Should Royal Caribbean suspend all cruises for 60days

[Charles4515]

Port of Baltimore cruise port is now closed. 

[Tony O]

The Port of Baltimore is closed  until further notice. Only allowing the Grandeur and the Pride will discharge passengers who must go thru enhanced  screening upon disembarking. 

 

[Iamcruzin]

Just now, Charles4515 said:

Port of Baltimore cruise port is now closed. 

So it's happening even if Royal Caribbean isn't initiating it. I wonder if Cape Liberty will be next. 

[Hoopster95]

1 hour ago, Merion_Mom said:

You do realize that there are not nearly enough test kits in the United States?

 

Another colleague's brother in Kelowna, the 2nd largest city in BC (outside of the Vancouver Regional District) about 250 miles northwest of Vancouver in the interior of BC, believes he has the flu. This morning he has called the hospital, the local drop-in clinic and GP... no one is answering, only voicemail. My direct colleague's son (the aforementioned stem cell researcher from my previous post) also mentioned local hospitals are not at all ready in the short term for the numbers that are being discussed/proposed/estimated/whathaveyou..

 

[flyguyjake]

I think all cruise lines will be suspending operations considering rumors that Trump is considering restricting domestic air travel. Also Disneyland in CA is shutting down as of this Saturday.

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

 

Facts about Jewel of the Seas. "Our doctors onboard have examined and tested both individuals, and their assessment is that one is gastrointestinal issue and the other a throat infection." 

 

Jewel returned to Dubai due to closed ports.....not ill passengers. No one is quarantined on Jewel. 

 

Jewel of the Seas return to Dubai

That is great to hear!   Glad to hear all is well with Jewel.   I have a b2b booked on her this summer and love her and the Serenade.

[Hoopster95]

A really good, short read:

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/coronavirus-cancel-everything/607675/?fbclid=IwAR3Hc-bB9Hv56VzUeCtxwdAU-mUCjHF7nkphixP7BCwg5H-KMKi4wrhv4vk

 

"When the influenza epidemic of 1918 infected a quarter of the U.S. population, killing hundreds of thousands nationally and millions across the globe, seemingly small choices made the difference between life and death.

As the disease was spreading, Wilmer Krusen, Philadelphia’s health commissioner, allowed a huge parade to take place on September 28; some 200,000 people marched. In the following days and weeks, the bodies piled up in the city’s morgues. By the end of the season, 12,000 residents had died."

 

"In St. Louis, a public-health commissioner named Max Starkloff decided to shut the city down. Ignoring the objections of influential businessmen, he closed the city’s schools, bars, cinemas, and sporting events. Thanks to his bold and unpopular actions, the per capita fatality rate in St. Louis was half that of Philadelphia. (In total, roughly 1,700 people died from influenza in St Louis.)

 

In the coming days, thousands of people across the country will face the choice between becoming a Wilmer Krusen or a Max Starkloff.

In the moment, it will seem easier to follow Krusen’s example. For a few days, while none of your peers are taking the same steps, moving classes online or canceling campaign events will seem profoundly odd. People are going to get angry. You will be ridiculed as an extremist or an alarmist. But it is still the right thing to do."

 

Edited March 12, 2020 by Hoopster95

[LMaxwell]

I will be genuinely surprised if Royal does not announce a temporary halt to worldwide operations by 9PM today 

[LMaxwell]

1 minute ago, Hoopster95 said:

A really good, short read:

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/coronavirus-cancel-everything/607675/?fbclid=IwAR3Hc-bB9Hv56VzUeCtxwdAU-mUCjHF7nkphixP7BCwg5H-KMKi4wrhv4vk

 

 

 

This is the companion piece to that article.  Thank you for sharing the link.  This one is very sobering.  

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/who-gets-hospital-bed/607807/

[SilverBirches]

We’re currently in Australia (from Canada, arrived mid February) and are supposed to do 4 B2B on Radiance starting March 27th. Right now French Polynesia and Tahiti have closed their ports to ships and Hawaii wants to do the same. I know Royal is busy however guests on existing bookings need to know what to do. In another month things could improve but so far have had nothing from Royal telling us what’s going on or if now that one of the cruises has no ports to visit what they’re going to do. Very frustrating for all.

