Jim S Posted March 11, 2020 Report Posted March 11, 2020 Received an email early this morning from our Canadian friends who are currently on the Jewel of the Seas. The ship sailed yesterday from Dubai heading for Abu Dhabi and Sir Bani Yas Island but both ports were closed and the ship returned to Dubai overnight. We were due to join our friends on Monday for two B2B cruises on 16th and 23rd March but it is looking like both of these cruises could be cancelled. Two passengers onboard are also ill and waiting to be tested for COVID-19 by the Dubai Port Authorities before a decision will be made on future sailings. We have heard nothing from RCCL so far but will post updates on the forum as and when we receive any more information. chart79, coneyraven, Big Tule and 7 others 6 4 Quote
WAAAYTOOO Posted March 11, 2020 Report Posted March 11, 2020 1 hour ago, Jim S said: Received an email early this morning from our Canadian friends who are currently on the Jewel of the Seas. The ship sailed yesterday from Dubai heading for Abu Dhabi and Sir Bani Yas Island but both ports were closed and the ship returned to Dubai overnight. We were due to join our friends on Monday for two B2B cruises on 16th and 23rd March but it is looking like both of these cruises will be cancelled. Two passengers onboard are also ill and waiting to be tested for COVID-19 by the Dubai Port Authorities before a decision will be made on future sailings. We have heard nothing from RCCL so far but will post updates on the forum as and when we receive any more information. So sorry to hear this. I will agree....this does not sound good. Hoping all turns out well foe everyone involved. Quote
Felpi Posted March 11, 2020 Report Posted March 11, 2020 2 hours ago, Jim S said: Received an email early this morning from our Canadian friends who are currently on the Jewel of the Seas. The ship sailed yesterday from Dubai heading for Abu Dhabi and Sir Bani Yas Island but both ports were closed and the ship returned to Dubai overnight. We were due to join our friends on Monday for two B2B cruises on 16th and 23rd March but it is looking like both of these cruises will be cancelled. Two passengers onboard are also ill and waiting to be tested for COVID-19 by the Dubai Port Authorities before a decision will be made on future sailings. We have heard nothing from RCCL so far but will post updates on the forum as and when we receive any more information. I hope this is just a wild guess on your part that the cruise of 23.03. is cancelled Quote
Jim S Posted March 11, 2020 Author Report Posted March 11, 2020 2 hours ago, Felpi said: I hope this is just a wild guess on your part that the cruise of 23.03. is cancelled It is not a wild guess. Just posting what I am hearing from friends who are onboard at the moment. Quote
Jim S Posted March 11, 2020 Author Report Posted March 11, 2020 Latest update. Ship still in Dubai. Passengers not allowed to leave until the results of the two ill passengers tests come back. The Captain announced an hour ago that he will make a further announcement between 6 and 7 local time in Dubai. accio7 1 Quote
Matt Posted March 11, 2020 Report Posted March 11, 2020 A guest onboard shared this letter with me shaydav19, Jim S, MarcBerger and 2 others 1 1 3 Quote
Jim S Posted March 11, 2020 Author Report Posted March 11, 2020 Thanks for the update Matt. I don’t know what other gulf ports they can go to as they all seem to closed to cruise ships. Quote
WAAAYTOOO Posted March 11, 2020 Report Posted March 11, 2020 This is an unfortunate example of the worst that can happen. So unfortunate. Good luck @Jim S with your plans. Jim S 1 Quote
J_Keeble Posted March 11, 2020 Report Posted March 11, 2020 Luckily I got off on Monday then! phew! WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote
Jim S Posted March 11, 2020 Author Report Posted March 11, 2020 5 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: This is an unfortunate example of the worst that can happen. So unfortunate. Good luck @Jim S with your plans. Thanks WAAAYTOOO. We are due to fly out to Dubai on Friday and have still heard nothing from RCCL, nor has my TA. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote
