****CARNIVAL CRUISERS: HOW ARE THINGS WHERE YOU LIVE???

[WhiteOptima]

Hello everyone.  I am near Cleveland and have worked from home since 2013.  I am a payroll manager for a very large company and other than a lot of phone calls and business continuity meetings my work is the same. 

Our bars, restaurants, etc were closed on the 15th then more closings and the stay at home order.  My younger son started working from home on the 16th and my daughter in law just finished a consulting job BUT they have 3 children 4,2 and 10 mos and my retired husband and I are trying to help by taking one overnight for a day or two.  All playgrounds are closed and the 2 older ones went to daycare a few days a week so we are doing crafts, baked bread and cookies, do puzzles and just anything to keep them active as our weather hasn’t been kind.

My older son is a Paramedic/Firefighter and unfortunately we have not been with him for 2 weeks. They have face shields and gloves but still concerned for him....

[RWolver672]

We live in a small Village in Michigan.  Most of the restaurants have closed.  I had a doctor's appointment, it was cancelled.  Wife's driver's license needed renewal at the end of this month.  SOS was only open by appointment.  Governor announced to stay at home and within minutes, wife's appointment was cancelled.  

 

Being the Lent season, so many organizations that normally had Fish Fridays have cancelled and are now stuck with a bunch of supplies.  They are going to try to bring them back after this is over.  

 

The one thing that I noticed is that there are a lot more people in the Village taking walks now.  Dollar General is holding half of their paper supplies and only offering them to seniors from 8-9 am.  Our one bank is drive thru only.  Our one bar that serves food is call in order, credit/debit only and they bring it out to your car.  

 

Luckily our freezer was full and we buy a lot of things in bulk at Sam's Club so we are good to go.  

 

[Host Carolyn]

North Carolina goes on statewide lockdown Monday, not sure why waiting till then because people not taking this thing seriously have 2 more days to infect people😠

Our county has been locked since ???.....what day is it??? I think since Wednesday?

 

[jimbo5544]

Ok, I will opt in here.  We go back and forth between CT and FL, and spend the majority of time in Ft Myers.  Our kids live in CT and NY (Long Island) where things are worse there than here,  It has gotten worse here (once the spring breakers left) and we are not in Lock Down, but all restaurants and bars are closed (except take out, yes....bar take out).  Tough being away from family, and the counties and governor flirt with a full lockdown (tough as parts of Florida have few cases, we are moderate and southwest Florida Dade and Broward are bad.  

 

We are retired and part time travel agents and have spent the last 30-45 days cancelling about 200 trips.  We ourselves have had 5 cruises cancelled, and 2 land trips.  We still have 1 on the books (Legend Med Rome to Venice in August) which is on the danger list and might (probably) will be cancelled as well.  Just got a text from one of our best friends in CT her entire family tested positive.  

 

All in all pretty surreal, feel like we all have been injected in a Stephen King Novel, and not a good one.

Edited March 28, 2020 by jimbo5544

[pe4all]

Things not great here on Long Island, NY.  Most shops/businesses closed down.  Yesterday school shut-down was extended to April 15 - I am sure that shut-down will be extended.  Most Dr/Dentist offices closed - and even then only for dire emergencies.  Drs are video-conferencing, if at all.  Pretty hard to check someone's throat over video!  Parks all closed.  Essentials (toilet paper, paper towels, hand sanitizer, milk, eggs, bread) not to be found - and if you are lucky enough to find some, limited to one.  Most restaurants are closed- those that are still open are open only for delivery, takeout, curbside pickup.  Hospitals over-whelmed.  Still seeing groups of teens hanging out on top of each other.  I am sure their parents would flip out if they saw them doing that.  Our 3/22 CCL cruise was (of course) cancelled.  We have a Disneyworld vacay booked (for over a year) for 5/6 - last night Disney announced their parks would be closed "indefinitely."  We had bucket-list trip to Ecuador/Galapagos booked for 7/31 - will almost definitely cancel that, or it will be cancelled for us.  Hoping to get some of our $$ refunded.  Even with travel insurance there are no guarantees, as we do not purchase cancel for any reason.  We walk 5-6 miles a day, practicing social distancing.  Just love it (sarcasm inserted here) when people walk/jog down the middle of the sidewalk and don't budge an inch to the sides, leaving us to walk in the street around them, dodging cars as we do so!!  We are so much luckier than some of our friends, who have been exposed and tested positive.  Luckily we had no contact with them for many weeks.  All in all, we are healthy (as of now), have food to eat (as of now), and toilet paper to wipe with (as of now).  Things could be much, much worse.  

[jimbo5544]

On 3/26/2020 at 7:54 PM, Saint Greg said:

This will help.
 

 

 

 

Good deal!

[HERKIMER417]

I'm in Central NY, closer to Canada then NYC.    Over all it's quiet.  The governor is all about NYC - and that's fine.  It's rare that he knows we exist. 

 

  I'm a retired college professor.  But not wanting to sit around I started teaching online classes a couple of years back.  The transition was fine for me.  But now with this total conversion to online classes, it has been very hard for some old hardliners.  They had been set in there ways are now having issues because they are true Neanderthal's when it comes to most electronics. 

