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

[hnthomps]

at what price people people will decide to risk exposure is a whole other discussion.

I do not think allowing cruise ships to go into only US ports will solve any problems (which is what I was reacting to.) First of all, if you are trying to contain a virus in CA, having a ship bringing people from port to port to port all up the coast seems completely moronic.

Secondly someone who has a level of paranoia making them afraid to leave the US is not going to get on a cruise ship under the current circumstances - it's not paranoia about the same thing but someone who is afraid to leave the country already has a high level of irrational fear, they are not going to be the ones who are going to say "oh well let's give it a try and hope for the best."

Agree that there will be some stellar bargains for people who have a higher tolerance to risk - especially people in their 20's and 30's who don't live with older people - who may not be able to afford a cruise and are at the lowest risk for transmission of the virus and also have far less of a sense of mortality than people in middle age or older.

But I don't think suspending the closed loop rules and just sailing around the US is going to make a cruise any more appealing to anyone under the current circumstances and in fact it may hasten transmission of the virus here in the US which is not something the government is going to be inclined to do.

Your point about young people and risk tolerance is a great one - I took my first cruise at age 23...during the SARS epidemic. I believe the fare for two of us was $500 for a 4 night Caribbean cruise on NCL.
It wasn’t crowded and there were signs everywhere about infection risk. Didn’t bother us at all!!

 

[Lisa F]

Your point about young people and risk tolerance is a great one - I took my first cruise at age 23...during the SARS epidemic. I believe the fare for two of us was $500 for a 4 night Caribbean cruise on NCL.
It wasn’t crowded and there were signs everywhere about infection risk. Didn’t bother us at all!!

Well there is perceived risk and also real risk. Real risk is very low to young people relative to older people, but also young people don't worry about that stuff (as they shouldn't.) Also the consequences of getting quarantined are generally much lower - I mean some young people have kids/families but for most of them the risks of 2 weeks of quarantine have far less of a cascade effect than someone who has kids, might be taking care of parents in the highest risk group, has a mortgage etc.

 

[MarkLT1]

Well there is perceived risk and also real risk. Real risk is very low to young people relative to older people, but also young people don't worry about that stuff (as they shouldn't.) Also the consequences of getting quarantined are generally much lower - I mean some young people have kids/families but for most of them the risks of 2 weeks of quarantine have far less of a cascade effect than someone who has kids, might be taking care of parents in the highest risk group, has a mortgage etc.

That is exactly the calculus we are doing as a family right now. We get to pick how much we want to worry about each risk. My wife *just* started a new job, so being stuck in quarantine would be a bad thing. Kids missing 3 weeks of school, also would be bad (Though they are in grade school so it wouldn't be the end of the world). I work from home, and so if I have my laptop with me, it would be NBD to get stuck for another couple of weeks.

Then we have my parents, both of which (but especially my dad) are at heightened risk of this thing.

That last one pretty much overrules everything, and we've essentially told my parents "We will do whatever you are comfortable with." So far they don't want to cancel. It would definitely be nice if this rumor of DCL allowing later cancellations/re-bookings comes true, as it would at least give us some more palatable options.

 

[Lisa F]

That is exactly the calculus we are doing as a family right now. We get to pick how much we want to worry about each risk. My wife *just* started a new job, so being stuck in quarantine would be a bad thing. Kids missing 3 weeks of school, also would be bad (Though they are in grade school so it wouldn't be the end of the world). I work from home, and so if I have my laptop with me, it would be NBD to get stuck for another couple of weeks.

Then we have my parents, both of which (but especially my dad) are at heightened risk of this thing.

That last one pretty much overrules everything, and we've essentially told my parents "We will do whatever you are comfortable with." So far they don't want to cancel. It would definitely be nice if this rumor of DCL allowing later cancellations/re-bookings comes true, as it would at least give us some more palatable options.

yeah I am keeping my fingers crossed. I am glad I took my cruise when I did as things had not heated up too much because I'd be right there stressing along with you right now and I really feel for anyone in this position right now. I can work from home (not 100% effectively but close enough that it would be better than nothing, and I have support people I could rely on more heavily than I typically do if I need to) and I did take my work laptop on vacation with me even though that is something I NEVER do because of how badly I need the break. It was inexpensive insurance against a worst case scenario.

But most people in my fb group came off of the cruise with some kind of crud. Influenza A was going around (some people ended up quarantined on the ship) and kiddo and I came home with colds. Don't think those colds did not come with a ton more anxiety and I was so glad to finally find a specific list of symptoms to COVID19 - we had no fever or cough, just stuffy/runny nose and a little bit of sore throat overnight from the drip (that went away during the day) and I had one day of fatigue. But no cough, no fever etc. so I'm guessing it is just a run of the mill cold and I'm glad to have not caught the much worse stuff that was going around. But don't think it didn't occur to me to worry - I live on Martha's Vineyard and my boyfriend lives with me but works and spends significant time on the cape staying with his parents in their 80's - his father has the triple play of diabetes, heart issues and hypertension (all mildish and all under control with medication.) I just hope everyone posting here gets some kind of satisfactory resolution where they feel like they can make the choices they feel the most comfortable with rather than looking at losing so much money. Isn't that our healthcare system in a nutshell though? People make decisions about health vs. cost every day.

 

[Dreams&wishes]

There is currently a quarantined cruise ship in Naples with cases on board.

 

[kkayluvsdis]

Did you see that Royal Caribbean is going to start requiring temperature screenings prior to boarding?

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/...perature-screenings-screen-coronavirus-guests

 

[brentm77]

Where are you getting this info from?

Directly from the top of the company. I happened to be in an unusual situation to have a short conversation.

