Mosquitoes?

We are heading on a southern Caribbean cruise at the end of February with Aruba as one of our stops. We have never been to Aruba before, and I was considering Eagle beach for the day. I'm considering becoming pregnant/could be pregnant, and with all of the news about Zika virus, I was wondering if mosquitoes are typically a problem this time of year. I'd like to go wherever I have the least possibility of running into swarms of mosquitoes. I plan to take proper precautions (long sleeves, bug spray), and it was too late to cancel the cruise by the time the outbreak hit. Suggestions please?

Not sure what I would do in your situation but is any amount of money, or loss of, enough to risk the health of your unborn child? I would consult with your physician for professional advice.

There have been no cases of zika virus reported in Aruba. Aruba has had cases of dengue. When in doubt don't? Not knowing what other islands you are traveling to circumstances on those islands could be entirely different.

I am NOT a professional and have never had a problem with mosquitoes in Aruba, but they are there. HOWEVER, the past 12 months with only 5.27 inches of rain, mosquitoes are having a tough time reproducing in Aruba.

Good luck no matter what you decide.

To date, I've only been in Aruba on land trips. Depending on the year, I have received many mosquito bites. Today, the World Health Organization declared a global public health emergency for Zika;

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/02/01/zika-virus-who-declares-global-public-health-emergency-given-rapid-spread-in-americas/

Many airlines and cruise lines are allowing people to cancel.

I see by your other posts that you are a physician and have decided to take this trip.

If it were me - I'd first find out if I was or was not pregnant. If you aren't then I'd take the precautions to keep it that way until after my trip. If you are...then I'd reconsider the trip!

I've never run into "swarms" of mosquitoes at any time of year....

Used a DEET product if you're worried.

I would be concerned.

I would check out the CDC web site and check out travel warnings to see if Aruba is on the list.

If so, I would think hard whether or not you want to do the cruise.

Keith

If it were me - I'd first find out if I was or was not pregnant. If you aren't then I'd take the precautions to keep it that way until after my trip. If you are...then I'd reconsider the trip!

I agree with that advice.

I agree with that advice.

So do I

We are leaving in a few days and just received a message call from Celebrity warning about Zeeka. I know in Canada the airline will refund if you are pregnant I bet that with that phone call the cruise lines are also doing something.

We came back from the Caribbean at the end of Jan. Both me and my husband got bit. We got them in Curaçao not very nice. Cruise ship kept putting in there daily news please use spray.

We came back from the Caribbean at the end of Jan. Both me and my husband got bit. We got them in Curaçao not very nice. Cruise ship kept putting in there daily news please use spray.

Did you get sick?

No we did not get sick. My leg just blistered and wept. Did have some cream from doctors that I had taken with me.

Thank you all. After doing a lot more research and confirming that I am pregnant, on the advice of my doctor, I did cancel the trip. However my other family members have decided to continue with the trip as Royal Caribbean would not refund their money as the travel restrictions at this time only apply to pregnant women and Royal Caribbean will only offer cruise credit to those in the same room as pregnant travelers. I appreciate everyone's assistance and concern!

Congratulations on your pregnancy. :)

dont go if you are or planning to get pregnant it is not worth the risk to you and your babies health

I am glad you cancelled. I cancelled a Windstar cruise this week, because a family member traveling with us has been trying to get pregnant. Her doctor advised her not to get pregnant within two years of traveling in a Zika infested area; I have not heard this before, but I guess better safe than sorry.

It was five days into the penalty period and we all got only a 65% refund. Travel insurance won't cover the loss. I had booked award tickets on UA and Alaska, and they did allow me to redeposit the miles with no penalty.

Best of luck to you!

Thank you all :) I believe the advice about not getting pregnant for 2 years is for those women who live in Zika areas - the countries are recommending that they postpone pregnancy for 2 years to hopefully allow the virus to die down. The most recent advice I had seen was to delay pregnancy for 1 month after returning from Zika areas for women, in case one has an asymptomatic infection. For men, because of sexual transmission, they are not sure how long men may be able to transmit the virus at this point, so that may also be an issue if her significant other was going to travel as well.

To the OP we can only repeat what DD was recently told by her NYC OB/GYN. DD was planning to join us in Puerto Vallarta (our winter home) as she has done for many years. Her doctor told her that, because she is trying to get pregnant, she should forgo and trip to any place where Zika is an active problem. And this now includes over 25 countries including nearly all the Caribbean!

By the way, DD did cancel her visit 4 days before her scheduled Delta flight. Delta Airlines quickly agreed to refund both hers and her husbands airfare. Our kudo's to Delta for putting their customer's safety ahead of profits. Tis rare these days.

Hank

Yes - points to DL, UA and AS for allowing cancellations without a penalty.

Zero points to Windstar who withheld 35% of our fare for cancelling on doctor's orders because of Zika.

I am wondering if cruise lines are going to have to start making a formal policy how to deal with this, and letting people cancel w/o penalty? Especially if a link is proven between Zika and Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Travel insurance, to date, also will not cover this, unless you purchased "cancel for any reason", and in our state, you'd get only a 50% refund with this type of policy.

A slippery slope for the cruise lines. We suspect there has been a lot of discussion in cruise line executive suites on how to deal with Zika. One most consider that cruises go all over the world (to 7 continents) and routinely have to deal with similar issues (such as Malaria, Dengue, various types of Flu, etc). Granting complete refunds anytime somebody cites a regional disease risk, might not be a wise course. Avoiding places that have Zika and Dengue (another mosquito risk) would mean eliminating over 25 countries including the entire Caribbean, Central America, South America, and even Florida! Modifying trip cancellation policies to handle these situations would likely result in a substantial increase in premiums. Sometimes there are no good answers to issues, and this seems like one of those times.

Hank

We cancelled our March cruise due to this issue as well. We have been undergoing fertility treatments and my doctor told us we cannot travel. There is growing concern about the possibility that the virus can be spread from a male to his partner as well. For us, the risk wasn't worth it.

Since we were not flying directly to a country on the CDC list, United Airlines would not refund our tickets. After lengthy arguments, they did give us full credit to use within the next year, without any change fees. Since I cancelled a few weeks ago when this story was just taking shape, they weren't very helpful. I'm sure they have more of a policy set in place now.

RCCL also allowed us to keep the 50% of our fares that were in the cancellation period in the form of a future credit that is good for two years. Again, not ideal, but I guess we can use it for a quick getaway in the future.

We definitely took a financial hit for all of this, but it is what it is. Not worth the risk. As others have said, we have trip insurance, but it won't cover getting a potential illness

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We were traveling on a cruise with a family member who is trying to get pregnant. We cancelled our Windstar cruise. We were traveling on frequent flyer award tickets. Both United and Alaska waived the mileage points redeposit fee. Windstar only refunded (though I have yet to receive this) 65% of our fare, as we are now in the penalty phase.

We also have trip insurance, but although they (Travelguard) said to file a claim, this cancellation reason isn't covered.

You're right, the risk isn't worth it. Good luck to you!

There are recent reports concerning the Zika virus spreading in

Venezuela....so we won't be taking cruises that stop in Aruba, which is

only 15-20 miles away.

Darn ! It's one of our favorite ports.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/zika-three-dead-in-venezuela-from-virus-linked-complications-says-president-a6868996.html