Umm...this article that came out this morning about cruising is horrifying

[fredandkell]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/co...te-period/ar-BB11ZoEY?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=DELLDHP
So basically, if you are stuck on a cruise, you should prepare to be on it for an "indefinite" period of time. And the Coast Guard won't rescue you. And likely you'll be sent to the country of flagship, e.g. Bahamas, for treatment. But they probably won't accept you either.

 

[tcufrog]

Honestly, it sounds like a horror movie.

 

[bunnm09]

It seems like this is regarding the ships that are hanging off the coast of Florida at the moment with only crew on board(I know it mentions the couple cruises that are somehow still going on). Once cruising resumes, at that point you'd think everything would be in a much better place or cruising would not be happening, there is no way the United States would turn away a ship full of US citizens if someone was sick.

But a ship registered in the bahamas with no passengers and only crew on board? That seems fair

 

[cgolf]

I was using the ship tracker on the webcams to find the two Holland ships and was amazed how many ships are anchored near the US shore or just moving very slowly along shore. Looks like DCL must be rotating docking the Dream, Magic, and Fantasy in PC. Guessing they are staying close to the US in case of medical emergency. No idea where the Wonder is.

 

[ahain]

I seem to remember that the "proposal" from the cruise industry association to the administration (mid March) included their plan to self-fund medical & prospective evacuation expenses after the U.S. told the cruise lines that they couldn't guarantee availability of U.S. resources to do so and that the cruise lines must not rely on the US Government to foot that responsibility.

That being said, I have no idea how to handle the "you cannot dock here at all" situation, especially since there US citizens on board who are not currently exhibiting any symptoms. Seems like they should be allowed to dock & debark with specific mask/straight home to self-quarantine requirements, and that the cruise line should arrange private medivac for sick patients. If passengers had trip insurance, wouldn't it cover cost for medical evacuation potentially if it was purchased before the COVID-19 situation?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

No idea where the Wonder is.

It's in the harbor in San Diego.

 

[seashoreCM]

Or the ship may be allowed to dock but all persons would have to go into state/country quarantine stations for, say, 14 days, as opposed to self-quarantining. Really ill persons would go straight to hospitals.

 

[lanejudy]

Looks like DCL must be rotating docking the Dream, Magic, and Fantasy in PC. Guessing they are staying close to the US in case of medical emergency.

Actually, not as much for emergency medical but I believe they are sticking close to PC because it is DCL's "home" port with contracts for fuel, provisions, supplies, etc. The 3 ships in the Atlantic have been rotating between PC and CC. The Wonder has been in San Diego and will be rotating out of her berth there.

 

[oceanbec]

It seems like this is regarding the ships that are hanging off the coast of Florida at the moment with only crew on board(I know it mentions the couple cruises that are somehow still going on). Once cruising resumes, at that point you'd think everything would be in a much better place or cruising would not be happening, there is no way the United States would turn away a ship full of US citizens if someone was sick.

But a ship registered in the bahamas with no passengers and only crew on board? That seems fair

There are ships off Florida now (or headed toward FL) that do have passengers on board, including Americans. These ships left on longer itineraries prior to the cruise suspensions (they left in early March).

 

[BartmanLA]

The order is coming from Florida state government, the Governor says that they can't handle the medical needs of the ships with sick passengers and crews on board, (this is specifically aimed at the Zaandam and Rotterdam) ships who are on their way to Ft Lauderdale to off load passengers (of which there are 300 Americans on board the Zaandam, there are also 4 dead and approximately 10 others sick with "flu like symptoms". The Governor who btw got DC to send them 100% of their requested medical supplies from the Fed Gov't stockpile this week and is getting another 100% next week as well while other states got much much less (Colorado received 1 DAYS worth of supplies) claims that their medical resources are stretched too thin to accommodate the sick people on board cruise ships, and that they're going to have to "loiter" off shore beyond the territorial limits while they evaluate and treat the sick on board. I'm not sure if the State can prohibit the US Coast Guard from doing any emergency medical evacs off of ships but it seems like that's what he's trying to do. There's a LOT of people who feel that the ship should return to her home port (flagged out of The Netherlands) which if forced to sail there could turn the ship into a literal funeral barge, aside from which they haven't indicated the disposition of the Americans on board even if they're not sick. It's a dilemma for sure, but compassion should be a priority for the people on board.

 

[spiders]

I think it's ridiculous to deny entry to Americans at any American port, let alone residents of your own state.

With that being said, since it is now apparent that cruises will more than likely not happen until at least June, the ships that are already without passengers are going to end up sending their crews home with the exception of those specifically needed to keep it moving and maintained. They're going to need to be able to send them home from somewhere...

 

[fredandkell]

If passengers had trip insurance, wouldn't it cover cost for medical evacuation potentially if it was purchased before the COVID-19 situation?

