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Coming after cruise industry


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Has anyone else noticed how many folks are coming after the cruise industry right now. It is almost like they smell blood in the water. I don't feel like other vacation industries illicit such a strong response.

What do you think it is? Why are so many people attacking the cruise industry right now? And, how does one respond to their spouse who is starting to question whether or not to cruise any longer as a result?

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The cruise industry is an easy target for the media at the moment. They are successful and enjoy a large following that is gaining popularity. Unlike the resort industry which is fixed in place and is rising in price to the level of only top tier clientele, the cruising industry has pricing for all tier levels and offers amenities for all tastes. Also cruising allows exploration to many different countries and cultures whereas a resort is usually exclusive and enclosed isolating the client from the outside to make sure you use only their services.

As far as the attacks, the folks looking in only see the supposed large number of folks in a small area and assume a giant source of germ transfer. They do not see the large number of support staff cleaning, preparing meals, supervising, entertaining and basically pampering the guests. If you pull up a ship's statistics you see an inordinately large number of staff per guest. That said we have always enjoyed ourselves on cruises far more than the resorts we have visited and individual vacation trips and feel the cruise is best for us.

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The cruise industry is always a target.  Any ship that deals with a noro outbreak is instantly in the news.  The reality is that you do have thousands of people in close proximity who are constantly interacting with each other.  Any communicable disease is going to spread easier.  We all know that the crew is constantly reminding people to sanitize, but not everyone heeds the warnings.

 

It  is what it is.  If it slows down the popularity of cruising, it may lead to lower prices. ?

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I'm not sure that the cruise industry is a target, but they definitely have a certain focus on them.  Some of this is from the simple fact that cruises pack a lot of people, although to us the ships are huge, into a relatively small space. Some large theatres on the other hand, can hold as many people as small cruise ships and nobody is saying anything to them? Airlines hold more people per square foot than any cruise ship. Are people suggesting that airlines stop or curtail their operations? A cruise ship can as easily transmit a virus to other parts of the world, just like an airline can or as a the local transportation in any city can.

As far as your spouse is concerned, I would ask what did you do when the H1N1, Swine Flu or SARS outbreaks happened? All concerns at the time, that faded over time. 

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I agree it's a little unfair to focus on the cruise industry more than any other industry, form of transport, etc.

As @FManke just alluded to, I would be much more nervous about flying in a small, pressurized metal tube with 200 or more strangers potentially hacking and sneezing all around you for hours at a time. You would think that people that are concerned would focus on the airline industry a little more.

IMHO, we just all need to remain educated on the ongoing situation, exercise caution and use common sense right now.

Hopefully, with the warmer weather approaching, the virus will run its course and no longer be as major of a concern.

 

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6 minutes ago, JohnK6404 said:

I agree it's a little unfair to focus on the cruise industry more than any other form of transport, etc.

As @FManke just alluded to, I would be much more nervous about flying in a small, pressurized metal tube with 200 or more strangers potentially hacking and sneezing all around you for hours at a time. You would think that people that are concerned would focus on the airline industry a little more.

 

I totally agree. Haven’t heard of any airline flights quarantining passengers when they disembark, and there are many more people entering the country daily on an airplane than from a cruise ship. With the airlines, the flight crews just turn around, board another flight and life goes on. And what about the thousands of people that are visiting the various theme parks each day around the country? I would be much more concerned about being exposed at Disney World than on a cruise. Ironically I was at Disney about 5 weeks ago and even then there were a few people wearing marks in the park. The next few weeks will be interesting for sure. We are supposed to board Symphony in four weeks and this whole mess has definitely put a damper on our excitement. At this time we are still planning on sailing as long as the ship sails. 

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I have noticed just what you are mentioning.  A coworker just left on a cruise yesterday.  Another coworker was whispering that going on a cruise is a big mistake. Every ship outbreak is splashed all over the media. Seriously, if I hear "floating petri dish" one more time. . .  

I am a first grade teacher. I have much less personal space in a given day than I ever do on a ship. My sweeties cough and sneeze on me all year long.  We are packed in the classroom, the cafeteria for lunch.  At any given time, fifty percent of the school could be in the hall coming and going to PE/music/art, lunch, or recess. We are clearly not transporting viruses from one part of the world or country to another within the day. But we have 1200+ people in one small building.

