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

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Anyone is free to continue talking on the thread that's how discussions work

Most threads naturally go away as conversation dies out though commenting keeps it going as well

 

[gotomu212]

Are we DONE with the "Quarterbacking"?????? The ships Docked and passengers are on their way home or to a facility that will treat them if they're critically ill enough, HAL has arranged for all of this at their expense satisfying the County Command Center, lets CLOSE this thread and just wish everyone involved well and hope they recover and don't suffer unnecessarily.

I’m not sure why this needs to be closed. This information on how states are reacting to cruise ships is really valuable for people still considering a cruise in the near future. It’s one thing to think I’m sure we’re okay and the company wont put us at risk, and another to understand the nightmare some cruisers are having getting help and returning to US ports and that previous assumptions may no longer be true.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

From what I understand the Zaandam may have started their 30 Itinerary from Buenos Aries on March 7th, but it was a continuation of a much longer cruise that originated from Ft Lauderdale, a number of people on board the ship remained on board when they ported in BA and continued on the voyage from there. Over all the cruise industry didn't call for a universal shut down until after the ship left BA, so they wouldn't have had any idea of the spread of this (other than what was on the news) at the time. The encountered refusals to port were as each country made the decision to shut down port operations and refuse porting to not just the Zaandam but other ships as well. They were basically left out at sea without any place to go. The decision by HAL to return to Ft Lauderdale (it's home port) to discharge passengers was a proper one to attempt to help the passengers remaining on board to get home.

The Zaandam was last in Ft. Lauderdale on October 16, 2019. It then headed south, through the Panama Canal and has been doing it's South America itineraries since then. Perhaps you are referring to the sailing that would have originated in San Antonio, Chile on March 21 ending in Ft. L on April 7 if all of this hadn't occurred? While some passengers possibly have been onboard the Zaandam since October, that Oct. 16 sailing from Ft. L was not listed or sold as a 5+ month cruise - it was not a "longer cruise that originated from Ft. L". Zaandam also "homeports" in Boston and Montreal. Is anyone here actually questioning HAL's decision to approach the US for help?

Are we DONE with the "Quarterbacking"?????? The ships Docked and passengers are on their way home or to a facility that will treat them if they're critically ill enough, HAL has arranged for all of this at their expense satisfying the County Command Center, lets CLOSE this thread and just wish everyone involved well and hope they recover and don't suffer unnecessarily.

Umm - this thread was started to discuss the new directives and orders from the Coast Guard. Surely that's relevant information for anyone planning a cruise in the near future. I think you meant Unified Command.

 

[cgolf]

Also the Coral Princess is waiting to dock in FLL with passengers, if they are allowed to.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Also the Coral Princess is waiting to dock in FLL with passengers, if they are allowed to.

This is just in (was perusing the news stories for a bit) but for the Coral Princess their plan to dock just got denied though it's unclear if it's a full denial vs a denial just for now.

The story I read said 14 passengers from Zaandam were taken to area hospitals once the ship docked and disembarked..that could be part of a reason they are holding off on allowing Coral Princess to dock as it was mentioned hospitals were a concern. That's me guessing. The article just said "a health issue" as for why they were not allowing docking for Coral Princess.

 

[soniam]

This is just in (was perusing the news stories for a bit) but for the Coral Princess their plan to dock just got denied though it's unclear if it's a full denial vs a denial just for now.

The story I read said 14 passengers from Zaandam were taken to area hospitals once the ship docked and disembarked..that could be part of a reason they are holding off on allowing Coral Princess to dock as it was mentioned hospitals were a concern. That's me guessing. The article just said "a health issue" as for why they were not allowing docking for Coral Princess.

It also appears that the numbers being reported, at to the media, but probably to Florida officials too, about how many people were sick or why the people died were not accurate. I don't think HAL had been admitting that some of the people died due to covid. They had said at one point that they either didn't die from it or didn't know why they died. They were also woefully underestimating the numbers of people with flu-like symptoms. I can definitely see the reluctance on the part of Florida to take them in. They also needed to figure out logistics of getting people from the ship to either the hospital or ground/air transportation. I feel bad for everyone involved. The whole situation is definitely a cluster foobar on pretty much everyone's part. I hope the result of this is that international guidelines are put in place about what ships should do/where they should go and who would have to accept them if something like this comes up again.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It also appears that the numbers being reported, at to the media, but probably to Florida officials too, about how many people were sick or why the people died were not accurate. I don't think HAL had been admitting that some of the people died due to covid. They had said at one point that they either didn't die from it or didn't know why they died. They were also woefully underestimating the numbers of people with flu-like symptoms. I can definitely see the reluctance on the part of Florida to take them in. They also needed to figure out logistics of getting people from the ship to either the hospital or ground/air transportation. I feel bad for everyone involved. The whole situation is definitely a cluster foobar on pretty much everyone's part. I hope the result of this is that international guidelines are put in place about what ships should do/where they should go and who would have to accept them if something like this comes up again.

