PRINCESS SHIPS & CORONA VIRUS

[neverbeenhere]

For the believers of the great cruise ship in the sky, why do you worry at all? 
 

We have numerous cruises booked this year and won’t cancel any of them. Hoping to get a few fare reductions. 

[Redwing55]

3 hours ago, leck57 said:

 

The virus is, in most cases, arriving and spreading in countries via people getting of planes, not cruise ships. Why aren't people making the same comments in relation to the airline industry? 

No kidding.  Fear really has taken over.  For me, I'd be willing to cruise but I'd want a commitment that at least some ports will be visited, and I won't be quarantined on the ship.  IF I have symptoms, I would commit to taking whatever action the medical profession would suggest.   

 

This is no different from my attitude about sicknesses from last year or before.  Remember Zica?  And truly, should all hotels be closed too?  Stores? etc.  Sure we should practice good hygiene, but IMO, shouldn't be jailed in our own homes.   Best to all.. especially those dealing with this issue directly or even close to directly.

[Potstech]

4 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

What we haven’t been told is the lethality of this virus among smokers and former smokers who already have severely damaged lungs.   The percentage of people smoking in China and Italy is much higher than it is the the U.S.   Those over 65 in the U.S have a higher probability of being smokers or even being subjected to constant second hand smoke.   Those damaged lungs make recovering from the virus much more difficult.   We also had much higher levels of SMOG in the 60’s and 70’s than we see now.   

It is all over the news about people with lung problems and smokers being more vulnerable to this virus.  You might want to get better sources of information.

[ano]

6 hours ago, leck57 said:

 

The virus is, in most cases, arriving and spreading in countries via people getting of planes, not cruise ships. Why aren't people making the same comments in relation to the airline industry? 

Hmmm.. Not so sure. Cruise passenger infects Hawaii

[Aus Traveller]

16 hours ago, cruising deacon said:

It appears, at least in the US, that Princess is the only major cruise line that is getting massive negative publicity because of the coronavirus.  With these 11 people testing positive on the Grand (2 guests and 9 crew) Princess should be investigating its viability in the future.  Will it even be able to survive the gigantic blemish that it has received, through what appears to be no fault of their own?  The whole cruise industry is taking a HIT, but Princess may be the only one to SINK.  It may be time for them to start drastic measures to assure their existence in the future.   Lets face it, who would book a Princess cruise NOW.

Who would book a cruise now? Maybe the hundreds/thousands of people who tried to book at the reduced fares announced last week for new sailings on the Sapphire Princess. The Princess website crashed.

[BulldustHHH]

NCL also brought in a similar cancellation policy a couple days ago:

https://www.ncl.com/au/en/about/cancellation-fee-schedule

 

[Aus Traveller]

On 3/7/2020 at 5:00 PM, Oregon278 said:

How many staff on the Grand Princess were on the Diamond Princess when they had the virus outbreak? We know that staff move from ship to ship. And have Diamond Princess staff moved to other Princess ships? It is too much of a coincidence that both virus outbreaks were on Princess ships.

Were any of the crew from the Diamond moved to the Grand after the virus outbreak on the Diamond? They were all given two months' paid leave so it is much more likely they all went home.

[CarolineAtSea]

7 hours ago, tinkky said:

https://www.princess.com/news/notices_and_advisories/notices/temporary-cancellation-policy.html

for anyone booked

 

Was very pleased when I noticed this on their site. I had been hoping for this. We lost half our money by cancelling a 10th March cruise three weeks ago.

[ExploringTheGlobe]

21 hours ago, cruising deacon said:

  Lets face it, who would book a Princess cruise NOW.

 

ME!  I would! 

[cruising deacon]

28 minutes ago, ExploringTheGlobe said:

ME!  I would! 

LOL

[tattydog]

20 hours ago, Northumberland said:

We are as a matter of fact, booked on a Princess cruise out of Los Angeles at the end of March. A few have been spooked by the negative social media, but most have not abandoned Princess. We will of course, use common sense when it comes to hand washing, hand sanitizer, Shaking hands, etc.   

Well said Al, we are also going on the same cruise as long as it isn’t cancelled and the Hawaiian ports remain open. Common sense such as avoiding hand rails and elevators, and washing hands regularly , and coughing into tissues ( or crook of elbow) will help lessen the spread/contamination, but for the average person the symptoms are minimal and no more than a usual cold. If you have chronic respiratory problems, diabetes or high blood pressure then you should be fine

[tattydog]

14 hours ago, ace2542 said:

You do know the 80 year who had coronavirus and died in the UK the second person to die died within an hour of being diagnosed. He had just come off some cruise ship days earlier though they won't say which one. Though not the grand princess apparently.

