of supplies for the islands staffed by crew members who freely go ashore to mix and mingle.  So does the Lt Gov want to stop all flights and freighters from arriving in Hawaii in an "abundance of caution"?  How is that going to work out when there is no food , no gas, no medications etc being shipped to islands that are almost totally dependent upon imports?  Just imagine the economic chaos in alaska and caribbean ports if cruise ship port calls were cancelled in US ports?

 

Do we really know for a fact that cruise ship passengers have a signifcantly higher rate of infection than airline passengers?  The answer is no we do not know.  There is much speculation about petri dishes etc but we are simply not sure at what levels that airports, sporting events, etc might not also be petri dishes but we just do not know about it YET.

 

A cruise ship with 3500 on board is about 12 or so big airplanes full of people.  How about we test all the passengers and crew on 20 or so random flights as well as all the people on a few cruise ships and see what those stats are and how they compare before we leap to all kinds of conclusions regarding cruise ships?

 

I guess my point is that Government officials and the media might want to be a bit more restrained in all the anti cruise ship hype or at least attempt to balance their reports with equal reporting on other transport and means of contracting and spreading the virus.  They might also want to report on the millions of people who continue to travel via air and ships with apparently no known problems.

 

Here is another take on the risks:

 

https://regenexx.com/blog/why-i-am-not-concerned-about-the-coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR3DNWYGvmBrhUfZI3z5M_VmysEOpqMYvIv34Gje0ouiBOyGJgs1F41G_aM

 

 

[KateQ22003]

7 hours ago, iamaqt2 said:

I just wish I had more money and time off so I could jump on some of these cruise fire sales.  I'm young, healthy, and work in a hospital.  Covid-19 doesn't worry me. 

If you work in a hospital I hope you would at least be cognizant of the people around you when you return to work.

[Trimone]

With the increase in Covid-19 cases it’s quite obvious with passengers from travelling from all continents unchecked, cruising isn’t a good idea, health should be number priority with any cruise line, not the stock price. 

[big al]

I am diabetic, have hypertension, and some asthma and am 67..do you think I am going on my April 12th cruise on the NCL Joy out of L.A.? I Think not...not to mention flying FIVE hours to LA in that Petrie dish? I think not...this was to be our 25th wedding anniversary cruise, but IMHO definitely not worth possibly getting infected ....please be smart & stay safe..

 

Big Al

[fallonboy]

I am 75 years old with "underlying health issues"

We bought and paid for United tickets to fly from Florida to Hawaii and cruise around the islands next month.

Looks like NCL will allow us to reschedule.

We do not yet know what United Airlines will do  for us.

Our travel agent does not yet know how to advise us. 

PS: we sure do not want to fly to Hawaii and not allowed to board.

? any advise is much appreciated?

[summer563]

Just be aware that NCL has in their terms and agreements that passengers are responsible for costs during a quarantine.  In cases of quarantine of the ship involving detention of guests, each Guest must bear all risk and expense thereby caused and will be charged for food and accommodation during the period of detention, payable day by day,  From their terms and agreement: if maintained on board the ship, and for all other quarantine fees and expenses assessed or incurred in respect of the Guest. https://www.ncl.com/de/en/about-us/terms-conditions

[big al]

34 minutes ago, fallonboy said:

I am 75 years old with "underlying health issues"

We bought and paid for United tickets to fly from Florida to Hawaii and cruise around the islands next month.

Looks like NCL will allow us to reschedule.

We do not yet know what United Airlines will do  for us.

Our travel agent does not yet know how to advise us. 

PS: we sure do not want to fly to Hawaii and not allowed to board.

? any advise is much appreciated?

 

Fallonboy- Most likely United will give you either a full refund OR a credit towards your next flight...make sure you tell them your health issues AND if you need a note from your doctor, you should get one...

 

Big Al

[Laszlo]

Their is no way I would be taking a cruise anytime soon. I'm not too worried about getting the virus, I would a lot more concerned about being stuck on a ship and then stuck in quarantine for 14 days.