 

[Niclovesdisney]

There is currently a quarantined cruise ship in Naples with cases on board.

Which cruise ship is it please?

 

[Dreams&wishes]

Which cruise ship is it please?

https://www.ilmattino.it/pay/edicola/coronavirus_a_napoli-5093250.htmlGnv. There are two actually one in Naples and one in genoa. Basically the found out too late that a passenger from Tunisi who had already desenbarked ahas the virus. Some of the staff from ship 1 had already moved to ship two so although the passengers have left and have been asked to self quarantine the staff is still on board of these two ships in quarantine.

 

[galaxygirl76]

I read there's a cruise ship on the Nile with 12 asymptomatic cases on board.

 

[pezgirlroy]

That is exactly the calculus we are doing as a family right now. We get to pick how much we want to worry about each risk. My wife *just* started a new job, so being stuck in quarantine would be a bad thing. Kids missing 3 weeks of school, also would be bad (Though they are in grade school so it wouldn't be the end of the world). I work from home, and so if I have my laptop with me, it would be NBD to get stuck for another couple of weeks.

Then we have my parents, both of which (but especially my dad) are at heightened risk of this thing.

That last one pretty much overrules everything, and we've essentially told my parents "We will do whatever you are comfortable with." So far they don't want to cancel. It would definitely be nice if this rumor of DCL allowing later cancellations/re-bookings comes true, as it would at least give us some more palatable options.

This is basically the exact situation we are in for our cruise at the end of April. I am letting my parents call the shots on this (both in mid 70s but healthy). My dad has said he has a date with Minnie mouse he plans on keeping. So we shall see.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I've got 19 days left until the cruise (sailing to Cabo from San Diego). I purchased the insurance but it still confuses me on what it covers even after I read the documents. I figure it is too late to cancel and get a full refund correct? I am just going to bring lots of hand sanitizer, medicine, etc and hope for the best!!!

If you bought cancel for any reason insurance, you can cancel, but know what you are doing as many of those policies will only give you a percentage back. You can always call the insurance company with a list of specific questions to make sure you know what you are doing. Insurance doesn't cover fear of what may happen, only what has already happened. If you or another member in your group gets sick with anything before the cruise and your doctor fills out the form that says you cannot travel due to illness, you'll get a refund, eventually. You always need to do a lot of paperwork and jump through hoops, but the insurance will eventually pay.

 

[Gentry2004]

We cancelled our March 7 Fantasy sailing and rebooked for December 19. They charged us $300/person plus the difference in cruise price. The cancellation period resets, so we can cancel prior to our new PIF date. We are relieved not to be going this weekend.

Do you know which cruises this applies to? Anyone PIF?

 

[cruisehopeful]

If it ends up being the $300/pp fee for rescheduling, I don't think that will be worth it for us since we are only doing a 2 nighter. The cost is already ridiculous. Adding another $600. is deal breaker. I'd be better off taking a full loss.

 

[cruisehopeful]

We cancelled our March 7 Fantasy sailing and rebooked for December 19. They charged us $300/person plus the difference in cruise price. The cancellation period resets, so we can cancel prior to our new PIF date. We are relieved not to be going this weekend.

Are you saying that you can cancel this new cruise and get all your money back?

 

[gotomu212]

I don't think rebooking is gonna solve the issue. We don't know how long this virus is gonna spread. If you rebook and in a year it's still an issue they are unlikely gonna offer another rebooking.

If you haven't paid in full yet, the best thing you can do is to purchase trip insurance that includes cancel for any reason and not on Disney's plan.

If you already paid in full, it's gonna be a gamble. Disney will probably not cancel until the very last minute. Therefore its in your best interest to think about family, work, etc. If you go just take precautionary measures and wash hands. If you are concerned about anything best thing to do is cancel asap to get part of your deposit back.

As much as I want Disney to initiate and take our concerns and extend either paid in full or they issue a full refund you have to think of worse case scenario. From past posts from others regarding other scenarios, ie norovirus or hurricanes, it really was a last minute call in terms of what they will do.

Assuming the normal cancellation rights applied to your rebooking date this would help people like me immensely. The thing I lack now is solid information because the situation is so new and changing by the hour. Having a PIF date in 3 days means I have to make a decision to cancel now and get a refund OR roll the dice and hand over $10k that will be subject to cancellation penalties. If my PIF date changed and I had another 30 days to make a decision or could rebook to a later cruise and wait months before PIF for that one, I personally would feel comfortable parking my money with the cruise lines. It’s the giving up a huge sum of a money now without knowing if we can cruise in 3 months and potentially losing all of it that has me needing to cancel (and if it all blows over I could do a last minute rebook).

 

[Gentry2004]

Assuming the normal cancellation rights applied to your rebooking date this would help people like me immensely. The thing I lack now is solid information because the situation is so new and changing by the hour. Having a PIF date in 3 days means I have to make a decision to cancel now and get a refund OR roll the dice and hand over $10k that will be subject to cancellation penalties. If my PIF date changed and I had another 30 days to make a decision or could rebook to a later cruise and wait months before PIF for that one, I personally would feel comfortable parking my money with the cruise lines. It’s the giving up a huge sum of a money now without knowing if we can cruise in 3 months and potentially losing all of it that has me needing to cancel (and if it all blows over I could do a last minute rebook).

You are so lucky you are not PIF. Cancel and take the cash. You can always rebook later.

 

[qbnole]

sorry, new cruiser here what is "PIF" ?

 

[lorimay]

sorry, new cruiser here what is "PIF" ?

Paid in full

 

[PsylockeSmythe]

sorry, new cruiser here what is "PIF" ?

it is the Paid in Full date.

Psy