Survival and Emergency Preparedness

Well, I'm in florida now. Drove straight through from Michigan yesterday, took 17 hours. Rained all the way from MI until halfway through Georgia.

Supposed to get on a cruise on Sunday but the wife is having second thoughts. We can cancel up until Friday. A lot of people have already canceled so there's a chance that it may not go anyway. The chances are pretty slim of picking up the virus but you never know. We are both 65 but in excellent health so not a big worry there. The only thing about catching it is possibly transmitting to others. It is not in the Caribbean yet so as I said the chances are pretty slim at picking it up.

I am aware that the govt is advising against cruising.

My choice is no cruise for me and my wife. I wouldn't want to risk the being stuck on cruise ship and sick.

Yet, that is my choice, only you can decide what is best for you and your wife.

Thankfully, we cruised once.. Didn't really enjoy it as much as many.. so have not had a desire to do it again.. But, I wouldn't be afraid to do it because of the Corona virus.. Everything in life has risks.

Well, we love cruising. This is one of three we had booked this year. We have one in August and one more in December.

The latest is that a contractor who works at the cruise terminal we sail out of has tested positive. No telling how many passengers they've had contact with who are currently on cruises and how many people they've been in contact with. That kind of increases the risk.

I'm beginning to think that the responsible thing to do is avoid risking exposure in order to keep from exposing others. My wife and I both have 90+ year old parents we take care of. Not sure we could self quarantine for a couple weeks after we get home even if we didn't come down with symptoms.

I’d say the risk is about the same as anything that can be picked up on the ship normally. Particularly with so many countries being represented on a ship. Having said that, you have some valid reasons for taking extra precautions. From what I’ve heard recently, the virus doesn’t do well in hotter environments and is predicted to fizzle out when the warmer months arrive. So the cruise in August should have little to no risk beyond normal contagions which usually also do poorly in warmer months.

If you do go just exercise greater than normal precautions. Take wipes and wipe down the cabin upon arrival. Additionally, I have no doubt the cruise lines are taking extra precautions. My son’s college is wiping down door handles on an hourly basis as an example. I would imagine you’d see common area of the ship and high traffic area being wiped down continuously. After all, this is a multi-billion dollar business they have to protect and their already taking a hit. So I would think they’d be going above and beyond and being very visual with disinfection to calm passengers.

Worse case scenario you come back a zombie

Yes, it is in there vested interest to screen passengers getting on board and they've already instituted procedures. And they are cleaning constantly. However, so many people have already canceled that the cruise may be canceled by the cruise line. On the other hand having fewer people on board may be a good thing if it sails.

Still debating. It's not really canceling it's more like postponing it until a later date. The cruise line is allowing future cruise credit if you cancel. We wouldn't be out any money.

1. My brother just cancelled a $15,000 trip to Israel.
2. I have some real connections and have a cruise scheduled around Europe in May. Can cancel up to 15 days before he cruise and get a later boat. I suspect that the cruise will be cancelled by the cruise line with an offered upgrade later in the year so that monies don't have to be refunded. I only paid $1287 for 8 days.

cruise line just ( NCL ) send out an email re cancelling ... full refund towards future trip

"I want to provide our guests and travel partners with reassurance, so I am very pleased to announce our new Peace of Mind policy. Simply put, for any voyage from March 10, 2020 through September 30, 2020, guests are free to cancel anytime up to 48 hours in advance of embarkation"

We canceled our cruise. Just couldn't take the chance of bringing something back to our parents. The retirement village and nursing home they all live in are now on lockdown. That perhaps won't prevent them from getting it but at least it won't be from us.