[mike123abc]

The easiest/best financial thing for RCL (and other cruise lines) to do now is delay.

 

They all probably have plans now to close up shop for a period of time, but the longer they delay the announcement the more cash they can conserve.  If at this moment they do the Princess/Viking policy, they will start having to refund cash.  But, the phone lines are jammed with people voluntarily taking FCCs instead.

 

The faster they can process these FCC for customers calling in the more cash they can conserve, plus they are assured of a lot of bookings once the problem clears up.  This also has the added benefit not having to discount as much in the future since people will have to use these credits before they expire.

 

I know it is a bit cynical thinking this way.  Princess probably had so many cancellations with their bad press that they were probably at the point that cancelling did not cost them much actual cash.  Once the other lines reach the same point of minimal cash outlay for cancelling they will probably make the same announcement.

[Waycoolrob]

Disneyland is closing as of March 16th until the end of the month. Smart decisions like this will stop this spread, it will also help with future visits as people remember they helped instead of hindered. Royal would be wise to do the same. It might be upsetting for the near future and those of us cruising soon ie: me Symphony April 18th, but that move will keep me coming back in the future.  However one case on a Royal ship is all it would take only one long, long, long, lasting ramifications,  it could very well be over for them, especially a few people die.

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

And this is why you can't trust a ship load of 6000 passenger to make a responsible decision to not board or to seek help for fear of being quarantined.

Exactly.   His own wife seemed to down play it too.     Very selfish!    I would be so upset if i had the virus and infected someone who eventually died because I was infected them.

[hood65]

looks like Spain is closing now too

https://www.majorcadailybulletin.com/news/international/2020/03/12/63989/spanish-government-bans-cruise-ships.html?fbclid=IwAR3acaMns8JJ6liiiZYoqtl9VZCqck2Xr2_UWtb2vB61lBNU4L0CurbxlDs

[Blizzard54]

3 hours ago, M&A said:

Carnival owns Princess, HAL, P&O, Costa, Cunard, Carnival cruises and Seaborn but they are only suspending the Princess line.

I doubt RCI would shut down while their big competitor is still operating.   Princess is just one small part of the Carnival empire.

If Carnival had said they were suspending all their cruise lines then yes I think RCI would suspend too. 

Well put!

[firefly333]

4 hours ago, GetToLivin said:

They absolutely should suspend cruises for 60 days (initially). One thing that has been made clear by professionals across the board is that when containment is in force, it helps to stop the spread. Isn't that what we all want? The sooner there is containment, the sooner this will die off and we can get back to our lives, cruises and all. 

DFW has more and more cases that flew in. Let's ban flights, especially from calif if you are serious. Contain them.

 

Churches still operating. Pastor Jeffries said his work is tok important to cancel. Having it only on tv is like sitting by a fire and viewing a fire on tv.

 

My sister is full of medical issues and her husband at risk. They still attend church.

 

I'm tired of cruises being targeted and everything else ignored.

 

Im taking my at risk parents to get their taxes done tomorrow where there will be lots of other people. My mom said she doesnt want to postpone, chances are this gets worse.

 

My mom is 93 and my dad 101 and both have at risk underlying conditions.

 

So no I dont think cruises should be shut down, not if airlines flying in people sick with the virus, and we have at least 3 who flew in sick... and gave it to others. One from silicon valley, one from Kentucky and one they wouldnt tell us which state he lives in or what hospital he is in. They said if they told us which hospital people would avoid it. Exactly lol.

 

 

[Iamcruzin]

2 hours ago, mike123abc said:

The easiest/best financial thing for RCL (and other cruise lines) to do now is delay.

 

They all probably have plans now to close up shop for a period of time, but the longer they delay the announcement the more cash they can conserve.  If at this moment they do the Princess/Viking policy, they will start having to refund cash.  But, the phone lines are jammed with people voluntarily taking FCCs instead.

 

The faster they can process these FCC for customers calling in the more cash they can conserve, plus they are assured of a lot of bookings once the problem clears up.  This also has the added benefit not having to discount as much in the future since people will have to use these credits before they expire.

 

I know it is a bit cynical thinking this way.  Princess probably had so many cancellations with their bad press that they were probably at the point that cancelling did not cost them much actual cash.  Once the other lines reach the same point of minimal cash outlay for cancelling they will probably make the same announcement.

