The C.D.C. reverses course on how to get cruise ship passengers home

[bluesea321]

"After weeks of allowing cruise ship passengers who were exposed to the coronavirus but had no symptoms to travel home on commercial flights with nothing more than a temperature check, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed course on Sunday.  Cruise companies will now have to charter flights to return passengers to their home cities, the agency said.  They may not use any public transportation or scheduled flights."

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/05/world/coronavirus-live-news-updates.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage#link-113cf855

[WmFCoyote]

1 minute ago, bluesea321 said:

"After weeks of allowing cruise ship passengers who were exposed to the coronavirus but had no symptoms to travel home on commercial flights with nothing more than a temperature check, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed course on Sunday.  Cruise companies will now have to charter flights to return passengers to their home cities, the agency said.  They may not use any public transportation or scheduled flights."

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/05/world/coronavirus-live-news-updates.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage#link-113cf855

 

So, how many passengers does this effect? The only PCL passengers still on board a ship are those still on the Coral and the 105 or so on the Pacific Princess.

[bluesea321]

1 minute ago, WmFCoyote said:

So, how many passengers does this effect? The only PCL passengers still on board a ship are those still on the Coral and the 105 or so on the Pacific Princess.

 

I don't know but obviously it is not limited to PCL, applies to all.  And besides those on the Coral and Pacific, there are pax still on the HAL ships in Fort Lauderdale who have not gone home yet.

[eclue]

They act like this virus is the fault of the cruise lines.

[npcl]

24 minutes ago, eclue said:

They act like this virus is the fault of the cruise lines.

No they are realizing that since there are infected passengers on those ships, and the passengers have been on them for a long enough time that a fair percentage on those currently not showing symptoms are going to already be infected.

 

Looking at the numbers from the Diamond, Grand, and Ruby.  Probably around 20-25% are either asymptomatic or will develop symptoms during the next two weeks.  This is a bit different then someone infected might be on a plane.  It is pretty much a guarantee that someone infected will be on any plane they get on.  Thus the need for charters compared to public commercial flights.

[npcl]

39 minutes ago, bluesea321 said:

 

I don't know but obviously it is not limited to PCL, applies to all.  And besides those on the Coral and Pacific, there are pax still on the HAL ships in Fort Lauderdale who have not gone home yet.

It also sets a guideline when  the lines start back up, if  cases show up on board. 

[nooptere]

18 minutes ago, npcl said:

It also sets a guideline when  the lines start back up, if  cases show up on board. 

Exactly. Who is going to want to sit in a middle seat next to two asymptomatic cruise pax on a commercial flight?

[patrickmoran]

The big group of people affected are the crew members still onboard.  Who wants to stay on a plague ship for another 60 or more days.

[Coral]

54 minutes ago, nooptere said:

Exactly. Who is going to want to sit in a middle seat next to two asymptomatic cruise pax on a commercial flight?

Why would this be any different from being next to people from NYC where there is a large number of people sick?

 

I think it is wrong. 

Edited April 5, 2020 by Coral

[nooptere]

25 minutes ago, Coral said:

Why would this be any different from being next to people from NYC where there is a large number of people sick?

 

I think it is wrong. 

Understand the comparison. I would not be interested taking any flights out of a highly infected NYC any time soon. Enjoy your travels.

[npcl]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

Why would this be any different from being next to people from NYC where there is a large number of people sick?

 

I think it is wrong. 

New York   18.8 million, Current cases  123,000.  Event if you assume that the current is only 10% of those infected (unlikely)  you get 1.2/18.8 million  =6.3%

 

On the infected cruise ships, 20-25%, based upon information on the diamond, ruby and Grand considering that the people current on the ships spent even more time mixing together prior to being ordered to rooms a few days before docking. 

 

I would rather take the odds with NY.  Especially since on any flight out of New York you have very few passengers.   

[Coral]

I am just saying because someone is on a ship doesn't mean they are affected with COVID-19. Likewise with individuals in NYC or Washington state - they are not all affected.

 

I personally don't want to fly right now but people have to get home.

Edited April 6, 2020 by Coral

[Tex Mex]

https://www.foxnews.com/media/holland-america-cruise-passenger-florida-disembark-coronavirus

 

If I understood this article correctly HAL passengers were chartered to ATL then put on commercial flights from there.  Kind of defeats the purpose of the charter flight in my opinion.

[bluesea321]

6 minutes ago, Tex Mex said:

https://www.foxnews.com/media/holland-america-cruise-passenger-florida-disembark-coronavirus

 

If I understood this article correctly HAL passengers were chartered to ATL then put on commercial flights from there.  Kind of defeats the purpose of the charter flight in my opinion.

 

Yes that was my concern as well.  It was also the CDC policy until last night when the CDC reversed its position - no more commercial flights or public transport as of today.

Edited April 6, 2020 by bluesea321

[bstrauss3]

37 minutes ago, Tex Mex said:

https://www.foxnews.com/media/holland-america-cruise-passenger-florida-disembark-coronavirus

 

If I understood this article correctly HAL passengers were chartered to ATL then put on commercial flights from there.  Kind of defeats the purpose of the charter flight in my opinion.

Not really... purpose of the charter flight was to get them to a hub from where they could go their 50 separate ways

[purduemom1]

Let’s not forget the flight crews who operate those commercial flights. Their jobs are considered essential. Passengers make the choice to fly not so with the crew.

