erdoran

21 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

It's misleading to say 373 prescription  meds as there are only about 175 distinct medications listed. The list has multiple lines for many medications because it lists each  banned dosage on a separate line.

Fair enough. I copied the number off their website. I’ll rephrase -aLOT of prescription meds. 

Along the lines of "how can someone ban a prescription medicine (aka prescription weed)" those of us who are taking prescriptions that aren't weed and are going to Dubai would be well advised to have a look at this website, which lists 373 prescription meds that can't be brought into Dubai

https://dubaiofw.com/banned-medicines-in-uae/

We're all entitled to our opinions about what laws are stupid and should be changed, but unfortunately there are consequences for lawbreaking, even for breaking laws we consider stupid, unfair, unjustified, etc.

I’m just starting my research.  Read some posts and the T&L article.  Sounds amazing!  I wanted to ask about tipping-how is that handled and recommended amounts ?  I don’t see the omnipresent DSC.  Also I can’t stand fish and yes I have tried fresh caught and I just don’t like it. Are there non fish options?   any words of wisdom?  I’m considering late may 2023 Marquesas as a solo. Tia

I don't get why the compulsion to push the limits and break the rules.  Geez, just do what they say and avoid trouble.  If you're doing an itinerary where weed is legal, get off the ship, partake, have some edibles, then toss the leftovers in the trash and reboard.  Make sure nothing is left in your pockets/purse/backpack/whatever.  

If weed is that essential to you, be it medical or recreational, then just don't cruise, in which case realize unlimited access to weed is more important to you than cruising.  

NO, I am not anti-weed.  I have no issue with medical or adult-use recreational.  I just think rules are rules; we don't have to like them but we also don't have to try to get around them or share ways to break them and hope we don't get caught.  IMHO the consequences aren't worth it.

I’m trying to make lemonade out of lemons.  Hubby and I had two cruises booked in 2020; NCL cancelled one, we cancelled the other (but it won’t sail anyway)...so during our first cruise dates I decided to at least enjoy the UBP at home, and looking on the light side, I modified the recipes to make them low calorie.  I’ll share mine, and will invite others to share theirs!  Perhaps we can all pretend to cruise while we are waiting for the real thing...

Post your recipes!  Mine “lemonade from lemons” is I can enjoy the UBP and not gain as much weight!

Skinny Margarita (makes 4)

6 oz Tequila

1/3 cup lime juice

1.5 tsp orange extract (replaces triple sec, available relatively cheaply from Amazon)

8 packets Truvia, or 3 tbsp sugar substitute

5 cups ice cubes (for frozen margarita)

salt for rim, lime wedges

Either shake or blend....

Diet mango meltdown

1.25 oz rum

1 tsp sugar-free Amaretto syrup 

2 cups frozen mango

1 cup frozen strawberry

(can reduce frozen fruit and add ice cubes to lower calories)

Artificial sweetener to taste

Blend all above.  REALLY good!!!  You may want to tweak to your own taste.

I used to live in Orange, TX which seems like it was hit hard.  Am monitoring the news.

What gives me the most pause is if I come down with Covid during the cruise.  We can all do everything right but get infected on the flight or even on the cruise by someone who tested negative on boarding.  And if one person starts showing symptoms given that you are contagious 2-3 days before, then lots of people on the ship will have it.  Does the ship have enough ventilators?  Will the port patients get dropped off at?  Will the port even accept them?  THAT’S my nightmare and why I would have to see an effective vaccine before even considering cruising - separately from cost issues.

I cancelled UPB, SDP and DSC around March 9 for a June 14 cruise (didn’t cancel cruise, was hedging my bets).  Not a penny back yet although I was told 10 business days.  TA said check with her if no refund after 30 days; now she says it’s 90 days for even THAT refund.

Airline cancelled my June 11 flight PHL-TXL-LHR (just the PHL-TXL leg).  American Airlines.  Shows their confidence in the summer tourist industry.

As far as the model being wrong and panicking everyone, the initial 1-2 million model assumed we just let Covid “wash over us” as Trump phrased it., so it was based on the initial plan, which didn’t happen.  

There were many more cases of Covid on NCL than were reported.  A different thread had two people on the March 8 Bliss cruise who were diagnosed after they disembarked.  I’m sure if someone did followup tracking on those cruisers, there would have been many more than reported.

I wouldn’t cruise until things die down because I see how fast it spreads on cruise ships.  Given that the two Bliss cruises were 7 day cruises, that doesn’t give enough time for symptoms to show up during the cruise for a large number of people.

