Vulnerable age group, what are you doing?

[mrlevin]

We did cancel 3 Apr Explorer.  Barely 60 but wife is T2 and suffers occasionally from bronchitis.  We figured that since this wasn't a bucket list trip we should just cancel.  Have Mariner later in the year and 94 days on Navigator next year so not giving up cruising; just this one trip.

 

We will be standing in line when a vaccine is released.  I imagine all cruise lines will demand proof of COVID-19 vaccination world wide just as they require yellow fever in certain areas.

 

Marc

[lesliebe]

18 hours ago, captjohn said:

We are in our mid 70s and good health. Our concern was that we could get " Trapped " on board in our cabin for 2++ more weeks. ! We were booked on the April 1st cruise  but sadly have now canceled.

Amen..noone seems to talk about that.  If my husband and I were 'trapped' IF I made it off the boat alive, I would be going straight to divorce court.  Not worth it!  (ps he still works and is a T1D)

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Apart from the risk of being quarantined after the cruise, you could be simply spreading the virus to those who are more vulnerable.

 

We have no travel plans, and are getting more and more careful just going about our daily activities.  We are retired, so we're simply keeping a low profile right now.  Still going out to bars and restaurants but I can see that stopping if we need to. Would not want to get on a plane any time soon!  (Oh, and we're in our 70's and both have conditions that might raise our susceptibility.)

Edited March 8, 2020 by Wendy The Wanderer

[shuguley]

I read where Carnival is now offering OBC's to passengers who do not reschedule.  Hey Regent, are you listening? 😀

 

[Hambagahle]

I am almost 78 (in april...) and Ken is 82.  Both of us are fit and very active.  We golf a lot - even in winter - walking the 18holes which is 8.5km more or less depending on how straight you hit the ball.  We do this around twice a week in winter,  3-4 times/week in summer.

 

We will be on the 14 March Splendor cruise.  We have already travelled from Switzerland to California and will be in San Diego tomorrow.   

 

I totally agree that there is a world of difference between 2000/6000 passenger ships and Regent.  And apparently keeping ones distance is very important when it comes to contagion by this virus.   That said - anyone could board the Splendor having already contracted the virus and not know it at the time.

 

I also agree with the wonderful quote about not panicking.  Anyone remember 1959 Christmas and Thanksgiving and the fact that someone had spread rumours that cranberries caused cancer?  With the result that no one had cranberry sauce to eat that year.   This is the same sort of situation.  Yes the virus is serious but there are more serious illnesses on this planet.   With far higher death rates.  Ebola is likely the worst but typhoid and yellow fever and even dengue fever are close behind.   What we need is to put things in perspective.  And stay calm and rational.

 

Naturally if one is vulnerable because of another condition s/he should stay home.  That is common sense too.

[alexandra cruiser]

We are also in good health and in our mid 70s.But we were in no penalty to cancel phase 2 wks ago and did,,,just to be on safe side. Will book same trip next June.

Do have another coming up in Oct,,,but must decide on that June 25,for no penalty,,on Seabourn.Hope all will be over by that time.

Had to rebook our air,,lost $450 ea.but compared to what many others will lose,,not bad.

Hope all of you brave enough to go have a wonderful time and all please stay safe.

Also, my DH said we d end up killing ea.other if stuck in cabin for 2 wks.,,,same as above poster said.Great.

[Dolebludger]

I am 76 and wife is nearing 70 with some health problems. We are concentrating on avoidance of crowds. We are not booked on any cruise or any other major trip at the moment. Our concern about booking a Regent cruise is not about conditions on the ship.  We gave never encountered any crowded conditions on Regent.  Our concern is the highly crowded conditions in the several airports we would need to visit to get to the cruise. 

[rcandkc]

We are in our 60’s and I take 2 medications that suppress my immune system for very aggressive rheumatoid arthritis.  We are considering canceling our June cruise which is a bummer.  It was my reward after knuckle replacements next week and 12 weeks physical therapy.  

[Pam]

Our cruise isn't until late June, and I'm not doing anything at all right now.  I am the only one who could be considered elderly, and I am in great health.  

