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I was wondering if anyone has experienced the new health screening criteria when boarding a ship in the last few days. Just curious what it looks like. We sail in 2 weeks and I am pumping my family full of vitamin C and zinc to stay healthy, but just wonder if everyone is being screened for a fever and pulse oxygen or just select people. Would it be wise to plan for a longer boarding process?

Thanks!

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I could be wrong, but it seemed to me (if I’m reading the screening guidelines correctly) that you will receive these “extra” screening parameters ONLY if you qualify via the “China” questions. In other words, if you have not been in contact with anyone who meets those (list) of conditions, you will not be subject to the extra screening.

I will find out later today, as we board Anthem at 3:00.

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We boarded Harmony this morning. They asked us 3 questions::  1) have we been to China, Hong Kong, or Macau in the last 15 days, 2) were we in close contact with anyone from these areas in the last 15 days (that we were aware of) and 3) did we have any flu symptoms in the last 7 days. We answered no to all and that was it. 

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1 hour ago, CFL said:

We boarded Harmony this morning. They asked us 3 questions::  1) have we been to China, Hong Kong, or Macau in the last 15 days, 2) were we in close contact with a from these areas in the last 15 days (that we were aware of) and 3) did we have any fu symptoms in the last 7 days. We answered no to all and that was it. 

Exactly the same for us for Anthem. 

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I actually wondered,  if someone was too scared to go and wants to cancel (or want to cancel for any other reason), but want a refund as well. Couldnt they just lie and say they've had dinner with someone who was recently in China last night or something, and get denied boarding and get their refund? Or am I missing something. 

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15 hours ago, CFL said:

We boarded Harmony this morning. They asked us 3 questions::  1) have we been to China, Hong Kong, or Macau in the last 15 days, 2) were we in close contact with anyone from these areas in the last 15 days (that we were aware of) and 3) did we have any flu symptoms in the last 7 days. We answered no to all and that was it. 

Yup, same thing last week for Brilliance out of Tampa.

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13 hours ago, Jzx1103 said:

Royal just lifted the ban on Chinese passport holders. Back to only banning people whose been to the region. 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-ships/itinerary-updates

I think this is a little premature to lift the ban right now, it’s not gone away yet that I know of,  Has anyone heard of a cure/vaccination being distributed?

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4 hours ago, Mickey said:

So wrong the ban was lifted.  RCCL is worried about a discrimination lawsuit.  Shouldn’t they be more concerned about an outbreak on the ship?  Better safe than sorry.  I’m not a racist by any means, but will shun Asians until the outbreak is over.

Yea you're not racist, you're just prone to fear and hysteria. Asian people who's not been to Asia recently are no more dangerous than any white or blacks that hasn't been to Asia recently. Royal is already banning anyone whose been to Asia recently. Which is enough!!! Btw if you're that fearful, you should just cancel your cruise instead of having those that really want to go be punished just because of their ethnicity. Better safe than sorry right?

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33 minutes ago, mworkman said:

I think this is a little premature to lift the ban right now, it’s not gone awake yet that I know of,  Has anyone heard of a cure/vaccination being distributed?

By the way according to them, they didn't place the ban originally due to fear of having Asians onboard, but more so because some countries are barring ships with Chinese onboard to dock and Royal didn't want to deal with that mess. But currently all countries barring Chinese to dock are countries near China. Royal already canceled Asian sailings anyways so there's no point to that ban here in the states for ships going to the Caribbean or Mexico. 

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2 hours ago, Mickey said:

Unless I missed something, I was just told (hearsay) By our friend’s travel agent that anyone with a Chinese passport will be permitted to cruise (with exceptions) so long as they don’t reside in those 3 countries.  Has anyone heard this?

 

 

"Novel Coronavirus Travel Alerts

UPDATED ON FEBRUARY 10, 2020

TRAVEL RESTRICTION UPDATE

Royal Caribbean has ended its temporary general restriction on holders of passports from China, Hong Kong and Macau. The general restriction was adopted last week in response to numerous ports and governments around the world restricting travel for Chinese passport holders, often with little advance notice.

Now that these governmental restrictions have been clarified, we are able to clarify our own policies. Our 15-day restriction on all individuals who have traveled from, to or through mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau remains in effect, and so do restrictions on individuals who have been in close contact with persons who have traveled from, through or to China, Hong Kong and Macau in the past 15 days.