I believe he was from the diamond princess in the Far East. He had other health issues apparently-

[Northumberland]

4 minutes ago, tattydog said:

Well said Al, we are also going on the same cruise as long as it isn’t cancelled and the Hawaiian ports remain open. Common sense such as avoiding hand rails and elevators, and washing hands regularly , and coughing into tissues ( or crook of elbow) will help lessen the spread/contamination, but for the average person the symptoms are minimal and no more than a usual cold. If you have chronic respiratory problems, diabetes or high blood pressure then you should be fine

Amen to that. We'll see you at the M&G. 😀

[Sparklies]

I've just cancelled my March 16th on the Crown.

 

Feel a little down but the stress and uncertainty was becoming too much,   cannot fault Princess customer service -  will try to enjoy picking something else now with the credit refund 🙂

 

It is probably a little more to handle being from abroad and truly was not worried about the virus, but the media seems to have taken a more nasty tone and all the politics starting to become embroiled soured the whole thing for us.

Happy and safe cruising to those still going!  

[nbsjcruiser]

23 hours ago, cruising deacon said:

It appears, at least in the US, that Princess is the only major cruise line that is getting massive negative publicity because of the coronavirus.  With these 11 people testing positive on the Grand (2 guests and 9 crew) Princess should be investigating its viability in the future.  Will it even be able to survive the gigantic blemish that it has received, through what appears to be no fault of their own?  The whole cruise industry is taking a HIT, but Princess may be the only one to SINK.  It may be time for them to start drastic measures to assure their existence in the future.   Lets face it, who would book a Princess cruise NOW.

Maybe they should cancel all cruises for the next 30 or 60 days (fleet wide) and announce that they are sending all crew home.  Those who pass the physical exam when the cruises resume will be allowed to return to their positions.  They could spend that time showing that a decontamination company (not Princess) is deep cleaning all of their vessels to assure a safe cruising experience for their guests. 

I think it is time for Princess to do something drastic to regain the public's confidence in them, or get ready to sink.

 

While I understand your points, saying they will sink might be a tad overboard, pardon the pun. 

 

Look, the entire cruise industry has a black eye over this. Is it their fault? No, I dont think it is but they'll survive this, they always do. Now, I do wonder how long it will take to recover. While lots of TA's point to 911 or 2008 and say we got through that, we'll get through this, its not the same in truth. The cruise industry right now is the one paying a big price for this. Its not like they're in the same boat with all other industries. So its not going to be a quick bounce back.

 

I hope people recover from this quickly and the governments around the world get a handle on this virus. In the meantime, I'll watch for deals and grab them while the grabbing is good.

[debsjc]

So we now now crew were transferred from the Grand to both the Royal and Regal, how many other ships could be at risk?

I am especially interested in the Emerald, as we disembarked in San Pedro last Saturday. 

[kimanjo]

19 hours ago, mek said:

You are assuming, incorrectly IMO, that many people would require hospital stays.  I think those with mild cases will stay home, take Nyquil, and be better in a few days.  I know if I come down with it I intend to stay at home and use a web based doctor.  I see no reason to spread any more germs around by running to my family doctor or using the emergency room.  There are sensible ways to handle this and so far I've all I see is a hysteric news media promoting as much fear as they possibly can.

 

I think this stay-at-home approach would work fine if you are a single retiree.  However, many families are multi-generational. Elderly parents ( higher risk population) living with adult children. Small children at home, while seemingly the young seem to fare far better, they can still spread to the higher at riskers. Both parents working ( some are 2 hourly worker households) who can't afford to not go to work.  What does the rest of the household not get it and spread it? It gets very complicated.

[sprint180]

I would book Princess no problem. Well, except that I don’t have the extra money at this time or the time off. 

[mek]

1 minute ago, kimanjo said:

 

I think this stay-at-home approach would work fine if you are a single retiree.  However, many families are multi-generational. Elderly parents ( higher risk population) living with adult children. Small children at home, while seemingly the young seem to fare far better, they can still spread to the higher at riskers. Both parents working ( some are 2 hourly worker households) who can't afford to not go to work.  What does the rest of the household not get it and spread it? It gets very complicated.

I think everyone is going to get it.  Not sure what to do about high risk patients.  I'm 69 and work from home, so easy for me to take this approach; however my husband is considerably older than I am and would be at a very high risk.  We have discussed what we would do if I would get sick and there really isn't a good answer to protecting him.

My reasons for using an on line doctor would be to not only reduce the spread of my germs but to put less of a burden on doctors and hospitals.  Hospitals should only be used for those who truly need that type of care.

