Coronavirus and DCL Megathread - Suspension of Departures for the fleet until early November. Booking only available from early December.

[smmco]

Good grief we are also sailing out of Copenhagen in August! Had not thought of that yet....

I wasn't worried about it all until this travel ban. I can't imagine they'd extend it for 5 months.... but I have to pay for my cruise in a month. Why is every EU country included, but the UK? It makes no sense. Iceland really? If anything I would think Iceland would be banning us.

 

[Adventurelawyer]

I wasn't worried about it all until this travel ban. I can't imagine they'd extend it for 5 months.... but I have to pay for my cruise in a month. Why is every EU country included, but the UK? It makes no sense. Iceland really? If anything I would think Iceland would be banning us.

Because of the passports and the Schengen zone.

 

[afan]

Wrong thread

 

[smmco]

The media isn't spreading the virus... it isn't causing hospitals to choose who to treat... it isn't closing borders... it isn't making anyone wash their hands even. I mean no disrespect when I say, people SHOULD be nervous in my opinon. Not panicky, not frantic... but nervous is fine. It helps people make good choices. Things aren't normal right now.

No, but they can sure dramatize every death and new diagnosis. Imagine if they did this every flu season. None of us would leave our house. To say the media doesn't over-hype things for ratings or to satisfy their own agenda would be disingenuous.

 

[AquaDame]

No, but they can sure dramatize every death and new diagnosis. Imagine if they did this every flu season. None of us would leave our house. To say the media doesn't over-hype things for ratings or to satisfy their own agenda would be disingenuous.

The flu isn't new, it's already world wide and we have a vaccine (though its effectiveness varies from year to year as it evolves). Trying to contain the flu at this point would be a fool's errand, but a new virus that is hitting people all over the world in a matter of weeks? How many flu seasons see hospitals full and doctors making daily if not hourly decisions on who lives and dies due to a lack of adequate supplies? Do hospitals tell people to not come in to the ER if they suspect they have the flu every year? Slowing this thing is certainly worth a shot IMO.

I do not understand why people think the media is doing this for clicks - our economy is tanking, people are dying, and those inside the quarantine zone are telling the rest of us to take it seriously before it gets out of hand. I'm not running around like the sky is falling but I'm not going to just keep saying it's fake news either. What would it take for people to understand there is no agenda here other than reporting? POTUS hates fake news too and even he is making big decisions to combat this thing. The run on TP is the kind of thing that media can create a frenzy over by mindless reporting. A literal pandemic (WHO's term, not the media) where world governments are taking severe actions like closing borders and quarantining people in their homes? Probably not.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

I wasn't worried about it all until this travel ban. I can't imagine they'd extend it for 5 months.... but I have to pay for my cruise in a month. Why is every EU country included, but the UK? It makes no sense. Iceland really? If anything I would think Iceland would be banning us.

Iceland has a lot of cases given how geographically isolated it is. I was a bit shocked to see it on the WHO map but there it was. I don't really understand why the UK is excluded other than economic or political reasons. Italy has closed down every public place, such as museums and historical sites. Only grocery stores and pharmacies can remain open. France has closed the Louvre. I don't doubt Barcelona will soon follow suit with their popular sites. They're already playing soccer matches without people in the stands.

I think anyone with a Magic summer sailing to Europe should prepare for the possibility that all European cruises may be canceled. Can't imagine too many people will be keen to just float around the Mediterranean and not be able to go ashore and see anything, and Disney might just decide to play it safe and cut their losses. Not sure what they'll do with the ship though - dry dock it in May?

 

[AquaDame]

Iceland has a lot of cases given how geographically isolated it is. I was a bit shocked to see it on the WHO map but there it was.

Think about all the people who do stopovers on the way to and from. We just did this in December for several days - it is one of the cheaper airlines to take to Europe from the US. There were also a ton of visitors from Asia while we were there too. It's not nearly as isolated as it once was.

