whenismynextcruise

I'm not sure if it is overblown really? I appreciate the need not to cause undue panic and maintain perspective, but taking the Diamond Princess as the only cruise related example...
Would you board a ship where there's a chance 7 fellow passengers (even if they are old or ill) may die and 700+ will come down with a heavy cold/fever.
This isn't your usual noro or flu, there is no natural immunity out there as with most viruses. Hence why the WHO etc are taking it seriously. 
 
 
 
 

Noro is a tough one to kill.  Most sanitizing wipes do not kill the virus.  I only know of three, that can be sold to the public, that are effective.
1. Oxivir TB Wipes
2. Clorox Hydrogen Peroxide wipes (from their Healthcare line, not the regular Clorox wipes)
3. Sono disinfecting wipes

I've always used hand sanitizer, try and not touch railings, after washing my hands-with soap-I use a paper towel to open the bathroom door to exit....after getting food from a buffet, I RE DO my hand sanitizer.  
Have you ever people watched and see people walk past the hand sanitizer station, not wash their hands in the bathroom, eat at the buffet while getting their food?  PRECAUTION is key, year round.  
I've read on this forum to wipe down my room....honestly something I never thought of before but it makes a lot of sense.  SO I will add that to my list of precautions.

Interesting addition to an article I've been following :
"IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT - CORONAVIRUS
Last evening dining out with friends, one of their uncles, who's graduated with a master's degree and who worked in Shenzhen Hospital (Guangdong Province, China) sent him the following notes on Coronavirus for guidance:
1. If you have a runny nose and sputum, you have a common cold
2. Coronavirus pneumonia is a dry cough with no runny nose.
3. This new virus is not heat-resistant and will be killed by a temperature of just 26/27 degrees. It hates the Sun.
4. If someone sneezes with it, it takes about 10 feet before it drops to the ground and is no longer airborne.
5. If it drops on a metal surface it will live for at least 12 hours - so if you come into contact with any metal surface - wash your hands as soon as you can with a bacterial soap.
6. On fabric it can survive for 6-12 hours. normal laundry detergent will kill it.
7. Drinking warm water is effective for all viruses. Try not to drink liquids with ice.
8. Wash your hands frequently as the virus can only live on your hands for 5-10 minutes, but - a lot can happen during that time - you can rub your eyes, pick your nose unwittingly and so on.
9. You should also gargle as a prevention. A simple solution of salt in warm water will suffice.
10. Can't emphasise enough - drink plenty of water!
THE SYMPTOMS
1. It will first infect the throat, so you'll have a sore throat lasting 3/4 days
2. The virus then blends into a nasal fluid that enters the trachea and then the lungs, causing pneumonia. This takes about 5/6 days further.
3. With the pneumonia comes high fever and difficulty in breathing.
4. The nasal congestion is not like the normal kind. You feel like you're drowning. It's imperative you then seek immediate attention."

Yes and a free excursions LOL.
I am with @princevaliantus on this one........
I have done both. Booked on my own and used a travel agent. I saw no realized benefit to using a travel agent. I read post of the millions of $$ that travel agents save so many posters. Its never happened to me.
It can take some time and patience to book but I dont mind that at all. I would say on average total time from research of where we want to go to finding a deal that works for us is probably a couple of hours. Have I screwed up before? Yes. But I have had a travel agent book me plane tickets to Dayton, OH when I asked for tickets to Daytona Beach. Stuff happens.
People mention that a TA repriced and rebooked trips for them. I can do that with either a few clicks on a website or a call to the TA's at Royal.
For something like a grand vacation trip to Europe for a couple of weeks of many countries and flights, hotels, trains, etc. I can see value of having someone with tribal knowledge but for a cruise? Not really. For most its a closed ended vacation. Board this day and exit on this day. Royal does all the planning in between for you. That is a benefit of staying loyal to Royal. You know what to expect from experts and they have wonderful staff to fill your days and nights with activities and excursions that you can pick and choose literally from a menu that is delivered to your cabin daily.
I have no idea how many people actually belong to this board (it really is the best!!!) but there is a wealth of information here from a lot of "amateur TA's". So many people here with so much experience and a willingness to help others out with information is amazing. A well traveled persons thoughts and opinions and real life experiences are just as valuable to me.

Cursing April 19 out of Galveston with a 8 month old. We purchase “cancel for any reason” insurance that reimburses us up to 75% of total cost. Personally I’m not to worried about coronavirus however since are cruising with a child we will be taking extra precautions as they stick everything in their mouths. I honestly think we will make the call on going last minute. Anyone else have similar concerns? Does anyone know If Royal lets you reschedule, if so what is the fee?

People can muster any statistics they like for or against something and they will push their agenda on others. Make your own decisions.
Before this all got the coverage it was getting now in the world people didn't have the information or really understand what the disease was. Those folks were not as informed as we all are now.
There is a clearly a health risk in the world. A simple way to avoid it is to avoid it. For us, we have chosen to avoid it and skip cruising for a bit. 
Almost everything in life comes with risk. Whatever your choice is it will be the right one for you.
When it comes down to it we are just talking about vacations here. People are actually getting very sick and many have died. We should keep that in perspective here.
. 