[bookmama22]

I think that the bottom line on all this is that no one yet knows how long this virus will last, no one knows yet what will be the extent of those infected. Cruise ships are a petri dish for germs and while everyone has their own opinion, going on a cruise to vacation is not an essential thing to do right now for anyone. I only have gone on 6 cruises in the past 19 years so by the standards of this board, I am I suppose to be considered an infrequent cruiser yet there are so many people you know who have ever never gone on any cruise ships have gone on one cruise.  Going on a cruise shouldn't be a hardship nor is it a life-changing event. If a cruise gets cancelled you can always go again next year or the following year when hopefully this disease and risk to catching this disease have abated. 

 

When you have major events like South by Southwest being cancelled and so many big time sports events being cancelled and developing contingency plans you realize that this is a much bigger issue than one or two or more cruise ships being cancelled and quarantined. I agree with several of the above posters as being quarantined in my room on a ship would be not particularly pleasant. I was once at a hotel on the Big Island of Hawaii when a serious storm came through and all guests were told to shelter in their rooms and stay away from the windows. It was only for an afternoon but when you saw the flooded streets and downed trees and closed roads several days later you knew it was prudent advice. 

 

My husband flew on a crowded plane to Florida yesterday for a meet-up with friends for golf and card-playing and will drive back to NY as we had flown back after our Eastern Caribbean Regal cruise in early February. His friend who lives in Vermont with zero underlying health conditions and has never been sick in his life is deciding today whether to cancel his flight tomorrow as he is scared of flying and being away from home. We have a family wedding upcoming in Miami in April and plan to go unless of course things develop for the worse and become even more widespread. My daughter and her boyfriend were thinking of booking a trip to Seattle for next  month spring vacation but thankfully hadn't moved forward on their plans and clearly are not going now. 

 

We are holding off booking any future travel or vacations right now and will see what develops over the next several months. 

[iluvcruzin]

14 hours ago, tinkky said:

https://www.princess.com/news/notices_and_advisories/notices/temporary-cancellation-policy.html

for anyone booked

 

Disney is doing something similar.  They are offering 100% FCC to be used within 12 months for cruises through May.  Rebooking can occur up to the sailing date.  

[Oregon278]

On 3/6/2020 at 11:00 PM, Oregon278 said:

How many staff on the Grand Princess were on the Diamond Princess when they had the virus outbreak? We know that staff move from ship to ship. And have Diamond Princess staff moved to other Princess ships? It is too much of a coincidence that both virus outbreaks were on Princess ships.

Looks like I was right. Here is another ship with staff from Grand Princess https://www.local10.com/news/local/2020/03/08/cdc-forces-regal-princess-to-remain-offshore-near-south-florida-until-2-crew-members-are-tested-for-coronavirus/

[Oregon278]

8 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

Were any of the crew from the Diamond moved to the Grand after the virus outbreak on the Diamond? They were all given two months' paid leave so it is much more likely they all went home.

Check this out. They did move staff to other ships https://www.local10.com/news/local/2020/03/08/cdc-forces-regal-princess-to-remain-offshore-near-south-florida-until-2-crew-members-are-tested-for-coronavirus/

Edited March 8, 2020 by Oregon278

[Curtis Newton]

Tried to call Princess to cancel my cruise. The recording says there are 100 people in the queue and disconnects. Not seeing a cancel option on the website. Anybody know how to cancel a Princess cruise online?

[rj42]

So now the Regal off Miami is also stuck at sea, since it also had a former Grand crew member, meaning its upcoming cruise will be canceled. The same with the Royal. The Carnival Panorama made everybody stay on board an extra day because a disembarking passenger had symptoms, while everyone scheduled to embark had to find their own hotel room for the night (competing with everyone on the canceled Royal cruise). The new procedures agreed to yesterday will supposedly include disembarkation temperature screening, and so that means a single fever can mean everyone stays on the ship to avoid a repeat of the Grand passengers spreading contagion, and embarking passengers would either have their cruise delayed or canceled and left to fend for themselves for getting lodging and air changes. Also, if you go back from any infected ship, you have to worry about whether you somehow have the virus and can transmit it to others, and coworkers and neighbors might avoid you if they find out you were on an affected cruise (it's not fair, but people now are in hysteria mode--look at the stores shelves emptied of toilet paper). Going on a Princess cruise now is like a Muslim flying after 9/11--people will be afraid of you. 

 

Onboard, I'd be reluctant to go on any ship that uses tongs in a buffet, and I just shudder to think of the HAL safety drills with everyone jammed against each other like sardines. As another poster said, I'm not scared of the virus, I'm just scared of being stuck on a ship or having my cruise canceled or delayed while I'm at the port. It's not worth it, especially with plenty of cheap airfare and empty planes to take me to places where I can get sun or ocean beauty without getting close to people, particularly the sick and elderly.