What about theme parks? I loooove Disneyworld.  However, the famous, "fill in all available space" phrase they use just makes me crazy. The lines, the rope drop crowds, the crowded restaurants - personal space is very limited.

When I think about hotel rooms, I get a little worried.  Just rinsing the glasses and coffee makers  and so forth and so on.  Surely, viruses are spread in hotels and without a huge spotlight shining on them.

Sorry about the rant. With two trips planned and prepaid, I am on edge.

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I work retail in a supermarket.  Give me a cruise any day of the week over people who don't even pay attention to me at work.  We are the proverbial flies on the wall.  So many times people will be shopping and turn their head to sneeze or cough....right on me.

 

...back to the issue of cruising getting a bad rap....it's a perfect time to be a good ambassador for cruising.  Something as simple as the tv in our break room showing a news story about coronovirus and cruising is an opening to educate people.

 

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When a cruise vacation goes wrong, it really goes wrong, less so with land based vacations.  A few reason for the increased coverage of course are the close proximity of fellow cruisers, maritime laws and completely missing the set expectations that the marketing department puts out.  

I think they are all legitimate concerns but will be waiting a few weeks (see which way the virus is trending) before making the call on our cruise.

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I think the reason that people jump all over cruise industry is it is perceived as luxury/non-necessity. People must fly and stay in hotels for work. 

4 hours ago, CrznTxn said:

 Unlike the resort industry which is fixed in place and is rising in price to the level of only top tier clientele, the cruising industry has pricing for all tier levels and offers amenities for all tastes. Also cruising allows exploration to many different countries and cultures whereas a resort is usually exclusive and enclosed isolating the client from the outside to make sure you use only their services.

Cruising also has a snobby rep that as @CrznTxn explains is unearned. I admit that I don't really proselytize about the virtues of cruising because most people just don't get it unless they have cruised.  

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4 hours ago, luv2sail said:

I have noticed just what you are mentioning.  A coworker just left on a cruise yesterday.  Another coworker was whispering that going on a cruise is a big mistake. Every ship outbreak is splashed all over the media. Seriously, if I hear "floating petri dish" one more time. . .  

Ask your coworker when they last cleaned the keyboard and mouse on their computer.  A cruise ship gets all its surfaces cleaned regularly so if it is a petri dish, what does that make their office?

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5 hours ago, PatsFanBrian said:

The cruise industry is always a target.  Any ship that deals with a noro outbreak is instantly in the news.  The reality is that you do have thousands of people in close proximity who are constantly interacting with each other.  Any communicable disease is going to spread easier.  We all know that the crew is constantly reminding people to sanitize, but not everyone heeds the warnings.

 

It  is what it is.  If it slows down the popularity of cruising, it may lead to lower prices. ?

It may have already, we cruise the end of May and went to pay off and cruise , went down around 400 dollars for me and my wife, I was glad I hadn't made final payment yet.

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As is the case with norovirus, the coronavirus makes the cruise industry an easy target because it is much easier to see the effects.  

If someone goes to Disney World, New York City or the Grand Canyon, they aren't confined to one area. More often, they end up leaving, and it is less obvious of their destination being the "source" of the outbreak.

To a lesser extent, there is a general bias against cruising.  The people that call it a "floating petri dish" or think you're "stuck" on a "boat".

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Cruise ships in the US are required to report to the CDC any gastro illness that impacts more than 3% of the ship head count.  A flu outbreak must be reported at 1.38% of ship head count.

No other industry or organization is required to report.  Schools are truly places where illness spreads like wildfire yet 100% of a school's population could have noro and the school doesn't have to notify anyone.  A church could have 60% of a congregation down with a virus spread at church but there is no reporting.  At church or school 1,000 sick people see hundreds of different doctors.  The doctor's don't aggregate results or report them, they aren't required to.  Right now somewhere in America a significant portion of a school somewhere has the flu or noro and no one knows.  It doesn't make the news.  

 It isn't a level playing field but there are detailed statistics for cruise ships that don't exist for land.  That makes it easy for a lazy reporter to find verifiable data for ships and statistics make a news story appear credible even when the story draws conclusions that aren't supported by the data.

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