These are good points.

I've had some suspicions about the numbers as well; point of desperation maybe but yeah it felt like they were holding back on some knowledge.

So kinda an interesting fact back in February the local news ran a story about probably something none of us locals in my area really knew about. A local research institute designed the high-tech biocontainment pod (looks like a freight container) that the was used in the evacuation of U.S. citizens from the Diamond Princess to transport from the ship to the aircraft while still inside the pod. The U.S. State Department owns four of the units. Originally the pods were designed back in the 2014 Ebola outbreak though none were used at that time as far as I know.

Here's what the pod looked like on the plane for the Diamond Princess passengers:


I don't think they've publicized if any of the other cruise ships have used the pods other than the Diamond Princess so they very well may not have. But it brings up all those concerns about getting people off ships as safely as possible to migitate exposures.

And I agree about the future part--we all need clear understanding of what could and should happen especially with all the complicated laws out there and international waters with country-owned ports. Cruising involves passengers from all over the world so not an easy thing to even think about what should happen with whom but clearly this whole event has brought this all to light that no one really had considered what to do in an event like this--not being able to stop at a port is one thing, being denied port access by country after country and unable to just continue to float around for an undetermined time period is a completely different thing let alone considering a fast spreading virus with little supplies and medical capabilities of dealing with it all.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Are we DONE with the "Quarterbacking"?????? The ships Docked and passengers are on their way home or to a facility that will treat them if they're critically ill enough, HAL has arranged for all of this at their expense satisfying the County Command Center, lets CLOSE this thread and just wish everyone involved well and hope they recover and don't suffer unnecessarily.

You have now asked that multiple threads discussing COVID-19 and cruising be closed. It's a bit suspicious, if you ask me. This is a forum for people to discuss the current state of cruising which, most definitely includes conversation about the impact of the virus on the industry and on our own personal vacation plans. If a thread needs to be closed due to DIS rules, I'm sure the mods can handle it.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/covid-19-wbpc-cruise.3797892/page-4

 

[BartmanLA]

The only suspicion I'm guilty of is that rehashing the fear and second guessing the officials and cruise lines doesn't really offer any any one real help. I am all for discussing the upcoming plans for cruises we have planned. But we should leave how victims are being treated or folks trying to make their way home to those directly affected and refrain from spreading rumors or fears that might alarm everyone. That is all my comment for closing this thread down was addressing.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

The only suspicion I'm guilty of is that rehashing the fear and second guessing the officials and cruise lines doesn't really offer any any one real help. I am all for discussing the upcoming plans for cruises we have planned. But we should leave how victims are being treated or folks trying to make their way home to those directly affected and refrain from spreading rumors or fears that might alarm everyone. That is all my comment for closing this thread down was addressing.

Spreading rumors or fears? What are you even talking about?

People should be able to discuss how the cruise lines handled things, how individual countries or ports have handled things and how decisions individuals made turned out. That is all relevant to the discussion.

Wouldn't you (general you) like to have confidence in knowledge and more understanding of what could happen? This whole thing isn't a pretty bouquet of flowers..it's ok to discuss the unpleasantness of it and discuss the situation as a whole. None of the passengers who have been interviewed have sugar coated it either.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Looks like Coral Princess was able to be docked yesterday but in Miami instead. Multiple passengers were taken to hospitals including one where it appears there's a conflict in the passengers information of the hospital and lockdown situation in Miami and the doctor on board the ship in which the passenger called 911 themselves after a while and were eventually taken to the hospital.

From reading the disembarking will likely take a few days and flights are limited.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

The only suspicion I'm guilty of is that rehashing the fear and second guessing the officials and cruise lines doesn't really offer any any one real help. I am all for discussing the upcoming plans for cruises we have planned. But we should leave how victims are being treated or folks trying to make their way home to those directly affected and refrain from spreading rumors or fears that might alarm everyone. That is all my comment for closing this thread down was addressing.

I'm sure the Chinese government would agree with you . . .

So what would be "helpful" to future cruisers at this point? Hiding and erasing information? Not allowing discussion of COVID-19? Only allowing discussion of upcoming cruises as if nothing is going on?