[fluckey]

To slidebite and others who would feel more comfortable on a spacious Regent ship than on mass market lines, I think you may be ignoring the risk of the virus spreading through the crew who no doubt live in slightly more crowded quarters.  Look at the Princess ship in California, for example.  19 of the 21 initially diagnosed with the virus were crew members.

[slidebite]

I think that's absolutely a fair point, but it's also far less chance of patient 0 to get on board to a smaller ship in the first place and new crew isn't rotated like new passengers. But, your point is certainly valid.

[fudgbug]

We'll be on the Splendor mid April.  We've had flu shots and pneumonia shots and are in good health.  Our thinking is, if something is going to happen to us, we'd rather be doing something we like rather than sitting in a rocking chair in front of the TV doing nothing.

 

From the Splendor, we'll be spending a few days in Barcelona before flying down to Cairo for a few days then on to a Nile River cruise.

 

As a precaution, we will take along some extra medications.  Life does go on.

[Gcto]

On 3/8/2020 at 7:51 AM, UUNetBill said:

I’m no MD but it seems to me that there would be a major difference between a Regent ship sailing at probably what, 75-80% capacity, vs a mega-ship with 5,000-6,500 passengers crammed on board.

 

I’m more concerned with the air travel getting to our upcoming cruise than I am about the cruise itself.

absolutely agree. Just came back from 10 days on the Explorer and all was well....the flight home though was much more concerning to to sneezing and wheezing all over. Airports were full and so were the flights. 

[doc47]

I spoke with a colleague of mine, who is an infectious disease specialist, on this issue. He told me just yesterday that there is no way he would get on a cruise ship now, not because he is worried about getting sick. His concern is the possibility of a 2 week quarantine on some military base. 

[fudgbug]

34 minutes ago, doc47 said:

I spoke with a colleague of mine, who is an infectious disease specialist, on this issue. He told me just yesterday that there is no way he would get on a cruise ship now, not because he is worried about getting sick. His concern is the possibility of a 2 week quarantine on some military base. 

As a former wife of someone win the military, there are worst things than being quarantined for two weeks on some military base.

[Pcardad]

A Regent cruise ship is probably cleaner than most places any of us would go.

[Dolebludger]

I agree with Pcardad. It’s my opinion that being on a ship isn’t a cause of virus spread. Being in a crowded environment is the cause. And I have never been on a Regent cruise where it was crowded onboard. They have always been less crowded than a necessary visit to a local grocery store. For us, the concern is the several crowded airline flights and the several very crowded airports we must go through to get to a Regent cruise. If we were booked on a Regent cruise with the same start and end ports in the US, and if we lived close enough to drive to that port, we’d go and have a great time!  But as we live in the middle of the US, that isn’t possible. But I think the CDC is correct in its warning about cruises — as far as it pertains to mega ships. In no way would we cruise on one, even if we didn’t have to fly. Too crowded.
 

 

[orvil]

Crowded, you have never been below decks.  It's very crowded and very busy. 

 

Four to a bunkroom for regular crew.  Entertainers are in two to a cabin.  The staff cabins are not the size of an F suite.  They all share baths.  Senior officers and senior hotel staff get single accommodations.  The galley where they eat is very crowded as are is the staff bar and recreation areas.  Below decks is a beehive of activity most hours of the day.

 

During a quarantine our nice staff is not trained or equipped to prevent passage of pathogens between cabins.  Think paper cups and plates, glove changes between cabins.  No entering of staff into the cabin.  Everything left by the door.  You don't want clean linens or towels carried in by the staff either.  

 

I've been on a Nile Cruise.  Sanitation is meh at best.  The only reason I didn't get Mummy Tummy was because I skipped dinner one night due to jetlag when they served a soup.  Everyone else on the ship was very sick and the walls were thin between cabins.  Egypt is one of the last places I would travel in a pandemic.  We were all in our late 20's at the time.  One of our party was deathly ill.  She is a living testament that man can live on Sprite alone.  We dropped her into NYC on our way back to the States to go to the hospital.  Whatever it was, it damn near killed her.