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

I just read on the Points Guy that Viking is suspending ALL cruises until April 30th. They also have a very generous cancel/rebook policy. Do you think DCL and other cruise lines will follow, or is this because a lot of Viking’s market is in Europe?

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Think about all the people who do stopovers on the way to and from. We just did this in December for several days - it is one of the cheaper airlines to take to Europe from the US. There were also a ton of visitors from Asia while we were there too. It's not nearly as isolated as it once was.

That's a good point! They were one of the first airlines to offer that promotion to boost local tourism. I hate that it made them vulnerable to this.

 

[smmco]

The flu isn't new, it's already world wide and we have a vaccine (though its effectiveness varies from year to year as it evolves). Trying to contain the flu at this point would be a fool's errand, but a new virus that is hitting people all over the world in a matter of weeks? How many flu seasons see hospitals full and doctors making daily if not hourly decisions on who lives and dies due to a lack of adequate supplies? Do hospitals tell people to not come in to the ER if they suspect they have the flu every year? Slowing this thing is certainly worth a shot IMO.

I do not understand why people think the media is doing this for clicks - our economy is tanking, people are dying, and those inside the quarantine zone are telling the rest of us to take it seriously before it gets out of hand. I'm not running around like the sky is falling but I'm not going to just keep saying it's fake news either. What would it take for people to understand there is no agenda here other than reporting? POTUS hates fake news too and even he is making big decisions to combat this thing. The run on TP is the kind of thing that media can create a frenzy over by mindless reporting. A literal pandemic (WHO's term, not the media) where world governments are taking severe actions like closing borders and quarantining people in their homes? Probably not.

It's like how the media dramatizes mass shootings but ignores inner-city violence that happens every weekend. They can sway people and scare people however they want. Most people that become infected with the Corona Virus will have symptoms milder than the flu. In fact, 80% will not even know they are sick or think they have a mild cold.

My God this has been going on for two months and we're still not testing people. We have no idea how many people are walking around with it. Yet we're banning travel and entertainment venues. 60 million people in this country contracted the swine flu and we did not have all this drama, and the swine flu was more deadly to kids and young people. I'm sorry I'm just not buying any of this.

Time will tell. We can revisit this thread a year from now and see who's right or wrong. I also work in a hospital so I'll have a birds-eye view of what the media is saying and what actually is happening. So far I've seen nothing. It's actually been a slower than normal Winter. I usually agree with POTUS, but I think he dropped the ball on this one.

 

[justafigment27]

I just read on the Points Guy that Viking is suspending ALL cruises until April 30th. They also have a very generous cancel/rebook policy. Do you think DCL and other cruise lines will follow, or is this because a lot of Viking’s market is in Europe?

I’m hoping Disney follows suit. Viking stepped up in a major way ... take note, DCL ...

Passengers on canceled sailings can choose between a full refund or a credit voucher good toward a future cruise. The credit voucher will be valued at 125% of the amount passengers paid for the canceled sailing and be good for 24 months.

The credit can be used on any Viking river, ocean or expedition cruise.

For additional flexibility, Viking said passengers who are unable to use the credit voucher will automatically get a full refund equal to the original amount paid to Viking after the voucher expires. The vouchers also will be fully transferable.

Hagen added, “We will stand by our guests, employees and partners in these challenging times and hope that they in turn will stand by us.”

 

[mmmears]

Because of the passports and the Schengen zone.

Exactly. There is seamless (ie no customs checks or anything) travel between all of the Schengen Zone countries. The UK requires you to go through customs when entering by ship, train, or plane, even from other parts of Europe. Well, come to think of it, Iceland made us do the same, but not France, Italy, Norway, or Denmark.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

It's like how the media dramatizes mass shootings but ignores inner-city violence that happens every weekend. They can sway people and scare people however they want. Most people that become infected with the Corona Virus will have symptoms milder than the flu. In fact, 80% will not even know they are sick or think they have a mild cold.