 

    I expect a big change over in the college and primary teaching ranks once this settles.   This radical change was unexpected and having spoken to some friends it is causing a lot of stress.   Several are opting to push up retirements.  

 

Grocery stores are doing OK,  the toilet paper is getting replenished and thankfully liquor stores are considered critical.

 

  While I look around most are doing a great job of isolating.   No one even walking around with the kids or dog.   Locally, our current problem is escapee's from the city.   They are trying to avoid potential contacts - yet may already be carrying the virus and now by using their second homes are spreading things.    What makes us nervous is that more sick will come NYC to summer homes and the governors statement that he will transport the overflowing sick from NYC to outlining areas.      

 

 

 

     

[WhiteOptima]

This is all so sad and unbelievable.  Easter is in 2 weeks and we can only be with those we have been in contact with and not all our loved ones.   I truly fear what we are being told here in Ohio that we won’t peak until May.😢

[RWolver672]

Here in Michigan there are so many yearly events that are being cancelled.  Yesterday they announced that the Detroit Auto Show has been cancelled for this year and won't be held again until June of 2021.  They are going to turn the Cobo Hall (or whatever it's called now) into a hospital.

[jperry2011]

Everything seems good in PA some people cant go to work because the governor put a ban on alot of it even though there are many counties with 0 or 1 case...

I'm still working though and making money to book some more carnival cruises

[cruisecrazypat]

Southern Mississippi here.  Our county (Stone) has 0 cases right now.  The Gulf Coast and far northern Mississippi are not great but better than a lot.  Schools are closed until April 17.  I live in a small town.  Most restaurants are closed.  The small family ones anyway.  No fighting in WalMart.  

 

Have 3 cruises booked this year, all out of New Orleans.  June 7, Oct. 11, and Dec 27 (backup if June cancelled).

 

Sad for our country and our people

[pacruise804]

23 hours ago, jperry2011 said:

Everything seems good in PA some people cant go to work because the governor put a ban on alot of it even though there are many counties with 0 or 1 case...

I'm still working though and making money to book some more carnival cruises

 

Hopefully our more rural counties keep the low infection rates.  The eastern half of the state isn't looking good 😞 

I live near 2 Federal Prisons and there have been reports of transfers from NY, which concerns many in this area for potential spread.  

[Radiioman46]

Here is the latest update for the Greater Houston Area:

8 deaths / 929 confirmed COVID19 cases.

This means that the survival rate here is Houston is averaging over 99%!

 

Dusty

[jofifrla]

The governor of Arizona announced that school has ended for the year.

 

[jordanaire]

We're doing OK here in Georgetown, KY. I think that our county (Scott) has 10 or 11 cases of the virus right now. Store shelves continue to be empty, no matter what time of day. Fortunately, we have enough food and gold (toilet paper), but no hand sanitizer, to get by for a few weeks. Our governor Steve Beshear is doing a fantastic job of keeping us posted every day at 5pm with new updates and closures.

 

We have an 8-day cruise aboard the Horizon coming up October 3rd and hoping this virus has cleared up by then so that we can go. We definitely need to go on a cruise!

 

We want to wish everyone nothing but the best. Please stay safe and follow the CDC's recommendations so that we can ALL survive this mess and get back to doing what we all enjoy...cruising!

[Joe817]

I got out yesterday and went to Kroger to replenish some sorely needed staples. Namely red grapes, and spanish peanuts...for the wife. The store was fairly well stocked except for the always elusive toilet paper, paper towels, spray cleaner of any kind, and hand sanitizer. I DID score finding 2 bottles of dial anti-bacterial hand soap. I also filled up the car with gas. Using our Kroger Reward Card, we had built up enough points to pay only $1.49/gallon. The normal price of gas is $1.69/gal. 

 

For dinner, I hit the Taco Bueno drive-thru. It was good getting out of the house for a little while. 

[Trueblueky]

Central Florida.  Anything a tourist would want to do is closed -- Disney/SeaWorld/Busch Gardens/Legoland/Universal/Gatorland, beaches, state parks, restaurants, shows, MLB spring training, outlet malls -- so traffic is incredibly low.  We had to go past the Disney exits on I-4 (aka Mickey's parking lot) at 6 p.m. and the traffic was less than at normal midnight.

 

Availability of items at grocery is spotty.  If you aren't picky about which type of veggie or which type of fruit, there is plenty of good food.  I was at Wallyworld when a pallet of toilet paper came down the aisle -- she handed every cart a pack; mine was an 18-roll package, shared with nearby family.

 

Gas prices seem to go down every day.

 

We are youngish retired and volunteer a lot.  All those places are closed.  No AARP tax prep, for instance.  So finding things to do has been interesting.

 

Megachurch pastor arrested today for not following social distancing rules in Tampa area.  Our church has been creative with streaming.  They started having the children's time as a different link, rather than buried inside the overall service.

 

Decent weather, although we need rain, so good for walking and golf.  Would hate to be stuck inside in March some places I have lived.