[HappyInVan]

2 hours ago, Tex Mex said:

https://www.foxnews.com/media/holland-america-cruise-passenger-florida-disembark-coronavirus

 

If I understood this article correctly HAL passengers were chartered to ATL then put on commercial flights from there.  Kind of defeats the purpose of the charter flight in my opinion.

 

 

The charter flights are meant to protect the local population at the point of disembarkation. Without this assurance, no city would allow the pax of a contaminated vessel to disembark.

 

Medical security onward is the responsibility of other governments. For Atlanta etc, I think that the FAA, CDC and the White House are responsible. 

[npcl]

3 hours ago, Tex Mex said:

https://www.foxnews.com/media/holland-america-cruise-passenger-florida-disembark-coronavirus

 

If I understood this article correctly HAL passengers were chartered to ATL then put on commercial flights from there.  Kind of defeats the purpose of the charter flight in my opinion.

This was before the change in rules.  Now they cannot fly commercial for any part of their journey.  

[HappyInVan]

3 hours ago, Tex Mex said:

https://www.foxnews.com/media/holland-america-cruise-passenger-florida-disembark-coronavirus

 

If I understood this article correctly HAL passengers were chartered to ATL then put on commercial flights from there.  Kind of defeats the purpose of the charter flight in my opinion.

 

npcl is right. The OP did say...

 

"the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed course on Sunday.  Cruise companies will now have to charter flights to return passengers to their home cities, the agency said.  They may not use any public transportation or scheduled flights."

 

The foxnews article is dated as 6 hours ago?

 

[npcl]

Another hurdle for the cruise lines when it comes time for them to restart.  With this policy, one I don't expect to change, if the cruise lines start to soon and have cases on board a cruise its charter flights and private cars for everyone.

 

I really think that government at multiple levels are going to oppose cruise lines from starting up anytime soon.  Probably not until after large gatherings like major sporting events are allowed. This is one way to make it clear that if there is a cruise with Covid-19 on board the cruise line will have to deal with the expense of getting everyone home, not just pull into port and let the government deal with it. No more all we have to do is get the people off the ship and its not our problem.

 

The HAL and Princess ships in Florida is certainly the driver.

Edited April 6, 2020 by npcl

[caribill]

9 hours ago, nooptere said:

Exactly. Who is going to want to sit in a middle seat next to two asymptomatic cruise pax on a commercial flight?

 

Many commercial flights that are still scheduled are so empty each person can have a row or two to him/her self.

 

Although there was one AA flight the other day with just 11 passengers, but because they all purchased economy basic fares, AA forced them to sit together in the last three rows of the plane. https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEFfgPDwpfHuAZilNd2Vu6b8qGAgEKg8IACoHCAowhK-LAjD4ySww-9S0BQ?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

 

[downsmead]

I have also seen news reports of flights with only one passenger where the crew have sat them in first class and treated them with all the privileges. I can’t remember which airlines though.

Just goggled - https://abc7news.com/coronavirus-us-cases-update-tips/6077546/

 

Ironically it was also AA!

Edited April 6, 2020 by downsmead

[OfcSupport]

8 hours ago, Tex Mex said:

https://www.foxnews.com/media/holland-america-cruise-passenger-florida-disembark-coronavirus

 

If I understood this article correctly HAL passengers were chartered to ATL then put on commercial flights from there.  Kind of defeats the purpose of the charter flight in my opinion.

They were put on charter flights to appease the people of Broward County. It seems like the authorities didn't care what happened with them after they left the tarmac and charter flights. 

[bluesea321]

The CDC has now officially published their new guidelines (bold emphasis by CDC):

 

• Cruise line companies must get travelers directly to their homes via chartered or private transportation.
• Commercial flights and public transportation may not be used.
• Since February 2020, travelers on dozens of cruise ships have been affected by COVID-19 outbreaks. Cruise ships are often settings for outbreaks of infectious diseases because of the semi-enclosed environment and contact between travelers from many countries.
• Outbreaks of COVID-19 on cruise ships pose a risk for rapid spread of disease beyond the voyage. Aggressive efforts are required to contain spread.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/cruise-ship/what-cdc-is-doing.html

 

As others have posted I also expect that this will be new "normal" when cruising resumes.

 

 

[commodoredave]

3 minutes ago, bluesea321 said:

The CDC has now officially published their new guidelines (bold emphasis by CDC):

 

• Cruise line companies must get travelers directly to their homes via chartered or private transportation.
• Commercial flights and public transportation may not be used.
• Since February 2020, travelers on dozens of cruise ships have been affected by COVID-19 outbreaks. Cruise ships are often settings for outbreaks of infectious diseases because of the semi-enclosed environment and contact between travelers from many countries.
• Outbreaks of COVID-19 on cruise ships pose a risk for rapid spread of disease beyond the voyage. Aggressive efforts are required to contain spread.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/cruise-ship/what-cdc-is-doing.html

 

As others have posted I also expect that this will be new "normal" when cruising resumes.

 

 

Sound guidelines for the current times, but I don't see why this would be continued after the COVID-19 pandemic is over. In fact, it would be very difficult for every cruise line to provide private transportation home for everyone when all ships are sailing again. Furthermore, how does the CDC or anyone else enforce the private travel order when passengers have to travel long distances by air to dozens of different countries?