Posted on 03/11/2020 6:01:34 AM PDT by C19fan
The cruise ship industry is reeling. The outbreak of the new coronavirus has made the basic fundamentals of the business medically inadvisable to the point that the State Department has issued a warning to U.S. travelers—chief among them the elderly—to stop taking cruise ships until the threat has passed.
And yet, even as thousands of people have found themselves stuck on ocean liners, in close confines with others suffering from a deadly virus, not everyone is ready to bag their cruise ship getaway. Indeed, while some shudder at the prospect of enduring severe flu-like symptoms and a 14-day quarantine, others see the vacation deal of a lifetime materializing before their eyes.
Kenny Human, a 33-year-old lawyer from Kentucky, is one of those deal seekers. Five days ago, in the height of the coronavirus scare, he decided to purchase a Carnival Cruise trip leaving New Orleans in May for a venture through the western Caribbean. He doesn’t believe the coronavirus is a hoax. He doesn’t think fears of it are overhyped. And his girlfriend tried to convince him it was a bad idea. But, in the end, the price—about $400 per ticket when counting taxes and cancellation insurance—was just too damn good.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
There are other smaller ships other than these mega ships so heavily advertised.
Check out American Cruise Lines. They go up and down the Mississippi River, the Columbia River, the east coast of the US. In the winter the same ship that goes to ports in Florida offers cruises on the New England coast. Plus these ships fly the flag of the USA. Therefore, they have to abide by the laws of the USA(the Jones Act).
In addition there are smaller cruise ships in the Caribbean that have around 400 people on board. These ships are not cheap. All the rooms are really nice. Almost all the rooms are on the outside of the ship.
I went on my honeymoon 23 years ago on a Windjammer Barefoot cruise in the British Virgin Islands. This company went out of business after the owner died about fifteen years ago. However, there are still a couple of his ships that do the same thing under different names. These ships had about 75 passengers and 25 crew. They went to smaller islands where only private yachts went. They stayed away from the ports where the big ships went.
Yahoo - doing their part to crash the economy. We have a cruise planned this summer with Royal C, they contacted us and informed us about the steps they are taking assure safety. This “floating petry dish” an exaggeration made mostly by those that cannot afford to go on cruise and you don’t have to eat a single meal from a buffet. There’s an obvious explanation for the Ships that did get hit.
Yahoo is infested with leftists who are hoping the economy tanks
Cruises need to be shut down now. These floating petri dishes have proven to be effective transmitters of the COVID19.
They sure do a good job of spreading e coli from time to time...
But shutting them down seems a bit draconian...where would it end?
Shut enough stuff down and the whole economy tanks and the Dems romp in November.
We also did the Windjammer for our honeymoon, but 16 years ago. Was amazing and glad we got in before they ended. Great memory!
Just cancelled a cruise I had been planning on taking for years. Cancellation policy of cruise line is ridiculous, especially since I am an at risk individual (age plus weakened immune system). I lose 50% of my fare and the remaining 50% is evenly divided between cash refund and future cruise credit. Given my anger at their policy, I will end up losing 75% and never book another cruise. Recovery, if any, from trip insurance is in doubt given the special circumstances. Future vacations will be in the United States with preference given to places within reasonable driving distance.
What if there's an outbreak on board, and the Captain and the exec crew come down with it if off of the coast of Haiti? No thanks.
Perhaps we should simply shut down government for a month and ask employees to stay home with no pay, that would keep about half the population quarantined and perhaps save America.
Thirty or forty ships a week go into and out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Not a single one has had a case of the virus and not a one has been quarantined. I like my odds.
"“I just have this natural inclination to buy low on things,” Human told The Daily Beast. “My girlfriend does think I’m crazy, but she is reluctantly on board, no pun intended.”“I have to admit,” he added with a touch of sobriety, “your interest in wanting to speak with me does give me some doubts.”
Have fun.
We went on a cruise out of FL in Feb.
Had a great time.
"Patrice O’Rourke, 58, of Middlesex County, New Jersey, paid full amount for a cruise she was set to take this May down to the Caribbean. What she did not get was travel insurance. So instead of losing the $5,000, she’s planning on going.“We are not handling it well,” she concedes of the anxiety. “I’m just popping Xanax every hour. I haven’t begun snorting them yet. Once I start snorting it, then you know I'm nervous.”
What he saves in Cruise ticket prices, he can apply to purchasing a better coffin.
I never had much interest in a cruise. Given the present situation, yes, it’s insane to go on a cruise.
I’d disinvite him.
We went on the Flying Cloud. Last I heard it was half submerged down in Trinidad.
I think a few of the ships are still around under different names. Which one were you on?
Meet the insane FReepers still planning cruise ship vacations.
I’ve had a grand total of one experience with going on a cruise. I thought it was sort of “meh.” Not enough to put me completely off ever doing it again, but not exactly awesome either. What put me completely off was all the norovirus outbreaks. Being stuck on a boat with explosive diarrhea is pretty low on my list of life experiences.
And it speaks volumes to our containment issue. I still believe the thing that may spare US the worst is that COVID-19 is arriving at the end of a once-every-50-year flu season into a pool of immune-system-activated people. Still some concern that it will go deep into the over-70 population.
I have a co-worker who is on a cruise right now.
An E-mail was just sent out this morning that any employee who has been travelling must self quarantine for two weeks upon return, no exceptions.
I guess Jeff’s vacation just got a little longer.
Trying to get Americans to comply with draconian measures is like herding cats, ain’t gonna happen.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.