 

Edited March 9, 2020 by orvil

[DeepFreeze63]

We tick the boxes - over 80 with cardiac and asthma issues. Three active cases just reported in our town and near us; so - we're staying away from others for our sake and maybe theirs.

We have 18 day Explore cruise booked for July with 14 year old grandson. Scary  to think about a 14 day quarantine in a small room (cabin) with a teenager. So, lets all pray for a reasonably quick recovery.

[Shippy]

On 3/8/2020 at 1:39 PM, shuguley said:

I read where Carnival is now offering OBC's to passengers who do not reschedule.  Hey Regent, are you listening? 😀

 

       I am very happy with Regent’s new policy. Currently on the Explorer. Have an Alaska cruise booked and have already made the final payment. Of course we did NOT take out any kind of insurance.

  I spoke to the next cruise agent onboard. She said we can cancel at anytime and get a full refund in future booking credit good for 2 years. If they decide to cancel the cruise we get our money back. Considering we did not get insurance, this appears to be a fabulous deal for us !

[GeeDunk]

On 3/7/2020 at 1:39 PM, MomC said:

My husband and I are both over 70 (the most vulnerable group for this new virus) and we are currently booked on the April 1 Splendor.  I do not want to cancel this cruise, but I know what the CDC is recommending for those of us in this group.

 

What are those of you in our age group doing?  I’d love to hear your thought process.

 

Mom C

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2020/03/11/proposal-white-house-cruise-industry-bar-people-70-ships/5020325002/

[Wendy The Wanderer]

When I said before we had no travel planned, I meant this year.  Next January we have the World Cruise booked.  This is very much up in the air right now.  Final payment is due in July.  I have not much confidence in the idea that this will all be over by then.  If it's not, we will cancel.  And an FCC from a WC fare that can be used on a single cruise, would be no good to us.

 

As for personally, we may go home to Canada from Florida early, we'll see.  Normally we like to stay down as long as we can to enjoy the wonderful weather in March and April.  But if we're going to get sick, I'd rather be home with our health system a known quantity.  Down here we're foreigners with good insurance, but no doctors readily available to talk to if we get sick.

[pappy1022]

My wife and I are in our mid 60's and in good health. We have the luxury of waiting how this virus plays out until the beginning of May, at which time we cancel and get our money back or make our final payment and keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't come back by September.  I guess statistically, the fewer people you have in a contained area (smaller cruise ship) the less likely a virus will occur but it only takes one to start the chain of events. Proper hygiene reduces the risk but it won't guarantee that you won't get sick. Airport and air travel certainly adds to the risk, as does hotel stays, bus tours and going into crowded venues. I applaud Regent for their efforts to try making their cruises as safe as posible but they don't control all the elements of travel and sightseeing. I believe that this virus will get much worse before it gets better. I hope and pray that the world tackles this issue quickly. I have until early May to decide on whether I take my September cruise. If I had to decide today, I would definitely cancel and get my money back, less the $200 cancellation fee. To me, even though I am healthy, the overall risk is too high at this point and the likelihood that the experience will be diminished both on the ship and more importantly in the ports, leads me to that conclusion. For those of you who do continue with your near term cruise plans, I wish you the best and hope for a safe and enjoyable journey.

[SWFLAOK]

Our next Regent cruise is not until fall of next year. But if we had one scheduled for this year, we would cancel it. We are in our 60's and we both work out regularly. We always walk the stairs rather than taking the elevator. We aren't bothered by warm temperatures, and we never find ourselves out of breath unless we're pushing ourselves to expect it. Neither of us has an underlying health issue.

 

Our last cruise was a back to back, Singapore to Singapore, followed by Singapore to Sydney last December and January, and

I'm sorry to say, but some of the people our age, and most of the people over 70 on those last 2 cruises were not people I would want to cruise with again. We overheard in the dining room a number of times, people complaining about how long they had to wait for kidney dialysis, which apparently has many patients in the early morning or late afternoon,  and sometimes they are late for breakfast in the morning, or for happy hour in the afternoon. One woman said that she had never had dialysis before she boarded in Singapore, but her doctor diagnose her just before her cruise, and gave her a note that allowed the ship's doctor to perform it. I can't even imagine doing this myself, or Regent allowing it. But it does tell me that anyone will be allowed onboard with a note from their doctor, which is easily obtained.