My God this has been going on for two months and we're still not testing people. We have no idea how many people are walking around with it. Yet we're banning travel and entertainment venues. 60 million people in this country contracted the swine flu and we did not have all this drama, and the swine flu was more deadly to kids and young people. I'm sorry I'm just not buying any of this.

Time will tell. We can revisit this thread a year from now and see who's right or wrong. I also work in a hospital so I'll have a birds-eye view of what the media is saying and what actually is happening. So far I've seen nothing. It's actually been a slower than normal Winter. I usually agree with POTUS, but I think he dropped the ball on this one.

Do you seriously think Italy is taking the steps they are taking because they what, want attention? Have you read the reports out of hospitals in Northern Italy? It sounds like a war zone. And they got their first case 2 weeks before the US got one. 4 weeks ago a hospital worker in Italy might made the same pointless argument that everything seemed fine. That's the speed with which this thing goes from nothing to a crisis in an affected area. Even Trump isn't denying it anymore. Maybe your area will remain lucky. Maybe not.

 

[MermaidMommy]

It's like how the media dramatizes mass shootings but ignores inner-city violence that happens every weekend. They can sway people and scare people however they want. Most people that become infected with the Corona Virus will have symptoms milder than the flu. In fact, 80% will not even know they are sick or think they have a mild cold.

My God this has been going on for two months and we're still not testing people. We have no idea how many people are walking around with it. Yet we're banning travel and entertainment venues. 60 million people in this country contracted the swine flu and we did not have all this drama, and the swine flu was more deadly to kids and young people. I'm sorry I'm just not buying any of this.

Time will tell. We can revisit this thread a year from now and see who's right or wrong. I also work in a hospital so I'll have a birds-eye view of what the media is saying and what actually is happening. So far I've seen nothing. It's actually been a slower than normal Winter. I usually agree with POTUS, but I think he dropped the ball on this one.

The swine flu had a much lower overall mortality rate than coronavirus. Somewhere between .002%-.1%. So, while many people got it, and it was more dangerous to the young than old, the mortality rate wasn't at the level of coronavirus, which is .7% in South Korea and 4% in Italy. We're predicted to be higher than South Korea, since they had ample testing as soon as they knew there was community spread. They've tested 200,000. We're around 4000-5000, so we haven't been able to control or mitigate the way they have.

The congressional doctor told congressional staffers today that he expects 75 million - 150 million people to be infected in the US. That's a third of the country. With 1 in 5 people needing hospitalization, that could be catastrophic for the health care system.

Additionally, the American Hospital Association did a presentation, which showed that they're preparing for 96 million infections and 4.8 million hospitalizations, and 480,000 deaths.
https://www.businessinsider.com/pre...aring-for-millions-of-hospitalizations-2020-3
No one is advocating panic, but there is clearly reason for great concern, especially because we've had such a flawed, inadequate response so far. As the experts keep saying, you can't compare this to the flu.

 

[justafigment27]

Most people that become infected with the Corona Virus will have symptoms milder than the flu. In fact, 80% will not even know they are sick or think they have a mild cold.

I just read this today ...

But there may have been some misunderstanding of the term “mild” as applied to coronavirus, according to Bruce Aylward, who led the World Health Organization team that visited China amid the outbreak in Wuhan. Aylward, who has, per the Times, “30 years experience in fighting polio, Ebola and other global health emergencies,” says cases classified as “mild” by doctors in China include those that develop into pneumonia, and “severe” means needing machine-assisted breathing. Cases deemed “critical,” he says, involve respiratory failure or multi-organ failure.