We maintain a list of our current boarding policies for all travelers, together with a list of current local travel restrictions at https://presscenter.rclcorporate.com/pr ... rt-holders. We encourage holders of China, Hong Kong and Macau passports to be aware of the potential for a disrupted vacation, and to contact us with any questions."

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Who ever @RCL is in charge of press releases needs to read what they write.  They should have said that the travel ban has been adjusted or redefined, not lifted. Then state that a ban is still in place for those who are currently in the affected regions, to include those who have been recently to the infected areas, until a medical team has cleared them as a possible carrier via 15 day quarantine process.

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I have been feeling a bit anxious about our upcoming cruise in a couple weeks. we are departing from Miami on Symphony.  Have any recent cruisers noticed less crowded ships than they expected?  I wonder how many people have cancelled or have been denied boarding for some reason.  I currently live in the east coast which has been having tons of regular flu cases so chances are not so low that people boarding will have the regular flu... so if you have the sniffles will you be flagged ?  on some other interesting ship news have you all heard that one passenger from the Holland America Westerdam which was allowed to dock in Cambodia has tested positive for the Corona virus ?  The ship that was supposedly virus free.  So given what happened to the Princess ship now docked in Japan there is a good chance that more on the Westerdam ship have also been infected and now they have all been let go.  SO when these folks are flying back from Malaysia , Japan , Vietnam etc, I wonder what is happening ?  Clearly it is very difficult for the CDC and homeland security to all be on he same page... Just wondering if others who will be boarding soon have some of my same misgivings.  at the end of the day it seems like it is impossible to contain this virus which is a bit deadlier than the seasonal flu and it is just part of the world we live in and the risks that are associated with that.... I do feel a ton of sympathy for all those folks that are still stuck on the Princess ship in Japan.  My nightmare is that one person falls through the cracks or just on person causes a false alarm and because of an abundance of caution we are all stuck being denied entry back to any port.  

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Looks like Royal has added South Korea, Japan, Thailand,  Singapore,  and Iran to the list of countries with extra screening needed. I'm surprised they haven't yet outright said you mustn't been to those places recently. S Korea, Japan,  and Iran are all on the verge of full blown outbreak. S Korea looks like the next Wuhan.

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1 hour ago, Jzx1103 said:

Looks like Royal has added South Korea, Japan, Thailand,  Singapore,  and Iran to the list of countries with extra screening needed. I'm surprised they haven't yet outright said you mustn't been to those places recently. S Korea, Japan,  and Iran are all on the verge of full blown outbreak. S Korea looks like the next Wuhan.

Italy incoming... Pretty sure that meets the criteria for a pandemic. Tomorrow will be interesting. Hoping beyond home we'll be able to keep our Mariner reservations in August. Someone sell me a miracle.

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Can anyone recommend good cruise insurance ?  I have bookings this summer  who knows how many months this will last and now Europe is affected.  Looks like this virus spreads like wildfire.  I would need to get the cancel for any reason insurance but I want a company that can be trusted.  

i went to insuremytrip.com but most reviews sound like plants or are from folks who never actually had to make a claim.  

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remember when looking to buy travel insurance remember its what YOU are specifically needing.  we all have different needs when it comes to insurance.  plus there are just one time plans or yearly plans.  if you travel alot then the yearly might be the better option.  there are reputable companies such as allianz and travel guard but also thoroughly read the policy carefully.  Twangster did a live blog on his battle with filing a claim and how it definitely wasnt a simple one two three process here is your money for your claim.  after his unpleasant ordeal, many of us were reviewing our own policies to see what "truly" is covered and not covered.  do you research then call different companies and ask those important question before making a final decision.
 

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13 hours ago, SMOKEY0202 said:

remember when looking to buy travel insurance remember its what YOU are specifically needing.  we all have different needs when it comes to insurance

This this this.  They don't make the actual plan documents available prior to purchasing the travel insurance. However you typically have a "look" period once you've paid for the policy where you can actually review the entire trip insurance contract and see if it fits your needs.  Basically once you get those docs walk through a mock claim scenario where you would imagine insurance would kick in.  Try to find which type of a claim you have and what the claim trigger is and see if that's covered. 

Most people truly don't understand how travel insurance works.  Even CFAR isn't a catch all..typically it isn't even a full reimbursement of any expenses that you lose out on; it may only be 50% to 75%.  These riders tend to be pricey, so it may not be worth it when you consider you are out the cost of the insurance if you cancel as well.