 

 

Edited March 31, 2020 by Trueblueky

[Honolulu Blue]

Thanks, everyone, for sharing.  My stories:

 

I'm from Michigan, and others have told much of that story.  Our Governor continues to hint that the schools will be closed for the rest of the year, but she hasn't done it yet.  Most places are closed.  I'm actually considered critical personnel, so I can come to our office when I need to.  I haven't yet, but by the end of the week I'm going to have to.  I am starting to figure out the work-from-home rhythm.

 

My grocery store visits could've been worse, I suppose.  I got some TP from one of my local grocery stores, which was a nice surprise.  I stocked up so I wouldn't have to visit for a little while.

 

My last cruise was on the Breeze in January.  I disembarked to find out about an outbreak in China.  Little did I know.😱  My next cruise was to have been last week on the Grand Princess.  Yes, THAT Grand Princess. 😨

 

My next scheduled cruise is on the Horizon in October.  I hope to go, I hope things are (more) normal by then.

[pacruise804]

12 hours ago, Trueblueky said:

 

We are youngish retired and volunteer a lot.  All those places are closed.  No AARP tax prep, for instance.  So finding things to do has been interesting.

 

 

 

In PA essential services are still operational.  Maybe you can find a food pantry or animal shelter that can accept volunteers.  

 

Blood drives would only give you something for that day, but a blood donation is another service you could give.  Maybe write letters/make phone calls to those without family?  Is on-line tutoring through skype or something similar an option with many schools going to on-line instruction?

 

Personally I still have more on my to-do list at home than I can see (hopefully) getting through before this ends.  I do understand wanting to help others though.

[HERKIMER417]

[Host Carolyn]

I'm thankful to hear that most of you are doing well -- sounds like it's pretty much the same no matter where you live except for a few isolated places that aren't on as restricted a lock down.  I remain hopeful that we can get through the next 2-4 weeks when it sounds like a lot of the country will reach the peak of this pandemic but it's frustrating not knowing what's going to happen and having life turned upside down. We all just need to follow the rules to slow it down.

 

I hope your family and friends are all well and please come back and keep us posted

Edited April 1, 2020 by Host Carolyn

[Joe817]

I quite agree Carolyn. It's looking pretty grim out there, and it looks like the next few weeks are going to hit us hard. Best thing to do is stay home as much as possible. We are settling into a pattern of cooking dinner at home for 2 days, then go grab take out, then repeat steps 1 & 2. Restaurant take out has now turned into curbside delivery.  Don't even have to get out of the car. 

We had our favorite comfort food last night. Mexican food! Downed it with a Natural Lite(or 2, lol). 

 

For those that venture out here, the people are not keeping their distance. So the police are closing many parks here in Arlington to prevent that nonsense. Wife & I do our daily 1 mile walk, while keeping plenty of distance. Don't want to get a traffic ticket! Fines can be as high as $1,000. 

 

Our governor has sent out the National Guard to help out in a support role, primarily to hospitals. We are trying to prepare for the tidal wave of new cases here in the DFW area, so the city of Dallas has set up one of those 'pop up' hospitals with 500 bed capacity. I think Fort Worth is planning for one as well. Not much is going on here in Arlington that I"m aware of. 

 

Stay safe everybody. As they say on a competing cruise line: "washy-washy!" Good advice. Take care of one another. Happy days will return, eventually. 👍🙏

[pacruise804]

Yesterday our May Journeys cruise was canceled (we figured it would be eventually), and we went state wide (versus by county) of stay at home order.  The stay at home order really doesn't look much different than what I was doing with social distancing, but maybe the stronger language will encourage others to take it more seriously.

[glrounds]

Temporarily living with my son and his family here in the High Desert of LA county in the State of Kalifornia. Get out about twice a week to replenish milk, eggs, and butter for my 2 Grandies. Lucky both parents are still able to work so getting along as of now. Streets are vacant of course, surreal looking without all the crushing traffic. Driving is more of a pleasure now instead of an ordeal. Grandies can't go to school, so I conduct mini math, spelling and art classes in my room with them on occasion. Since I'm 80 I'm in the "sure-to-croak" category in my son's eyes, so he's constantly on me about bathing and washing my hands and not too keen on me going for groceries. Sometimes he just shakes his head to me, like a worried parent. 😊
Just got off the IMAGINATION about a week before the cruise lines decided to shut down. But now teased with ridiculously low cabin rates and armed with my "fit-to-cruise" letter from my doctor,  have booked the PANORAMA again for August 15th (cruised her in January). Sure hope we get through this mess by then and I don't lose everything in a Carnival bankruptcy,  although not overly confident.

 

I'm saddened by what's happening to my country, but we will get through this. We are very resilient people and have always confronted problems in a victorious way in the past. The day I was born, Hitler was rolling through Poland. And we put an end to that mess when for a long time everything looked very dismal.

[sanmarcosman]

11 hours ago, glrounds said:

Temporarily living with my son and his family here in the High Desert of LA county in the State of Kalifornia. 

Hi Gary, Glad you are hanging in there. I remember when your son and his lady sailed with you and you shared photos and a review.