That's a very good point. At this point it's a standoff to see who will hold out longer the cruise line or the passenger. With Baltimore closing they will have to refund those passengers. As more ports close and it's just a matter of time, those passengers will also have to be refunded. 

[time4u2go]

4 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

That's a very good point. At this point it's a standoff to see who will hold out longer the cruise line or the passenger. With Baltimore closing they will have to refund those passengers. As more ports close and it's just a matter of time, those passengers will also have to be refunded. 

Agreed.  More and more ports are closing.  The cruise lines will soon run out of ports.  I feel the cruise lines will be shutting down soon, whether people like it or not.

Edited March 12, 2020 by time4u2go

[dasmonkey]

Shutting down temporarily is probably coming.  
All 3 major lines are loath to do that at this point.
They are all leveraged to the hilt and desperate for whatever income flow they can get.
The elephant in the room however is them having to hand cash back to a customer instead of an IOU in the form of a FCC if THEY do the cancelling instead of you. 

[GetToLivin]

3 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

DFW has more and more cases that flew in. Let's ban flights, especially from calif if you are serious. Contain them.

 

Hey there, I live in Roanoke, TX. It's because of people traveling in general that my stance is what it is. After hearing about the husband from Frisco that came back from Silicon Valley and gave his wife and three year old Covid-19, it really hit home with me. Just because I agree that cruises should be suspended doesn't mean I don't feel the same way about air travel, or ANY large gathering of people in general. We have a few cases here now in DFW due to people going to conferences so I think travel as a whole should be taken a lot more seriously than it is, and yes, cruises, flights, conferences, etc are included in that. With 6.8 million people in the DFW Metroplex and DFW Airport operating some 1850 flights a day, I am indeed concerned all across the board.

[firefly333]

No one addressed why target cruise lines.

 

Pastor Jeffries is a tv evangelist for those who dont know and thousands will attend sunday. Do you all think because it's a church God will protect them so it's ok, but a cruise out of Galveston isnt ok.

 

As long as churches still meet and other things, I still dont see the difference. 

 

Seems like targeting cruise lines but ignoring airlines flying sick pax here.

 

Has the be even handed, not just cruises.

 

 

[firefly333]

3 minutes ago, GetToLivin said:

 

Hey there, I live in Roanoke, TX. It's because of people traveling in general that my stance is what it is. After hearing about the husband from Frisco that came back from Silicon Valley and gave his wife and three year old Covid-19, it really hit home with me. Just because I agree that cruises should be suspended doesn't mean I don't feel the same way about air travel, or ANY large gathering of people in general. We have a few cases here now in DFW due to people going to conferences so I think travel as a whole should be taken a lot more seriously than it is, and yes, cruises, flights, conferences, etc are included in that. With 6.8 million people in the DFW Metroplex and DFW Airport operating some 1850 flights a day, I am indeed concerned all across the board.

Yes, exactly. And someone flew in who was in his 70s, and gave it to whomever he visited in his 50s, that is all hush hush. They wouldnt say where he flew in from or what state he is from.

 

All we know is he is from out of state and is in some dallas hospital.

 

And he gave it to whomever he visited. Hush hush 

 

What's the pt of shutting down cruises if nothing else around here targeted 

[Judyrem]

6 hours ago, 3Blessings said:

I think Yes, to make it easier on people like me who are supposed to travel in the next 30 days.

Yes, 30 days from today for me!

 

 

[not-enough-cruising]

4 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Yes, exactly. And someone flew in who was in his 70s, and gave it to whomever he visited in his 50s, that is all hush hush. They wouldnt say where he flew in from or what state he is from.

 

All we know is he is from out of state and is in some dallas hospital.

 

And he gave it to whomever he visited. Hush hush 

 

What's the pt of shutting down cruises if nothing else around here targeted 

That individual drove into TX, he did not fly. 

[Weber Prof]

5 hours ago, otcprofits2 said:

When you guys say your healthy and do so at your own risk, its not about "you". It's about the possibility of being infected and bringing it back to your local communities. Sure all of us under 40 and healthy can say im minimal risk "but you can't only think of yourself"

Reminds me of rationales used to justify not getting vaccinations for children.