People planning on traveling in the near future would be wise to stay abreast of the current state of affairs and assessing all that is being done by officials and the cruise lines with a critical eye. We all have the ability to read the news and assess, for ourselves, if things are being handled in a way that would make us feel comfortable to continue cruising. Forums, like the DISboards, were created so we could openly share and discuss information. I have seen no rumors on this thread. People have discussed actual news and events. Anyone thinking of cruising in the near future should read the Coast Guard directive. If people are alarmed by facts, well, they probably should be at this point, IMHO. Really, should we not be alarmed at this point that the Coast Guard has pretty much said if you are in international waters, don't come crying to us if you find yourselves in a bind? You really have faith that the "officials" and cruise lines have the ability to keep guests, crew and those on land safe at this point? And we should hide this information from people because they might become "alarmed"?

And trying to shut down the WBPC when the OP was trying to get information and help regarding the situation on her own cruise and then it turns out she just tested positive? Forums like these are so valuable for the open sharing and discussion of information. On another travel forum, another woman actually crowd-sourced help to get her elderly parents back to the US after their cruise was cut short in Australia. Without that open forum of discussion and exchange of ideas, who knows what would have happened to her parents.

I'm so thankful the mods on these boards are so good at sticking to the actual DISboard rules and aren't just willy-nilly pulling threads down because they may "alarm" people. We are in the midst of a pandemic and the more we can share and discuss information so we can make the best choices for our families and communities, the better, IMHO.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I'm sure the Chinese government would agree with you . . .

So what would be "helpful" to future cruisers at this point? Hiding and erasing information? Not allowing discussion of COVID-19? Only allowing discussion of upcoming cruises as if nothing is going on?

People planning on traveling in the near future would be wise to stay abreast of the current state of affairs and assessing all that is being done by officials and the cruise lines with a critical eye. We all have the ability to read the news and assess, for ourselves, if things are being handled in a way that would make us feel comfortable to continue cruising. Forums, like the DISboards, were created so we could openly share and discuss information. I have seen no rumors on this thread. People have discussed actual news and events. Anyone thinking of cruising in the near future should read the Coast Guard directive. If people are alarmed by facts, well, they probably should be at this point, IMHO. Really, should we not be alarmed at this point that the Coast Guard has pretty much said if you are in international waters, don't come crying to us if you find yourselves in a bind? You really have faith that the "officials" and cruise lines have the ability to keep guests, crew and those on land safe at this point? And we should hide this information from people because they might become "alarmed"?

And trying to shut down the WBPC when the OP was trying to get information and help regarding the situation on her own cruise and then it turns out she just tested positive? Forums like these are so valuable for the open sharing and discussion of information. On another travel forum, another woman actually crowd-sourced help to get her elderly parents back to the US after their cruise was cut short in Australia. Without that open forum of discussion and exchange of ideas, who knows what would have happened to her parents.

I'm so thankful the mods on these boards are so good at sticking to the actual DISboard rules and aren't just willy-nilly pulling threads down because they may "alarm" people. We are in the midst of a pandemic and the more we can share and discuss information so we can make the best choices for our families and communities, the better, IMHO.

We were actually planning a cruise in February as our second vacation (the first being Vegas..which doesn't get to happen as Vegas is shut down right now ) and we were heavily looking at MSC cruises but also Royal Caribbean and a tad into Carnival.

As soon as the ships started having people test positive and the whole quarantine uncertainty thing with the ships we backed off of planning. I'm glad we did especially as MSC is one of the companies that had issues with port denials and in Grand Cayman and Turks area no less. If we continue with thinking about cruising in the very near future (as in within this year or next year) we def. want to know how they will handle all of this in the future especially as the thought is this is likely to be a seasonal event.

We're wondering how the cruise industry will end up; what precautions and policies with they have in place. We wanted to travel international prior to thinking of a cruise (like Turks, Aruba, Grand Cayman) but now we're hesistant on international travel even with getting back home, flying domestically is already limited in some cases let alone international so it's all kinda a mess unfortunately.

 

[Snowwhyt]

I'm sure the Chinese government would agree with you . . .

So what would be "helpful" to future cruisers at this point? Hiding and erasing information? Not allowing discussion of COVID-19? Only allowing discussion of upcoming cruises as if nothing is going on?