FManke Posted March 11, 2020 Report Posted March 11, 2020 @Jim S I'm sorry for the problems you're experiencing, but remember. Be happy while you're living, for you're a long time died. Good luck with the rest of your trip. Jim S and WAAAYTOOO 1 1 Quote
Felpi Posted March 11, 2020 Report Posted March 11, 2020 We leave for Dubai on March 22. I am confident that everything will be settled by then and we can leave on March 23 with Jewel Quote
FManke Posted March 11, 2020 Report Posted March 11, 2020 4 minutes ago, FManke said: @Jim S I'm sorry for the problems you're experiencing, but remember. Be happy while you're living, for you're a long time died. Good luck with the rest of your trip. I try to always look at things like, they could always be worse. Let's see if I can live up to that this Oct when we cruise if all of this is still going on. Quote
Jim S Posted March 11, 2020 Author Report Posted March 11, 2020 3 minutes ago, Felpi said: We leave for Dubai on March 22. I am confident that everything will be settled by then and we can leave on March 23 with Jewel I hope you’re right as we are on the 23rd March cruise as well. Let’s wait and see. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote
accio7 Posted March 11, 2020 Report Posted March 11, 2020 I shared this video with @Matt a few minutes ago on Twitter, but here's a perspective video from YouTube cruise vloggers onboard Jewel. So sorry to hear about your friends' situation, @Jim S, and best wishes on your March 23rd cruise. WAAAYTOOO and Jim S 2 Quote
Jim S Posted March 11, 2020 Author Report Posted March 11, 2020 15 minutes ago, accio7 said: I shared this video with @Matt a few minutes ago on Twitter, but here's a perspective video from YouTube cruise vloggers onboard Jewel. So sorry to hear about your friends' situation, @Jim S, and best wishes on your March 23rd cruise. @accio7 thanks for posting the link to the video. It explains very well what is going on. Quote
accio7 Posted March 11, 2020 Report Posted March 11, 2020 Just now, Jim S said: @accio7 thanks for posting the link to the video. It explains very well what is going on. No problem! Really surprised that Royal hasn't made an announcement by now, must be nerve wrecking for everyone booked on Jewel this month. Did some more reading, here's an article with additional info. Jim S 1 Quote
accio7 Posted March 11, 2020 Report Posted March 11, 2020 Update from Ben and David aboard Jewel, good news! Jim S and Ogilthorpe 2 Quote
WAAAYTOOO Posted March 11, 2020 Report Posted March 11, 2020 2 minutes ago, accio7 said: Update from Ben and David aboard Jewel, good news! So...no Covid 19. GREAT ! Are there any ports left to go to ?? Quote
accio7 Posted March 11, 2020 Report Posted March 11, 2020 5 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: So...no Covid 19. GREAT ! Are there any ports left to go to ?? This is the rest of the itinerary: 12 Mar Sir Bani Yas Island, UAE private island 14 Mar Muscat, Oman 16 Mar Arriving in Dubai, Port Rashid, UAE The April 8th and April 26th itineraries were already revised: Ogilthorpe and WAAAYTOOO 1 1 Quote
Jim S Posted March 12, 2020 Author Report Posted March 12, 2020 Jewel of the Seas March 16th cruise: Official notice of cancellation received this morning from RCCL. We have also received information from our Canadian friends who are currently onboard Jewel of the Seas that the Guest Services staff onboard are saying that it is very likely that the March 23rd cruise may also been cancelled. However, no official word has yet been received from RCCL to confirm this. accio7 and WAAAYTOOO 2 Quote
Felpi Posted March 12, 2020 Report Posted March 12, 2020 That doesn't sound good. And we were so looking forward to 23/03/20. We really believe that it will work out anyway Quote
Jim S Posted March 12, 2020 Author Report Posted March 12, 2020 6 minutes ago, Felpi said: That doesn't sound good. And we were so looking forward to 23/03/20. We really believe that it will work out anyway We are currently rescheduling our flights to Dubai for the March 23 cruise but I am not very confident that it will go ahead. We will be keeping our fingers crossed anyway. Let’s hope you are right. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.