Mrs CruisinCritter

We took the chance and booked the Shiprocked cruise at the end of Jan 2021. I’m hoping we will all be back to cruising by then, but you never know. We also have another cruise booked on Mardi Gras at the end of April 2021. Hopefully we will get to actually cruise on one of those cruises. 

24 minutes ago, Mrs CruisinCritter said:

I make my own fruit punch because I like more OJ in mine for some extra zip. I use the Simply Orange juice that has pineapple juice in it and a splash of grenadine. Mix that with some mango rum, Disaronno, and a splash of peach brandy, shake then poor over ice and it’s yum city! 
 

If you can’t find the Simply Orange and pineapple combo or prefer a sweeter drink, then 2 parts pineapple and 1 part OJ will do the trick too. 

Sorry, it’s apricot brandy, not peach. This thread made me want one so I got out my ingredients and realized I listed the wrong brandy. 

26 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

Bingo buddy! I mean to tell ya! But you've stepped it up a notch or 2. For my Fun Ship Special, I use white rum, and Tahitian Punch from the grocery store.   🍹Not quite the same as yours but I have an active imagination, so I'm good. lol.

I make my own fruit punch because I like more OJ in mine for some extra zip. I use the Simply Orange juice that has pineapple juice in it and a splash of grenadine. Mix that with some mango rum, Disaronno, and a splash of peach brandy, shake then poor over ice and it’s yum city! 
 

If you can’t find the Simply Orange and pineapple combo or prefer a sweeter drink, then 2 parts pineapple and 1 part OJ will do the trick too. 

We’ve been making the Fun Ship for the last few years when we get cruise fever. It’s the right medicine to get rid of the fever for a little while lol. 
 

We also make Twighlight Zones too. Yum! Hubby bought me a Margaritaville drink machine for my birthday a couple years back so it’s like having the real thing, blending noises and all. 🤤

We just used our PVP to book 2 cruises yesterday. We don’t expect to sail any time this year to allow time for all of this to pass, but we are eagerly awaiting our cruises in 2021 and 2022! 

My June 3rd booking is no longer in my cruise manager. I tried to add it back in case it was a website glitch, but I get a message that the booking number and name do not match any current bookings. 
 

The booking is for Sunrise June 3rd from NYC. I wasn’t expecting the cruise to take place due to the current situation in NYC, but I did expect to hear news of changes before the booking disappeared from my cruise manager. 

Check again now. They just sent out an email to people with cruises booked June - September so you may have gotten something with this new round of emails that went out. 

Has anyone had issues with submitting price protection forms, the forms are approved, but the rates and OBC amounts are wrong so you have to call to have it corrected?

This has happened to me a few times recently, including today but of course I can’t get through to Carnival to get it corrected this time since the phone lines are down. 
 

I wish I had a decent PVP that I could email for help. If anyone can recommend one, I would appreciate a private message (if that can still be done on this site). 

I’ve been having problems too. I found a price drop and submitted a price protection form. I got my approval after the site went down and the pricing and OBC issued are both wrong. I don’t know if it’s automated or if there is a person who makes that changes, but it appears there are a lot of systems issues at Carnival today. 
 

Not being able to call makes it even worse. Hopefully the website will be back up soon. 

You can find videos showing a few of the 4J cabins on the Sunrise on YouTube. 
 

I have a 4J booked for my Sunrise cruise in June and I have been researching these cabins, but that is the only thing I have been able to find for this ship and cabin type. 

We are scheduled to sail in June and I have type 1 diabetes so I guess I am considered high risk, but I am in my mid 30s and otherwise healthy so I have no intentions of cancelling. I just plan to take two extra vials of insulin and two additional weeks worth of pump/CGM supplies just to be safe. 

28 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

 

Maybe he doesn't like working for free.

They get paid by the hour just like the customer service reps. 

Like the others have said, you cannot negotiate with a PVP. The only worry with using someone else like a PVP or TA is getting someone who doesn’t know what they are doing.
 

We usually research and book directly on the website, but I recently had some issues and called the PVP that I am assigned to so I could get some help since the wait time with customer service when calling the 800 number is lengthy with everything going on right now. Both times I called, the PVP that I have been assigned to told me he needed to transfer me because he couldn’t help with a simple pricing error. Both times he transferred me into the queue for the regular customer service line. He is awful. 
 