People planning on traveling in the near future would be wise to stay abreast of the current state of affairs and assessing all that is being done by officials and the cruise lines with a critical eye. We all have the ability to read the news and assess, for ourselves, if things are being handled in a way that would make us feel comfortable to continue cruising. Forums, like the DISboards, were created so we could openly share and discuss information. I have seen no rumors on this thread. People have discussed actual news and events. Anyone thinking of cruising in the near future should read the Coast Guard directive. If people are alarmed by facts, well, they probably should be at this point, IMHO. Really, should we not be alarmed at this point that the Coast Guard has pretty much said if you are in international waters, don't come crying to us if you find yourselves in a bind? You really have faith that the "officials" and cruise lines have the ability to keep guests, crew and those on land safe at this point? And we should hide this information from people because they might become "alarmed"?

And trying to shut down the WBPC when the OP was trying to get information and help regarding the situation on her own cruise and then it turns out she just tested positive? Forums like these are so valuable for the open sharing and discussion of information. On another travel forum, another woman actually crowd-sourced help to get her elderly parents back to the US after their cruise was cut short in Australia. Without that open forum of discussion and exchange of ideas, who knows what would have happened to her parents.

I'm so thankful the mods on these boards are so good at sticking to the actual DISboard rules and aren't just willy-nilly pulling threads down because they may "alarm" people. We are in the midst of a pandemic and the more we can share and discuss information so we can make the best choices for our families and communities, the better, IMHO.

Thank you. I mean it, Thank you so much.
It’s been very hard to keep the train-of-thought on some of these threads. I’m not the brightest crayon in the box. And when ever something I’m following goes into Covid Soup, I get lost and wonder if the new comments belongs to the what I was following or to an older post.

 

[gotomu212]

The only suspicion I'm guilty of is that rehashing the fear and second guessing the officials and cruise lines doesn't really offer any any one real help. I am all for discussing the upcoming plans for cruises we have planned. But we should leave how victims are being treated or folks trying to make their way home to those directly affected and refrain from spreading rumors or fears that might alarm everyone. That is all my comment for closing this thread down was addressing.

News about how people are currently being treated should 100% inform people about their future cruise plans, and second guessing how cruise companies are treating passenger should happen. This idea that the cruise lines are in control of anything right now while governments are denying ports and sick people are trapped at sea is something that should be discussed and every single future cruiser should be aware.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

The only suspicion I'm guilty of is that rehashing the fear and second guessing the officials and cruise lines doesn't really offer any any one real help. I am all for discussing the upcoming plans for cruises we have planned. But we should leave how victims are being treated or folks trying to make their way home to those directly affected and refrain from spreading rumors or fears that might alarm everyone. That is all my comment for closing this thread down was addressing.

I'm beginning to think you work for the cruise industry in some capacity . . . from responses on various threads, you seem to have a vested interest in not having this information disseminated and discussed.

 

[Disney_Fan_01]

News about how people are currently being treated should 100% inform people about their future cruise plans, and second guessing how cruise companies are treating passenger should happen. This idea that the cruise lines are in control of anything right now while governments are denying ports and sick people are trapped at sea is something that should be discussed and every single future cruiser should be aware.

I have read a few quotes from ignorant people who say if my cruise is not cancelled for May 1st or whatever in the near future, then I am on it! People cannot live that carelessly only obsessed about taking their vacations. I think ,we as a society need to show a lot more compassion about this whole situation and feel for people who are affected. Unfortunately, a lot of people are going to lose their lives. We all need to do our part and not be obsessed with if my cruise is happening or not.

 

[knewton64]

I have read a few quotes from ignorant people who say if my cruise is not cancelled for May 1st or whatever in the near future, then I am on it! People cannot live that carelessly only obsessed about taking their vacations. I think ,we as a society need to show a lot more compassion about this whole situation and feel for people who are affected. Unfortunately, a lot of people are going to lose their lives. We all need to do our part and not be obsessed with if my cruise is happening or not.

**** SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT PEOPLE WHEN MAKING YOUR CHOICES LATER ON THIS YEAR **** (IMO)
good luck to all -




A warning to young people from a COVID-19 survivor
A man in his 30s recovering from COVID-19 is warning young people who aren’t taking the disease seriously.

Author: Eric Alvarez (WFAA)
Published: 9:00 PM CDT April 4, 2020
Updated: 9:00 PM CDT April 4, 2020

A man in his 30s recovering from a serious bout with COVID-19 is warning young people not to take the disease lightly.
“This is something we all have to take seriously,” said Ben King, 39. “I don’t care what your age is.”
King told WFAA he had no underlying conditions and was healthy until he tested positive for coronavirus after returning from a five-day cruise.



P.S.S..... just copy the "A WARNING TO YOUNG PEOPLE" sentence and past it doing a google search and there you will see the video along with the full article....



T.T.F.N.