Yes, but by whom? I would think in the US, most medivacs would be done by the Coast Guard? Are there private medivac companies operating right now?

With that being said, since it is now apparent that cruises will more than likely not happen until at least June, the ships that are already without passengers are going to end up sending their crews home with the exception of those specifically needed to keep it moving and maintained. They're going to need to be able to send them home from somewhere...

So in essence, if no one lets them dock, each cruise ship will have to "cruise around the world," dropping off crew at each of their home countries...assuming the home countries let them in? The way the article is written, it almost seemed like they were expecting people to have to ride the whole thing out on the ship, sick or not....like, the "shelter-in-place" includes whatever your current shelter is, and for some, that's a cruise ship.

 

[cgolf]

Actually, not as much for emergency medical but I believe they are sticking close to PC because it is DCL's "home" port with contracts for fuel, provisions, supplies, etc. The 3 ships in the Atlantic have been rotating between PC and CC. The Wonder has been in San Diego and will be rotating out of her berth there.

Looking at Ship tracker, it appears that ships of all lines are hanging out near the coast. I did notice at Port Evergalades they are also rotating ships in and out, I assume for fuel and supplies. So you are right, that probably has a lot to do with it too. With the Coast guard not offering help, I wonder if some will move away?

Captain Kate had a cool video on instagram showing the steps they go through to decontaminate mail coming on the Edge. Assume all lines are doing similar things. Was impressed that she was part of the decontamination team too.

 

[tcufrog]

Yes, but by whom? I would think in the US, most medivacs would be done by the Coast Guard? Are there private medivac companies operating right now?


So in essence, if no one lets them dock, each cruise ship will have to "cruise around the world," dropping off crew at each of their home countries...assuming the home countries let them in? The way the article is written, it almost seemed like they were expecting people to have to ride the whole thing out on the ship, sick or not....like, the "shelter-in-place" includes whatever your current shelter is, and for some, that's a cruise ship.

I read an article about ship crews not being able to go back home because their home countries aren't letting them back in.

 

[tcufrog]

Yes, but by whom? I would think in the US, most medivacs would be done by the Coast Guard? Are there private medivac companies operating right now?


So in essence, if no one lets them dock, each cruise ship will have to "cruise around the world," dropping off crew at each of their home countries...assuming the home countries let them in? The way the article is written, it almost seemed like they were expecting people to have to ride the whole thing out on the ship, sick or not....like, the "shelter-in-place" includes whatever your current shelter is, and for some, that's a cruise ship.

I read an article about ship crews not being able to go back home because their home countries aren't letting them back in.

 

[Pooh93]

Looking at Ship tracker, it appears that ships of all lines are hanging out near the coast. I did notice at Port Evergalades they are also rotating ships in and out, I assume for fuel and supplies. So you are right, that probably has a lot to do with it too. With the Coast guard not offering help, I wonder if some will move away?

Captain Kate had a cool video on instagram showing the steps they go through to decontaminate mail coming on the Edge. Assume all lines are doing similar things. Was impressed that she was part of the decontamination team too.

I found Captain Kate's Instagram. Pretty neat to watch and scroll through her posts.

 

[gotomu212]

San Diego is doing something similar. I think this is state (and other national governments) telling cruise ships that they cannot transfer risks onto the state. The cruise ships are trying to get sailing as soon as possible and transferring the health costs of that to port countries, many of which they don’t pay taxes to.
Just like during hurricanes when people chose not to evacuate and then expect emergency services to bail them out- the governments are saying if you chose to sail there’s a chance help won’t be available. So dont make decisions without considering how you’ll care for people.

 

[cgolf]

I do wonder though what the end port was for these two ships? I understand cancelling ports along the way, but is there legal ramifications to not allowing a ship to stop at the final port? I guess it depends on how the contracts are written up too.

Also I believe these cruises started before most cruise lines called off their cruises. That said I know Holland was one of the last to stop sailing.

 

[Intr3pid]

I know CC has an airstrip - but what about Half Moon Cay or Princess Cays? They look tiny. If there is an airstrip available - or can be constructed in a hurry - each country can do its own repatriation flights. The islands are about 50 miles off the coast. A coast guard run for the hundreds of Americans could theoretically still be done.

 

[fredandkell]

San Diego is doing something similar. I think this is state (and other national governments) telling cruise ships that they cannot transfer risks onto the state. The cruise ships are trying to get sailing as soon as possible and transferring the health costs of that to port countries, many of which they don’t pay taxes to.
Just like during hurricanes when people chose not to evacuate and then expect emergency services to bail them out- the governments are saying if you chose to sail there’s a chance help won’t be available. So dont make decisions without considering how you’ll care for people.

On one hand, I agree with this....but on the other hand, for those really long cruises that began in the weeks before this really ramped up, it doesn't seem fair. No good outcome here.