Y’all who want to cruise, go right ahead and jump on the first sailing.  i cancelled my 12/20 cruise and am waiting for NCL to cancel my 6/14 out of Southampton, because they will - I can’t imagine UK being ready for cruising by then.  

Pcakes I read on another thread that there was at least one case on the Bliss 3/1 cruise so it wouldn’t be surprising if you caught it on the Bliss.  Symptoms most frequently show up in 3-6 days but they can in 1-14 days.  Sure, you live in NY and may also have caught it on the way to the cruise or in the terminal, can’t rule that out either.  Glad you are on the road to recovery!

Hubby and i were on Bliss 1/5-1/19.  He got sick his last week, and stayed sick when we got home.  He is NEVER sick!  Cough that wouldn’t quit, but I don’t remember fever.  Some tiredness.  I didn’t get it.  We both had the flu shots over a month before sailing, so not flu.  After 2 weeks he went to urgent care because he wasn’t getting better and got Z-pack and ultimately recovered in about another 4-5 days.  Could be coincidence or not.  We know that the cruise two before ours had a lot of respiratory problems (were reported on CC) and the one before ours they still had the standard sanitation precautions (eg no buffet self serve).  on our cruise everything was back to normal.  however, in the FB group for our cruise a lot of people posted that they had respiratory problems during/after the cruise.

Sars-Covid-2 is believed to have evolved to this form around November (or perhaps a bit earlier) in 2019, so it’s plausible that November/December cruisers could have gotten it.  No one knows what nationalities were on each cruise (or on flights to cruise) so it’s reasonable that someone from Wuhan (or who had been in contact with someone from Wuhan) could easily have come in contact with cruisers out of the US or Europe.

As far as did Joy bring it from China, if it was empty for a couple of weeks then no, all virus would be dead. 

6 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Better luck with Fall, 2021 - and, I will do a side bet (insurance) for Spring 2021 (will only book it as a last minute)  Our vacation & travel plans this year in ruins, cruises cancelled & postpone - but that's secondary. 

 

For the foreseeable future, it is all about slowing down this pandemic spread and flattening the curve, saving lives and knowing "only" 100,000 to 200,000 will die in the U.S. alone, if successful on the medical front.  

 

Among those fallen and infected, please keep in mind that a good # of them are health care workers, doctors & nurses, first responders, etc.  Please keep them in your thoughts & prayers and I know, we all do.   And, most important, live smartly & stay healthy.  

I see where you live.  Prayers that you avoid infection as well.

For all of us here on CC complaining about cancelled cruises, slow refunds, etc, etc - to me at least your post is a very sobering reminder of people who have MUCH bigger worries and problems than cruise issues....

April 30 is also a soft date.  US will supposedly peak in next two weeks but estimates for Philadelphia are mid-May.  I think he is taking it one month at a time, which is wise.  Even after the peak there will still be lots of new infections, it’s just that the rate will decrease.  Life will not be back to normal in May, things may start to settle down in June but START is the operative term.  For myself, I’m not cruising until covid is long gone and/or I’ve been vaccinated against it.

Where could they even sail out of?  Florida?  Two week quarantine for folks coming in from NY/NJ.

Seattle?  No docking in Canada till June/July?

Los Angeles?  Isn’t CA on lockdown?

NY?  Lockdown, epicenter of epidemic.  ‘Nuff said.

San Juan?  Not sure what’s going on there but I think Caribbean islands are pretty much closed borders

Hawaii?  14 day quarantine on arrivals

etc, etc

I haven’t even gotten to Europe - Spain, Germany, Italy, France, UK all over the news, would you REALLY want to go there at all and endanger your own health—and no matter what precautions you took for yourself, how about the rest of the folks on the cruise?

The chance that this is going to be over by mid April is a big, fat ZERO.  Relax and plan your next cruise but sit tight on booking until you see how things play out here.

No chance until there is an effective vaccine.  The described scenario is less risky but still high risk. Will there be bathroom police for handwashing?  Cough/sneeze police?  Etc, etc

I called NCL directly to cancel my DSC, UBP, SDP for my June cruise.  I never got any written confirmation but the rep said they were cancelled and I’d get a refund of a little over $1k.  I think this may have been around March 9–and surprise, no refund!  Has anyone seen theirs?

And to be clear, I’m not talking FCC refund for cruise cancellation, I’m ONLY talking about the perk & DSC cancellation to get the cash refund, so if we end up cancellling later we’ll at least have that much cash.

TIA

Where is the cruise to?  TA?  If anywhere in Europe, I think the borders are closed, and will remain closed, through April or even longer....