Try to research some before you call and try to get a feel for who you are working with when you contact someone whether it be a PVP or TA. If the answers you’re getting do not sound right or they seem unwilling to answer questions/help you, steer clear of them and try to get another PVP or TA. 

Go back and read post #779. The poster didn’t cite a source, but the info is very specific and answers a lot of the questions posed in the more recent posts. 

21 minutes ago, Cindy said:

According to the most recent HAL update, they do not have any confirmed or suspected cases of Corona Virus on board:

 

Westerdam Update:
Westerdam is currently sailing on a southwesterly course off the coast of Taiwan to best position the ship to access potential port locations where we can disembark our guests.  We are evaluating several options and working with different governments for a swift resolution. 
 
Guests on board continue to be safe and well cared for. The ship is not in quarantine and we have no reason to believe there are any cases of coronavirus on board despite media reports. The ship has sufficient fuel and food provisions to last until the end of the voyage. We are providing free internet and phone access for guests and crew to stay in contact with their loved ones. Guests have been provided a full refund and a future cruise credit.
 
This is a very dynamic situation as we continue to manage around evolving and changing restrictions in the region. We sincerely thank our guests and crew on Westerdam — and their loved ones — for their patience during this extraordinary time.
 
The latest information will continue to be posted under the News & Travel Advisory section of our website: http://*****/2va2gxX

 

I was referring to Japan, not Hal. Japan’s PM stated that the country would not allow the Hal ship to dock because they assume there will be suspected cases on board due to the ship leaving out of Hong Kong.
 

Patient 0 in the Diamond Princess ordeal travelled to Hong Kong and that is where they are suspecting he contracted the virus before boarding the Diamond. They are using caution. The incubation period for the virus is 14 days so the only way to prevent possible spread of the virus from the Westerdam into Japan from asymptomatic people is to prevent docking for the 14 day incubation period at a minimum.
 

Perhaps a country will allow the ship to dock at that point if it comes to that and there are no passengers displaying signs of illness at that point. If they aren’t allowed to dock and disembark passengers prior to that point. 
 

How long was the Westerdam’s original itinerary? Wasn’t it for 14 days? 

14 minutes ago, rich_cathybrock said:

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/anthem-of-the-seas-updates

 

I guess we will know shortly what comes next for Anthem, at least on this sailing.  It is looking more like they will defer departure to tomorrow, and who knows what comes next?

 

We are all worried about how this outbreak will impact our travel plans, myself included, as we are scheduled to sail Anthem on March 1.  The real question is, will travel plans remain our greatest worry, or will this disease go unchecked and possibly land on our shores, regardless of who transmits it?  

 

I trust Royal and the CDC to make the best decisions they can with the information they currently have available.  I also bear responsibility for deciding for myself what to do when it comes to sailing time. 

 

If this outbreak remains unchecked and spreads, we will have more to worry about than the cost of a flight or a cruise.   I pray for a cure more than my next vacation.  Just saying...

 

The link you shared states the departure is delayed until Monday due to the length of time it is taking the CDC to process the test because of the high volume of tests they’ve received.
 

RCL is offering full refunds for anyone choosing not to sail on the shortened voyage. They are also offering to pay for hotels or flight change fees. Up to $200 reimbursement for hotels. Also up to $200 for domestic flight change fees and $400 for international change fees. 

1 hour ago, fragilek said:

 I have only heard on social media sites - so take this with as many pinches of salt as you want - i am - it is said to be something to do with Hal picking up passengers in HK after the date Japan had said no HK/ china entry - Or not who knows

I believe I read this in at least one news article when Japan first refused the Westerdam and it made the news. Forgive me, but I am on my phone at the moment and cannot search for the article. I will try to find it when I have a chance. 
 

I was able to find the article. The travel restrictions went into place in Japan on Feb 1st. The restrictions were barring anyone holding a passport from the Hubei Provence or anyone infected or presumed to be due to showing symptoms. Japan is barring the Westerdam because they are stating that there are presumed or suspected cases of coronavirus onboard the ship. 
 

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200201/p2g/00m/0na/006000c

8 minutes ago, Pushka said:

Yes, it is draconian. I think the cruise lines are very very worried. 

I think the hardest part for the cruise lines is that they have no system to check passports to see where you’ve travelled In the days prior to embarkation day. They could take the time to look at stamps, but that isn’t always a reliable way and can be very time consuming given the limited amount of time they have to complete the check-in process before scheduled departure.
 

