Mrs. Thomas

Then it was the fault of the island to open up to tourists, not the fault of a tourist that didn't know she was sick. Being American doesn't mean you are automatically sick or are a virus. More than 98% of people in the country have not had this virus. As I said before, the incubation period makes the checks a moot point. There are many other places that are still closed to tourists, which is a good idea at this point. These islands or tourist destinations need to know that if they open that an out break is possible and take that into consideration for their decision. I'm tired of people making it sound like if you are American then you are a nasty virus that needs to be treated as such.

Depending on the town, one employee of a place like that can see hundreds or even a thousand people in a daily shift. Fast food places are up and running and they see more people than a home improvement store.

I understand that, for some, this virus is very serious. However, the numbers are clear and, if you take into account that they have been inflated a bit or that sick people were purposely put into nursing homes in NY, they aren't even as bad as what we see, especially for the average person. I appreciate the link, but all I couldn't find any information; just requests on how to give money. However, I did find other sites that talk about it. What I don't understand is why things are going so slow and why is it bad if a medication for one person isn't the best for another but both do the same thing? Things like that happen all the time with other illnesses. I just hope that they can get things going again soon.

It will be interesting to see what happens here. Also, with the long incubation period it is near impossible to know if a person is positive or not before they got on board. By the time symptoms show (if there are any) they could have been around hundreds or thousands of people even before boarding. If a person is found to be positive after a cruise, there is no way of knowing if they had it before the cruise or got it while on it. At some point everyone is going to have to stop and look at things from a different perspective. Unless the virus just basically disappears (which is possible but not probable) then we must look at it as we do other sicknesses. As in, yes you could get sick with it, but what is the actual recovery rate? In the US it is about 94% and that is without any kind of FDA approved medication/treatment if you aren't in a hospital. Worldwide the recovery rate is 90% and when you factor in that some of the places don't have good healthcare at all, it is still pretty good. I'm not saying we all jump on board now, but we need to realize that this is something to think about. Also, they need to start looking for treatments and not just a vaccine. A virus isn't like a bacteria or germ. A viral infection doesn't work the same. I wish people would drop the politics and just start clinical trials on certain medications that may help. Try meds that people use for the regular flu, SOMETHING! People are sick and playing politics is just cruel when some truly are dying.

You just put a place on my bucket list. LOL I even love the name of the town. :D @krhardy You are exactly right! Ice cream has always been my favorite sweet treat.

My kids would agree. LOL

YES A THOUSAND TIMES!!! I would never leave the MDR! my family loves shellfish.

I hope they don't. I've never tried them and would really like to. I hope they leave the steak, shrimp cocktail, and the chicken caesar salad. You gotta have some "normal" things on the menu when you have kids and un-adventurous eaters. Though I do love all three of those things myself. :D

Where did you get your image from?

I was actually thinking the same thing the other day. Maybe canceling cruises to the end or near the end of hurricane season won't be a bad idea. I will say that if the islands are hit hard that they will need the tourism industry to come back pretty bad. Though, I don't wish that at all!

That sounds good. We have to be careful in Minnesota (baby daddy issues), but I would love to take one or two in a year after all of this insanity is over.

Which is why I live in the country. LOL

@Dad2Cue That sounds like a blast! I got to go to Gettysburg with my band class, but didn't see what all I wanted to. I want to go back in order to take more of it in. I've seen a documentary about state fairs and Iowa was definitely one that made the list of needing to go to. I haven't been able to travel much out west, so I would love to go. I'm all about family history so at some point I'm going to do some traveling for it as well.

Those cases are not surprising when you see what is going on in Washington state. That is not something that I would be using as a measuring stick. The rest of the country isn't having the same things going on. There's been a rise in cases in Oregon and Minnesota which doesn't surprise me either, as they are having the same situations in large cities. BC has less per square mile than just about every state in the US. That makes a difference.