A man stopped at our table in the main dining room at lunch to ask us about our excursion. He had previously stopped at a table of 6 asking the same thing. Just as he had told the larger table, he told us that his wife had been diagnosed with viral pneumonia and didn't feel well enough to take the excursion..We extended our sympathy, and saw him walk to a table 2 away from ours where his wife was seated, and was coughing uncontrollably over the table. They appeared to be at least late 70's, and why they weren't put off the ship or quarantined, I don't know. But Regent needs to step up their game.

When we were waiting to disembark in Sydney, we had to wait in the Theater for an excessive amount of time, as we did everyday waiting for excursions. The amount of uncontrollable coughing was unbelievable, and we eventually went upstairs trying to get away from it, and still had to move twice on the balcony to avoid it. No one made any attempt to cover their mouths, or aim away from others while they coughed.

I understand why people want to go on a cruise, and why they don't want to cancel when they're old and sick. But if those who are very elderly, with underlying health problems, and take 30 minutes to walk slowly to the buses, and require strangers to help them up 3 steps to board the bus, and then cough at the front of the bus where they pass their illnesses onto the rest of us, then we'll let them support the cruise lines. We won't be OK with being onboard with people like this in the future.

 

[snorkle lover]

13 minutes ago, SWFLAOK said:

Our next Regent cruise is not until fall of next year. But if we had one scheduled for this year, we would cancel it. We are in our 60's and we both work out regularly. We always walk the stairs rather than taking the elevator. We aren't bothered by warm temperatures, and we never find ourselves out of breath unless we're pushing ourselves to expect it. Neither of us has an underlying health issue.

 

Our last cruise was a back to back, Singapore to Singapore, followed by Singapore to Sydney last December and January, and

I'm sorry to say, but some of the people our age, and most of the people over 70 on those last 2 cruises were not people I would want to cruise with again. We overheard in the dining room a number of times, people complaining about how long they had to wait for kidney dialysis, which apparently has many patients in the early morning or late afternoon,  and sometimes they are late for breakfast in the morning, or for happy hour in the afternoon. One woman said that she had never had dialysis before she boarded in Singapore, but her doctor diagnose her just before her cruise, and gave her a note that allowed the ship's doctor to perform it. I can't even imagine doing this myself, or Regent allowing it. But it does tell me that anyone will be allowed onboard with a note from their doctor, which is easily obtained.

A man stopped at our table in the main dining room at lunch to ask us about our excursion. He had previously stopped at a table of 6 asking the same thing. Just as he had told the larger table, he told us that his wife had been diagnosed with viral pneumonia and didn't feel well enough to take the excursion..We extended our sympathy, and saw him walk to a table 2 away from ours where his wife was seated, and was coughing uncontrollably over the table. They appeared to be at least late 70's, and why they weren't put off the ship or quarantined, I don't know. But Regent needs to step up their game.

When we were waiting to disembark in Sydney, we had to wait in the Theater for an excessive amount of time, as we did everyday waiting for excursions. The amount of uncontrollable coughing was unbelievable, and we eventually went upstairs trying to get away from it, and still had to move twice on the balcony to avoid it. No one made any attempt to cover their mouths, or aim away from others while they coughed.

I understand why people want to go on a cruise, and why they don't want to cancel when they're old and sick. But if those who are very elderly, with underlying health problems, and take 30 minutes to walk slowly to the buses, and require strangers to help them up 3 steps to board the bus, and then cough at the front of the bus where they pass their illnesses onto the rest of us, then we'll let them support the cruise lines. We won't be OK with being onboard with people like this in the future.

 

We will be booking a cruise in 2021 but have not done so yet.

We made the decision to cancel our April cruise and might also

cancel our September cruise. Just wondering how you go about 

selecting an itinerary/ship to avoid running into what you described 

in your December, January cruise. We are in relatively good health

and over 70. We would not be happy campers running into a situation

like you did but how do you avoid that?