I have a June cruise and I doubt very much that is happening - Southampton to Norway, just two countries and I can’t imagine either being normal enough to support cruising - or safe enough for us over-60’s either.

Could it also be FEMA or medical staff?  I have a really hard time believing cruisers all of a sudden booked up an entire hotel....

On 3/16/2020 at 10:41 PM, HalfHand said:

Being over sometime in the July/August time frame.

 

Technically that is true, but it isn't going to look that way. At that time 100's of millions are still going to be sick, however multiple 100's of millions will have recovered making herd immunity work.

 

People's and government's reaction to this is going to be interesting. Imagine Trump getting on TV and saying open all the stuff again and let's get this economy moving with the number's listed above. While he is correct and then it will be much safer than it is now when people are only seeing 20 people sick in their states in the Midwest. So the question becomes, will they cut us loose come July/August or are we going to end up being stuck waiting for the numbers to get lower so it "looks" safer.

Trump has been tweeting about exactly that - reopening things in a week or two, in spite of the fact that the Surgeon General says this upcoming week things are going to get “much worse”!  I do NOT understand his logic and find it very frightening!

As far as April cruises, FWIW I live in Delaware and we’re on “all but essential businesses closed, schools closed, shelter in place” until May 15, and of course that date could slip as we get closer.  NJ, NY, and many other states are doing the same thing; Philadelphia and surrounding counties are as well. I’m sure cruising is not an “essential business”.  I wouldn’t go NEAR NYC under any circumstances.  Florida is requiring anyone arriving from NY and NJ to self-quarantine for two weeks so no cruising out of Florida as I’m sure other states will be added to the list.

You were on one of the last cruises for quite some time.  Treasure your memories, who knows what future cruising will be like....glad you enjoyed!

There is zero possibility of an April 18 cruise sailing.  Where is it sailing out of?  Italy says their cases haven’t peaked, US is in the early stages of a huge upslope and we are 1-2 weeks behind Italy.  IF there are cruises you’d be insane to go on one, but I just don’t see it happening.  Sorry!  Best advice is take cash refund if you can, or if you want 150% FCC just don’t rush to spend it; prices will def come down.  Use it for a last minute cruise once things calm down, if that’s an option for you.  Even June is quite optimistic although not impossible - I have a June 14 cruise booked myself; I’ve cancelled all third-party excursions but am hanging tough to see what NCL does.

With all the discussion of ORDER vs recommendation - any responsible adult, ESPECIALLY older adult, MUST voluntarily follow these recommendations.  That includes young adults.  I could paste links to graphs and charts explaining why, but the simple, short answer is that this virus is spreading out of control.  If we don’t voluntarily do as CDC and our governors recommend, then our hospital will be inundated and there won’t be enough medical staff, ICU beds, and God help us ventilators for those who need them.  

Even if YOU are young and think you won’t get very sick, there is no guarantee you won’t - but even if you don’t, how about your parents, grandparents, friends who have asthma, diabetes, or various other illnesses?

I hate to think that people are so self-centered that CDC’s recommendations have to become orders that are enforced by the military, because if we get to that point, we may be at martial law.

You can all call me erdoran stormcrow, and I would love all of you to laugh at me in a couple of weeks or months when I am wrong—but in the meanwhile let’s all do ask we are asked instead of thinking it’s optional.  it isn’t.  The life you save may be one that matters to you or to me.  And selfishly—if we all do the right thing, we’ll get through this stupid pandemic perhaps a little slower, but with a fraction of the deaths we would otherwise have.  If you think I’m nuts, go read the news out of Italy.  We are going to be next unless everyone takes this very seriously.

Now back to cruising after this life-saving commercial interruption....

and those of you who got off cruise ships or planes or stood in customs halls for hours, without exception, SELF QUARANTINE!  It’s a disgrace how this was handled, but you be the adult in this situation and do the life-saving essential right thing.  Please!  Your cruise critic fellow cruisers and I thank you - by YOUR actions you may save our lives.

No way 

Hubs and I are over 60 and I consider us in the risky population even though thank goodness his cardiologist says his only risk factor is age and nothing else - WHEW!

@2+2 I thank you for self-quarantining.  If everyone was as responsible as you we wouldn’t be in the mess we are in, and Italy wouldn’t be either.

Someone who is in close contact with a diagnosed case is supposed to self-quarantine. I believe same flight qualifies.  There was a study done in China about transmission on a bus and it showed a number of pax were infected, many who were NOT sitting right next to “patient zero”.