First, thank you for your service sir! I grew up broke (broke means no money, poor is a mindset) , so travel was always very limited. I was in high school when I got to start traveling more, because I worked for the money to go. I also went places with band class. In the past 10 years I have been able to go on my first cruise, go to Pennsylvania, DC (3 times), Texas, Niagara Falls, Tennessee and multiple times to the SC and NC coast. A couple of my trips were with 8 Days of Hope to help with damage from natural disasters. I miss cruising, but I also have a huge bucket list to see right around me. It's amazing the things you find in the little places. One day I want to go to different state fairs and local festivals around the country. There are a few in NC I still haven't been able to go to. We have an Old Soldier's Reunion festival that lasts a week here and it's been canceled this year for the first time in about 60 years.

@crisgold52 You have been blessed to have the funds to do such traveling. Many have not been as blessed as those of us who can travel. I haven't done as much as I would like, but I have been to a few places. I see you went to big cities. Have you ever been to the little towns in places like the NC coast or parts of Louisiana? They have a culture and even language all their own. Big cities are all the same. Little towns, like where I live, are, or can be, a completely different experience. They are often dismissed, but are rich with history. I never said people shouldn't travel outside the US or that Americans don't because they dislike the idea. All I'm saying is that there are many things that most Americans are trying to see first. We want to see what is in our own backyard. This country is falling apart (partly, and please let's NOT go into politics. I hate it.) because many don't go out and meet people that live in the same country and have meaningful conversations. "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." ― Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad / Roughing It

YES! This is why I decided to try and book a cruise during February! BTW, I love the meme. It's so true for NC too.

There can be a bit of culture shock if you take a person out of a city and put them in the country and vice versa, but no, not as much as putting them in a different country. However, the wonderful things I was talking about seeing had nothing to do with cities or towns. The US has mountains, deserts, canyons, geysers, and so much more to see that is completely awesome. I am not opposed to world travel at all, but there are facets of it that make me nervous to go to certain places, such as crime (mostly petty crime) and cleanliness. If anyone wants to go to another country, and I plan on going to Italy before I die, I advise that a person does lots of research. No one wants to be caned for spitting out their gum (Singapore). Also, we may technically be free to fly or even drive to other states right now, being told that you have to quarantine for 2 weeks (depending on where you go) makes it a no go 98% of the time. Many states are telling people to NOT travel to other states or to even leave their towns, again it depends on the state. Legally we can go where we want, but there are things that stop most from traveling.

I highly doubt they ever cruised. It sounds like one of those people who have gotten caught up in an extreme environmental conservation group that doesn't really do it's research. They watch all the negative things but never the positive. Sounds like their glass is never half empty, just empty without looking at the glass. If they would just do the research and learn to truly love the nature around them, they would be much happier and could enjoy life.

That is why I say that you can love your country but hate your government. LOL We are blessed with a beautiful nation that has a lot to offer. Many people from other countries think that Americans don't travel to other countries because we are arrogant. I think for many of us, we just have so much to see here that we don't get a chance to do worldwide travel. I hope that this virus stuff gets taken care of soon so we can travel freely in our own country again.

You may be right. The CDC can say we are good to cruise anytime it wants, but if ports are closed we still aren't going anywhere.

LOL Maybe we are all just walking in a circle. Sure feels that way with the bookings. I am determined to get my family on a cruise. Hopefully our first one will be Navigator in Feb.

I sure hope so. I'm waiting on cruise planner funds. A good bit of them.

Are you following me? LOL I decided to forego the Oct. sailing and book for the end of May as well. I'm just waiting for my credits to hit. We may all have to sit and have a celebratory drink.

You'll be sailing out on my birthday. I haven't been on many sailings, but I remember being nervous about my first one. You will be pleasantly surprised about how nice it is and how little you feel the ship moving. Knowledge is power and there are many on here that can give you lots of it. I applaud you for being brave and facing your fears! Take a look at all of Matt's videos on YouTube. He has lots of knowledge there. If you don't have a travel agent, I recommend that you get one if you still can. Go ahead and plan everything you need and if cruises are canceled you will get your money back. If not then you will have a great time!