I travel enough that I took out a yearly policy with Allianz that cost less than $500 a year for just me.  Looking over what are covered reasons for cancelling a trip within the policy I don't feel the need to purchase per trip additional insurance.  The couple hundred I would pay for CFAR for a trip relative to the costs of most of my trips doesn't make it worthwhile for me.  If I was making trips in the $10K+ price range it may be a different story.

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33 minutes ago, Jzx1103 said:

Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if within a few weeks,  the entire European cruise industry shuts down like it did Asia. I'm not how how the cruise industry survives. Especially if some experts predictions come true that the Coronavirus is here to stay for the long haul. 

If that is true, entire countries will cease to exist.  The cruise industry is a very small cog in a much bigger machone.  Airlines will shut down before cruise line do.  With all travel and commerce ceased the effects will devastate the world.  Most of us will all be out of work eventually.  The great depression will seem like a rosie place.

On the flip side so far this is a flu like virus that impacts our most susceptible - very young and very old.  The flu kills substantially more people every year and we've all grown used to it and shrug it off.  If CV remains confined at or below the flu the world survives.  

Go back a few hundred years.  Italy was known to quarantine incoming ships for 40 days during the black plague.  That doesn't work for trains or planes.  It actually does with cruise ships, assuming you have the time.  With planes and trains eliminated cruise ship may become more viable forms of travel.

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20 minutes ago, twangster said:

On the flip side so far this is a flu like virus that impacts our most susceptible - very young and very old.  The flu kills substantially more people every year and we've all grown used to it and shrug it off.  If CV remains confined at or below the flu the world survives.  

Currently battling the flu. Started Tamiflu today with 103 temp. I've slept all day. Not feel much better, but a tad. By Wednesday, I should feel a lot better. My eyeballs even hurt. I looked at it this way, I'm just getting this out of the way for our upcoming cruise in 26 days. Ugh. Yes, I had the quadrivalent flu shot late October. Meh. 

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3 minutes ago, Baked Alaska said:

Currently battling the flu. Started Tamiflu today with 103 temp. I've slept all day. Not feel much better, but a tad. By Wednesday, I should feel a lot better. My eyeballs even hurt. I looked at it this way, I'm just getting this out of the way for our upcoming cruise in 26 days. Ugh. Yes, I had the quadrivalent flu shot late October. Meh. 

Hope you feel better soon!  Oh, and... wash your hands often to keep everyone in your household safe.  ???

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39 minutes ago, twangster said:

Hope you feel better soon!  Oh, and... wash your hands often to keep everyone in your household safe.  ???

They are chapped, dry, and scratched up. When not at home doing bookkeeping and payroll for our rental business, I substitute teach at a Catholic elementary and middle school. Needless to say, I wash, wash, wash, and wash some more. I work in the hot zone 3 to 5 days a week.

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FWIW, In my other life, back in 1990's, I did my epidemiology internship at the CDC&P in Atlanta. Now, When I finish my day teaching, upon returning home, I immediatly throw my clothes in the wash with Lysol Laundry Sanitizer and take a shower. Short of weari g a mask, there's not kuch more one can do during flu season.

Edited by Baked Alaska
Sorry, not going to fix typos tonight
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The quarantine on the Princess in Japan was a total disaster.  The crew was in even more danger than the passengers yet they kept working  I wonder if in addition to a refund on their trip those with insurance are covered for costs like not being able to come back for those who didn't take the flight back with the sick patients.  I also wonder what is happening with the Westerdam passengers.  Are some of them still stuck in Phonm Pehn?  No airline or country wants to allow them to fly.  And now that they are saying that the incubation time might be as long as 27 days where does that put the effectiveness of the quarantine.  It is still not our of control here in the US but it will no doubt get here and cause panic.  I think whats worse than the disease is the panic it causes.  People behave unreasonably when they are afraid.  The death rate so far is at 2% which is much higher than the flu's .01 but still not as bad as SARS or MERS, but it does seem to spread quite quickly.  I hope we can all stay level headed but seeing what is going on in Italy it seems like the horse has left the barn.  Hopefully by the time it reaches us we will be more sensible about it now that we have a bit more information.   It disproportionatly affects the old and those with underlying conditions.  Children somehow are not as vulnerable and they have not had many cases of severe illness in children and preganant women  I just heard on NPR 80% of those affected have a mild case of it with few symptoms   Call me crazy but I'm taking some extra food with me for my cruise next week!  Just in case we end up in quarantine because one person slipped through those cracks.   Like I said I am more worried about the panic and overreaction than the actual disease.  

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