State Dept urging people not to cruise

[beloum]

Just saw on news where US State Dept is urging people not to cruise.  Any thoughts?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/03/08/coronavirus-state-department-cruise-ship-travel/4998017002/

[marshalltp]

I think that Carnival and other lines ought to step up and do the right thing for their passengers, that being to allow cancellation with full refund (instead of FCC).  We typically average 3 cruises in a five year period, however with a high school baseball player, we are not able to cruise in 2021 or able to schedule something before that.

 

We are not elderly and not 'high-risk' but we should not be held hostage to our reservation with the State department imploring passengers to not cruise.

[mouche]

21 minutes ago, fyree39 said:

I have nothing planned until October and I predict the virus will have run its course by them. 

Same here, not cruising again until Feb 6th 2021 on the Mardi Gras, and my last cruise was just last month, glad we didn't have any issues. 

[RenoNanaOz]

We are on The Panorama in May and have no plans to cancel. It's the Flu. If they announced last year every time someone got the flu or died from the flu it would not be any different than this.

[tonit964]

My family has decided to cancel our 4/11 cruise on Princess. Not because of the virus but we don't want to get to the port on embarkation day hang around for hours just to be turned away like what happened on the Royal on Saturday and also the Panorama being shortened to a 6 day and having to leave the port and come back. Or even worse, being quarantined because people on our cruise have developed symptoms. You just never know what will happen.

 

We're OK with postponing and waiting this out.

[EngIceDave]

I'm willing to bet, that if you're in good health and wanted to take a cruise in next 30 days, there are bargains are to be had....if you're a casino player, likely for little more than taxes and fees

[crewsweeper]

The uncertainty of the virus warrants caution. Especially if you are in a high risk group, over 50 with medical conditions that reduce your immunity. 

If you are sick, have a fever, dry cough, don't travel period. Costs of not traveling are cheaper than costs of traveling and getting virus or stuck in quarantines. 

 

[nissach]

23 minutes ago, RenoNanaOz said:

We are on The Panorama in May and have no plans to cancel. It's the Flu. If they announced last year every time someone got the flu or died from the flu it would not be any different than this.

Excellent point!

[Maraprince]

After seeing how cruise lines dealt with Noro, which was not fatal, I am not too confident to sail.  We have a trip scheduled on May 25th that we are seriously considering moving to a later date.  $200 OBC is not worth taking a risk for.  Both of us are seniors and the news keeps getting worse every day.

 

MARAPRINCE

[dallasdan]

They are not advising against any other form of travel or congregation.  They didn't quarantine the entire conference that Trump was at last week.  Nor, do they check temperatures at airports.  Airports and public transportation are more of a threat than the cruise industry.  Each person has to make their own decision.  As for me and my wife, we are sailing on April 25 Panorama with no plans to cancel.

[klfhngr]

3 minutes ago, dallasdan said:

They are not advising against any other form of travel or congregation.  They didn't quarantine the entire conference that Trump was at last week.  Nor, do they check temperatures at airports.  Airports and public transportation are more of a threat than the cruise industry.  Each person has to make their own decision.  As for me and my wife, we are sailing on April 25 Panorama with no plans to cancel.

I'll see you on the 25th!

[pc_load_letter]

I feel the cruise lines are being unfairly targeted here. Seems almost like they are being scapegoated.

 

What about DisneyLand\World. Thousands of people there in close proximity every day.

 

What about the airlines? Last I heard people are not being told to take flights.

 

Sporting events? College dorms?

[1kaper]

Just now, pc_load_letter said:

I feel the cruise lines are being unfairly targeted here. Seems almost like they are being scapegoated.

 

What about DisneyLand\World. Thousands of people there in close proximity every day.

 

What about the airlines? Last I heard people are not being told to take flights.

 

Sporting events? College dorms?

I don’t think they are necessarily being unfairly targeted. There have been several outbreaks in cruise ships. We haven’t  seen any from those other places. 
But I wouldn’t be surprised to see those issues coming up in the near future. Italy has ***** down all sporting events and things where people will be in close proximity. 
It’s just the cruise ships were the first to come. The rest will likely follow to some extent. Maybe not everywhere at once. 
we have had some smaller sporting events cancelled for the future. We are also cancelling international conferences (both attending and hosting). 
we also have plans here for college dorms. 

[bingomamma19]

This announcement does not scare us one bit.   We are going on the Breeze on April 4th...me (52), dd 14 and mom 79.    I did tell my mom about this announcement yesterday and she said "no way am i cancelling.  If i am going to die, i want to do it while i am doing something i love ".....so we are going  LOL

 

Seriously though...mom has no u/l conditions at all and is very healthy.   If she was sickly or had anything, i would not let her go (but my DD and i would still be going).

