Princess Cruises ship held up off California
coast with sick passengers, awaiting
coronavirus tests
Washington Post,
by
Hannah Sampson
Original Article
Posted By: DVC,
3/5/2020 1:53:30 PM
A Princess Cruises ship that recently carried people who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus was being held in waters off California late Wednesday as officials sent kits to test passengers and crew who were showing symptoms of the illness.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said during a news conference that he had asked that the Grand Princess, which left San Francisco on Feb. 21 for a voyage to Hawaii, avoid returning to the state until testing could be completed. On Wednesday night, he said 21 people — 11 passengers and 10 crew members — were symptomatic and would be prioritized for testing,
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Pete Stone 3/5/2020 2:05:28 PM (No. 337759)
So they're only testing passengers and crew who show symptoms? People can be asymptomatic for up to 2 weeks but still spread the virus before they start showing symptoms.
Test them all!
10 people like this.
It’s the Wapo...
So I’ll look elsewhere.
4 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
DVC 3/5/2020 2:46:56 PM (No. 337811)
We bought our tickets and have made our hotel reservations for a trip to the UK this July. We will be going regardless, unless travel is shut down. That seems exceedingly unlikely at this point.
How confident are we? Nonrefundable tickets.
5 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
LadyHen 3/5/2020 2:59:41 PM (No. 337820)
Just saying don't go or cancel doesn't address the real life issues involved here for many folks.This is not black and white and flippant responses are unhelpful as this is a situation hundreds of thousands of folks are faced with now at Spring break time.
With booked travel via cruise line after final payment (which is on average 90 days from departure), unless you have cancel for any reason travel insurance (which can only be purchased early), you lose everything if you cancel. So the trade off is lose thousands of dollars and your shot at vacation this year or go and risk illness or, what is worse for many, the risk of quarantine. It's a craps shoot and a pretty crappy one at that.
By all means, if you are 75 with COPD, absolutely cancel and just lose the money. This is a super deadly bug for you but if you are a healthy family noone over 45 and this is your family's Spring break vacation.... the cruise lines and airlines are doing NOTHING to help. You will just lose everything if you cancel. It is a hard choice.
It's easy to sit behind a computer screen and pass judgement. It's another thing to deal with this and the people caught up in it in the real world.
4 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
avital2 3/5/2020 3:28:11 PM (No. 337845)
i think Viking is allowing pre-booked passengers to postpone their trips now -
1 person likes this.
Princess needs to invest in some "plague ship" flags --- the "Yellow Jack" with alternating black and yellow squares.
2 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Urgent Fury 3/5/2020 3:45:13 PM (No. 337861)
Still beats a Disney cruise.
1 person likes this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
cor-vet 3/5/2020 3:52:39 PM (No. 337869)
Is Newsom (D) also requiring any illegals slipping into Kalifornia to be tested and quarantined when they arrive or is he forgoing testing in order to get them drivers licenses and on the voting rolls?
12 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
LadyHen 3/5/2020 4:17:49 PM (No. 337884)
Yes #5. Viking and a few of the lux lines have made accommodation. They are to be commended. They are essentially giving anxious passengers a full fare cruise credit to use within a certain time frame. It is a great policy. Mainstream cruise lines have been slow to act and generally only react to emergencies. This is biting them in the butt. Lots of anxious folks out there who booked their family cruises a year plus ago and are within 30 days of sailing and thus out of luck. In all probability, everything will be fine but hysteria and panic are ugly.
We as a family always carry very hefty cruise insurance for illness, death, or catastrophe related cancellation, medical, evacuation, trip interruption, you name it but not "cancel for any reason" as it is up to 3 times the cost and in all our years we would have never used it. We will never book without it again, ever.
3 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Bill O Rights 3/5/2020 5:17:50 PM (No. 337929)
Curious how Gov Nitwit has legal authority to interfere with international travel. The vessel had to touch down at a Mexican port.
1 person likes this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Strike3 3/5/2020 5:34:09 PM (No. 337941)
One has to wonder why a passenger would get on a cruise ship, any cruise ship, until this virus has been eradicated. San Francisco and Hawaii are both heavily populated with Chinese.
1 person likes this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Strike3 3/5/2020 5:43:07 PM (No. 337949)
I don't see any flippant responses here but even if some people don't take this thing as seriously as others, it will not affect its path around the world. One travels at his own risk. I would not have boarded a cruise ship or a plane at this time of the year even if this virus had not appeared. Close containment is a recipe for at least a cold or some strain of flu.
For those who have the money for a yearly Spring Break, the US has hundreds of vacation spots just as nice as the rest of the world has and you don't have to deal with shots, passports, visas, customs and rude treatment of Americans.
4 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
avital2 3/5/2020 7:54:55 PM (No. 338027)
actually this type of a black swan event is precisely when you should consider cruise/airline type stocks for the long term.
3 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
avital2 3/5/2020 8:01:32 PM (No. 338032)
#10 actually Newsom's keeping that cruise ship out of port is the first time i have agreed with him. let's not import more of the virus. there are 3500 passengers that may have to be quarantined for 2 weeks. send 'em to New York
1 person likes this.
How do they know if it's the Norovirus or coronavirus without testing ?
0 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
Rinktum 3/6/2020 2:25:29 AM (No. 338170)
Quarantine the entire ship. The only way to stop this virus is to stop spreading it. If you choose to put yourself S kind environment, be prepared for the consequences. Everyone should be tested and they ALL should be quarantined. No way should they be allowed to board an airplane with healthy people. Let’s get serious about this. Use the tried and tire method that will stop the spread. Quarantine.
0 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
Ebenezer 3/6/2020 9:32:08 AM (No. 338395)
they should test everyone on the ship, and those who test negative should be taken off the ship immediately. On the cruise ship in Japan, they kept everyone on the ship, sick or not, and people got sick who otherwise wouldn't have. Don't make the same mistake.
0 people like this.
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Comments:
It does seem that spending weeks with a bunch of strangers, sharing meals and social events isn't ideal for avoiding the flu, of any kind, COVID-19 or common flu.
I don't think I would be purchasing any cruise tickets any time soon. Or any cruise line stock, either.
And all guests who have been identified for testing have been asked to stay in their staterooms. I wonder how many will actually comply?