They are forced to rely on the honor system when trying to determine if someone has been in contact with a potentially infected person or has travelled to or from an impacted area within xx number of days prior to the cruise, which as we know from the days when many cruise lines required pax to complete health questionnaires prior to boarding how that worked out.
 

After paying travel expenses and planning for a cruise vacation, many people were dishonest about feeling ill or having been sick recently. That’s why they stopped having pax complete them and now just ask the question at check-in for most cruise lines. Still relying on the honor system of course. 

I’ve been reading and following all of the discussion surrounding Patient 0 in this instance on the Diamond and I just came across this article as I was browsing the news. It appears that they have found that this version of the corona virus has had proven cases of “super-spreaders.” I now wonder if the man at the start of this outbreak on the Diamond would be considered a “super-spreader” by definition. The attached article is interesting as it relates to new reports regarding the spread of the virus. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/health/coronavirus-patients.html

12 minutes ago, cruiser man 60 said:

Given the above , should everyone traveling from USA be out in quarantine for 14 days to stop the spread!!

I don’t believe I said that, did I? I was just replying to the person I quoted as we were discussing the uptick in flu cases in the US. 

Besides, if I were that worried about catching something then I would never leave my house, but I’m not so I am out and about every day. I even venture into Walmart at least once or twice a week for groceries because we don’t have much else as far as grocery stores go where I live. Talk about walking into a Petri dish...

3 minutes ago, Kenswing said:

Influenza A is starting to become a problem.  My wife works at the hospital that had the first U.S. case of the coronavirus.  That man has since been discharged.  She says they now have an entire isolation ward full with Influenza A patients and are getting ready to convert more rooms for isolation. 

 

Lots of bad stuff out there right now.. 

I am not surprised. It’s ravaging the East coast right now. We live in WV and they have had to close school systems in several counties throughout eastern KY, western WV, and southern OH due to Influenza A and B. Strep is also making the rounds again along with a nasty stomach bug. These are my biggest worries on a cruise ship right now when sailing out of the US. Along with the dreaded norovirus of course. Yuck! 

RCI released a statement to passengers scheduled to sail today to let them know that the ill passengers tested positive for Flu A. They are delaying embarkation until tomorrow which is when they should have the definitive results of the coronavirus testing from the CDC just to put the passengers minds at ease before sailing. 
 

It has been 14 days since the Chinese nationals were last in China which puts them at the end of the incubation period. I would say there is no coronavirus on the Anthem unless it is the human strain which is the most common and we have had here in the US for years. 

RCI released a statement to passengers scheduled to sail today to let them know that the ill passengers tested positive for Flu A. They are delaying embarkation until tomorrow which is when they should have the definitive results of the coronavirus testing from the CDC just to put the passengers minds at ease before sailing. 
 

It has been 14 days since the Chinese nationals were last in China which puts them at the end of the incubation period. I would say there is no coronavirus on the Anthem unless it is the human strain which is the most common and we have had here in the US for years. 

6 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

This is getting crazier by the day.  I certainly do sympathize with all the cruiselines and quarantined passengers and what they are going through right now.   

I saw a report from a newly couple that appeared to be in an inside cabin on the Diamond Princess this morning.  I would say that if they can survive this 'togetherness' for another couple of weeks, they may have a good chance for a long lasting marriage.  😉 

 

Agreed! It reminds me of a post that someone made much earlier in this thread or maybe the other Diamond thread that said that they would be curious to see if there are any divorces or births that result after significant others being locked in a cabin with each other for 14 days with limited entertainment. 
 

I couldn’t imagine going through this situation. I have so much empathy for everyone on the ship right now and anyone who has come down with the illness. It is an awful way to end a vacation. 

12 minutes ago, Outerdog said:

 

That number is up to 27 now, with 4 having been taken to the hospital.

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/royal-caribbean-cruise-passengers-n-j-screened-coronavirus-4-taken-n1132266

 

Thank you for posting an article, but it is still related to the original Chinese nationals that we were discussing. Only 4 of which (the original reports when I made my earlier post quoted only 3) needed to be taken to hospitals. The remaining were taken to the airport and are being allowed to return home because they are showing no symptoms and as stated in the article, they have not been to an impacted area. 
 

None of the passengers that have been tested are from the US or any other country impacted by the virus (as of this point in time). Of course things could change. I still have confidence that the CDC thinks this could be another illness due to the lack of precautions being taken in relation to the sick individuals, but like I stated in my previous posts, that is just my beliefs at this time until more information comes available.