 

I hope the fear dies down and this all gets dealt with in a calm manner going forward.   These crazy roller coaster rides of news everyday is driving people nuts.

[bstel]

1 hour ago, dallasdan said:

They are not advising against any other form of travel or congregation.  They didn't quarantine the entire conference that Trump was at last week.  Nor, do they check temperatures at airports.  Airports and public transportation are more of a threat than the cruise industry.  Each person has to make their own decision.  As for me and my wife, we are sailing on April 25 Panorama with no plans to cancel.

a lot has to do with politics in singling out the cruise industry.  If someone gets sick on a plane/Disney/Train etc, they are gone long before they show symptoms and it is individuals that are affected, and you are most likely home by then.

 

If you get sick on a cruise ship, then the Gov't has to deal with 3,000+ people and how to get them off the ship, where to debark, etc.  Just like the Princess cruise in CA.  See how they are debarking at a commercial port, busing people straight out of the State, because CA said no, so there were a ton of negotiations, and CA doesn't want to bear the brunt of it.  So for Cruises its much more complicated.  So yes the Govt has more of an interest in keeping you off a cruise than off of a plane.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

We are all used to hearing about the FLU every year. Get your flu shots. How many people do not? But no mention that at an average of 135 people in the US alone die from the FLU every single day.  What if 8, 9 or more people would come down with the FLU on a cruise ship. Would there be an quarteene at all. I doubt it. So we are only going to be extra cautious March 17 on the Island Princess. Gave us an additional $200 OBC not to cancel.

[deanaw72]

I could not care less what the State Department "urges." We leave in 4 days on the Carnival Valor!

[BeachDiva101]

5 hours ago, EngIceDave said:

I'm willing to bet, that if you're in good health and wanted to take a cruise in next 30 days, there are bargains are to be had....if you're a casino player, likely for little more than taxes and fees

 

That's what I thought, I have been looking for something for the last 2 weeks of April and the prices do NOT reflect what has been going on the last few weeks with this flu.  I'm gonna keep looking though.

[EngIceDave]

1 minute ago, BeachDiva101 said:

 

That's what I thought, I have been looking for something for the last 2 weeks of April and the prices do NOT reflect what has been going on the last few weeks with this flu.  I'm gonna keep looking though.

IMO, wait a week or so, let all the cancellations come in and the phones to slow up, get a rep on the phone....bet you can work a deal

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

23 minutes ago, BeachDiva101 said:

 

That's what I thought, I have been looking for something for the last 2 weeks of April and the prices do NOT reflect what has been going on the last few weeks with this flu.  I'm gonna keep looking though.

The only thing I see is now some are offering OBC but not a lower price. My guess is. With so many cancellations. When it get to be a week or two before it sails. You might see last minute offerings or the prices may go up to make up the difference of the cancellations. One of mine just a 5 day went up $250.00 on Royal. Out others for 2020 are about the same.

[Sillyjilly]

6 hours ago, RenoNanaOz said:

We are on The Panorama in May and have no plans to cancel. It's the Flu. If they announced last year every time someone got the flu or died from the flu it would not be any different than this.

I'm not worried about getting the flu, but I am worried about getting stuck in my cabin for 2 weeks.

[BeachDiva101]

@Always Cruzin and @Englce Dave:

 

Thanks for replying.  I'm also a solo traveler a lot of the time, so you would think (or in my case, hope) they would waive the single supplement fee to get people on these ships.  Not the case though.

[RenoNanaOz]

7 minutes ago, Sillyjilly said:

I'm not worried about getting the flu, but I am worried about getting stuck in my cabin for 2 weeks.

We always get a balcony and splurged this time for Havana Aft balcony. SO, while being stuck for 2 weeks would suck, it'd be better to be able to see daylight 🙂 

[Sillyjilly]

1 minute ago, RenoNanaOz said:

We always get a balcony and splurged this time for Havana Aft balcony. SO, while being stuck for 2 weeks would suck, it'd be better to be able to see daylight 🙂 

Unfortunately I'm not a fan of balconies. It's either too hot or too cold and I get very little use out of it.

When the sun beats down my cabin gets unbearably hot, even with the curtains closed. I don't have hot flashes any more.............I AM a walking hot flash. LOL

[rin1]

As of now we are still cruising. I'm worried about being stuck at the port and having the cruise canceled at that point, but it is what it is. We wouldn't consider canceling without getting change fees waived by the airline, too.

 

I think that this is going to get worse before it gets better, and booking further out would just make it more likely that things are grounded/canceled. 

I am getting a little tired of the pity that I'm getting from people. Going on a cruise is supposed to make them jealous. 😜