People can muster any statistics they like for or against something and they will push their agenda on others. Make your own decisions.
Before this all got the coverage it was getting now in the world people didn't have the information or really understand what the disease was. Those folks were not as informed as we all are now.
There is a clearly a health risk in the world. A simple way to avoid it is to avoid it. For us, we have chosen to avoid it and skip cruising for a bit. 
Almost everything in life comes with risk. Whatever your choice is it will be the right one for you.
When it comes down to it we are just talking about vacations here. People are actually getting very sick and many have died. We should keep that in perspective here.
. 

People can muster any statistics they like for or against something and they will push their agenda on others. Make your own decisions.
Before this all got the coverage it was getting now in the world people didn't have the information or really understand what the disease was. Those folks were not as informed as we all are now.
There is a clearly a health risk in the world. A simple way to avoid it is to avoid it. For us, we have chosen to avoid it and skip cruising for a bit. 
Almost everything in life comes with risk. Whatever your choice is it will be the right one for you.
When it comes down to it we are just talking about vacations here. People are actually getting very sick and many have died. We should keep that in perspective here.
. 

Wow, so you have had twice as many colds in your life as their have been documented deaths in the entire world outside of China any you're still alive to talk about it. That is impressive. 

Its a world class hotel. The doorman will gladly get you a cab in front of the hotel. I have done this many times. Cost was not too much or too little to make it memorable to me. Nassua is also not the safest place for tourists so looking for your cheapest option is not always the best option. Be smart and be safe.
 
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/the-bahamas-travel-advisory.html

Grab a cab, cheap, quick, easy. AVOID the ferry, if Atlantis is your destination, the ferry drops you quite a ways away. 

No cruises for us now in 2020. We would normally travel to Bermuda in Spring and Bahamas for Thanksgiving. Asia probably wont ever happen. I dont care what the statistics are or how many people say it is safe right now. The only way to stay 100% safe is to skip a few vacations. We can save up the money from this year towards Star Class next year.

I agree that the extra room and double points are the biggest perks.

Double Cruise points ?

Biggest advantage I can say - ROOM!!!!!  and the fluffy white robes,  
don't forget you can check in with the Diamonds. Hardly a wait at all.

Or ask another passenger. I have been asked to take pictures of folks tons of times with their cameras and I always oblige. Look for friendly faces in the crowd. Everyone is there for the same reason: to rest, relax and create and capture those wonderful vacation images and most friendly people are happy to help you out.
I would venture a guess and say that the RC official photogs are not allowed to take a picture with your camera. The pictures they take are for profit only for the cruise line so asking them probably puts them in the awkward position of maybe wanting to do it for you but really can't and now they have to explain that in a nice way.
 
Have a great trip!!!

They are everywhere. You will never have to worry about where to find them. Even when you are having a nice quiet dinner they will be right there to interrupt it.

Before I started cruising with RC i did some Carnival cruises.  On one of the ships I used the  laundry room.  Standing there watching my clothes I said to myself " what in the hell am i doing?"  Here i am saving a few bucks doing my own laundry.  Like most people,  I dont like doing laundry at home.  So that ended that.  Take the padlock off your wallet and let the cruise ship do it.  YOUR ON VACATION!!

I have sailed Anthem 3 times (2016, 2018, 2019) and have never encountered a dirty room. In 2016 I was with a group of about 9 cabins, no issues. In 2018 I was with 5 cabins, no issues. In 2019 I was with 6 cabins, no issues. I am not sure if the cabin steward is trained to identify bed bugs, but you can always check for yourself (peace of mind). I'm not going to sit here and say there isn't a single bed bug on the ship, but I've never in 12 Royal Caribbean cruises (with two more booked) in the last 13 years have heard/read one story of an infestation.
Rest assured, I can say with 99.9% certainty your room will be completely sanitary and bug free. In regards to Lysol, some people wipe down the room, but I honestly feel it's overkill.
Don't forget, people like to leave bad reviews (some not true) but rarely jump in with a positive review. 

Got to take advantage of the benefits of a $23,000 cruise lol 

There is a level of cabin where people unpack for you??? I want to travel like the 1%.....

Poster joined an hour ago and drops this on us. 

As long as you don't come in shorts and a tank top you will be fine.  Seldom have we ever change for dinner our first night.

I wouldn't worry too much about not having your luggage before dinner. RC knows that it may take up to 10 pm to get all the luggage out to people so the first night in the MDR is casual - even says so on the cruise compass!
Just don't wear your swimsuit in, and you'll be fine.
Alternatively, packing simple clothes in your carry on will help alleviate some concerns. I often throw a hard-to-wrinkle sun dress in my carry on bag so I can swap into that.