 

[Bleck]

My best guess is that DCL will announce a suspension of all cruise activities before open of business Monday, with some lead time to effectiveness. Why do I say this? 1) Their most valuable asset is their brand. 2) To protect their brand and because of its value they have both the need and ability to take leading rather than following action. (My guess is that they have been working with top epidemiologists since at least mid-January to help establish the right window where they could keep generating revenue while still not exposing the brand to significant headline or worse risk ... it feels to me that we are now at that mark). 3) This need and ability, to me, is evidenced by how quickly Shanghai was (correctly) closed, Jan. 24 or so. At least a week before travel restrictions and flight cancellations from China. Since I’m out on a limb, DL Paris doesn’t have many days left before suspension of operations either.

 

[BadPinkTink]

President Trump said he would be suspending all travel from Europe for the next 30 days starting Friday. The restrictions will not apply to Britain

There was just a special report....no mention of cruising but the President just suspended all travel from Europe into the United States for 30 days starting on Friday. The UK is excluded.

MJ

The media didn't cancel all European travel.

I wasn't worried about it all until this travel ban. I can't imagine they'd extend it for 5 months.... but I have to pay for my cruise in a month. Why is every EU country included, but the UK? It makes no sense. Iceland really? If anything I would think Iceland would be banning us.

Because of the passports and the Schengen zone.

Exactly. There is seamless (ie no customs checks or anything) travel between all of the Schengen Zone countries. The UK requires you to go through customs when entering by ship, train, or plane, even from other parts of Europe. Well, come to think of it, Iceland made us do the same, but not France, Italy, Norway, or Denmark.

Be careful which news sources you read, as some are not reporting it accurately. The travel ban specifies the Schengen area of Europe, the 26 countries of central Europe which have open borders. The ban does not include The UK as The UK is not part of the Schengen area and implies that it also does not include Ireland. Ireland is also not in the Schengen area and the island of Ireland is the only country NOT connected by a land border.

Also the travel ban does not consider the Eurostar and Channel Tunnel, which connects The UK to the Schengen area.

And then the ban states that it does not apply to US citizens, so how is that going to work? What about the thousand of US citizens currently in Europe for all sorts of reasons? They are just as much a risk of being carriers and spreaders as French or Germans. So the US citizens who may be infected can travel back to USA but French people who are completely clear are stopped from travelling to USA???

These are the countries in the Schengen area which are affected by the ban

1. Austria
2. Belguim
3. Czech Republic
4. Denmark
5. Estonia
6. Finland
7. France
8. Germany
9. Greece
10. Hungry
11. Iceland
12. Italy
13. Latvia
14. Liechtenstein
15. Lithuania
16. Luxemburg
17. Malta
18. Netherlands
19. Norway
20. Poland
21. Portugal
22. Slovakia
23. Slovenia
24. Spain
25. Sweden
26. Switzerland

 

[jlbf06]

Whilst the UK has left the EU we are still in the withdrawal period which means that travel remains the same until the end of December 2020. Our borders are as open as they ever were. Whether Boris Johnson will change that remains to be seen, he is expected to change the situation to the delay stage very soon, so maybe we will close our borders. But as of now, they are open.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

Viking has cancelled all cruises until 5/1. So do all of those cruisers get a full refund?
https://nypost.com/2020/03/12/vikin...-halts-all-voyages-amid-coronavirus-pandemic/

 

[ahain]

Viking has cancelled all cruises until 5/1. So do all of those cruisers get a full refund?
https://nypost.com/2020/03/12/vikin...-halts-all-voyages-amid-coronavirus-pandemic/

Yes. From what I understand either full refund or, if you prefer, a voucher for 125% of your cruise cost toward a future cruise. This is what was posted on another thread:
Passengers on canceled sailings can choose between a full refund or a credit voucher good toward a future cruise. The credit voucher will be valued at 125% of the amount passengers paid for the canceled sailing and be good for 24 months.

The credit can be used on any Viking river, ocean or expedition cruise.

For additional flexibility, Viking said passengers who are unable to use the credit voucher will automatically get a full refund equal to the original amount paid to Viking after the voucher expires. The vouchers also will be fully transferable.

Hagen added, “We will stand by our guests, employees and partners in these challenging times and hope that they in turn will stand by us.”