Coronavirus and DCL Megathread - Suspension of Departures for the fleet until early November. Booking only available from early December.

[pearljammer]

It isn't necessarily the virus that concerns me...we are on Greek Isles cruise in June, with an increased number of cases in Italy...what will happen...and will Greece want people coming into their country...No need to worry about things you can't control...but still on my mind when booking private tours, ect.

I’m seeing where the virus is starting to hit italy and we too have a cruise in July out of Rome. We can cancel with no penalty 120+ days out so will keep my ears open. I understand some of the northern cities are going into quarantine.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

We were supposed to attend a wedding in Northern Italy in June and we definitely won't be going now. Mainly because I don't want to risk getting quarantined in Europe away from my kids (we were going to make it a quick trip and leave them with grandparents). I would cancel if I had a cruise with ports in Italy planned, especially since those cruises and the associated flights are so expensive. I'm able to take a wait-and-see approach with our October Bermuda cruise in no small part because we don't have to fly.

 

[tidefan]

I’m seeing where the virus is starting to hit italy and we too have a cruise in July out of Rome. We can cancel with no penalty 120+ days out so will keep my ears open. I understand some of the northern cities are going into quarantine.

Us too. Our final payment date is March 3rd. It will be interesting to see what happens between now and then...

 

[hmsTigger]

I wonder who is paying for the medical care, hospitalizations if necessary, quarantine areas (hotels in Cambodia etc) and flights home for any of the passengers form the 2 ships???? I can't find anything in the news about this.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I work in the infectious disease field and I think there's a lot of hype for nothing about this virus here in North America (for now). So far China seems to be doing a very good job at quarantine and trying to stop propagation. I would be a lot more worried about regular influenza that kills thousands of people every year and the nasty norovirus on cruises than the new coronavirus. Washing your hands regularly is the best way to prevent catching any respiratory disease.

These are my thoughts exactly. There are over 10,000 deaths in the US alone from influenza but this will never be brought up by the media. They are all about the hype.

Wash your hands frequently, especially before eating, and avoid touching your face.

It reminds me of when ds23 was 9 and had a loose tooth in WDW and he kept wiggling it while waiting in line. I kept telling him to stop putting his dirty hands in his mouth or he would get sick, but he kept at it. Sure enough, 2 days later he came down with sore throat and felt crappy.
People are even more confined on a ship carrying 1000 little nose-pickers.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

On DCL, they do have you wash your hands before going into Cabanas, but after you get your food, wash or sanitize your hands before eating again. You don’t know who sneezed on their hands and then used one of the serving spoons

During times when they need to tighten up risk of infection, servers will put what you want on your plate, no one can touch serving spoons except crew. They also have crew to man the drink stations so there is limited touching of cups, lids, etc.

 

[emilymad]

We have a cruise out of England booked for September. We are planning a week in Paris and London on our own first. We don't have final payment until May but I am watching closely now. I am not so concerned about catching the virus as I am about a general disruption in ports and travel in and out of countries.

 

[Canadian Girl]

I did cancel my Greek cruise yesterday on the PIF date. My daughter was reading about the outbreak in Northern Italy and decided she did not feel comfortable going anymore. She had open heart surgery as a baby and still is prone to infections in her lungs when she gets sick so in our case, I didn't see the point of going until all this has settled. I personally am not concerned but the cruise was for her and she still has several years before she ages out of the Vibe. A lot of mixed emotions as flights and hotels were already booked. I just didn't want to lose more than my flight cancellation penalty if I waited. We will do a more domestic cruise to Mexico in the fall instead.

 

[DisneYE]

I did cancel my Greek cruise yesterday on the PIF date. My daughter was reading about the outbreak in Northern Italy and decided she did not feel comfortable going anymore. She had open heart surgery as a baby and still is prone to infections in her lungs when she gets sick so in our case, I didn't see the point of going until all this has settled. I personally am not concerned but the cruise was for her and she still has several years before she ages out of the Vibe. A lot of mixed emotions as flights and hotels were already booked. I just didn't want to lose more than my flight cancellation penalty if I waited. We will do a more domestic cruise to Mexico in the fall instead.

It was the right call. I would've done the same regardless of health issues. Maybe I'd have changed that sailing for one out of North America (PC, Nola, Galveston, YVR) instead of cancelling but if you have health concerns those are paramount to everything else
We were planning a trip to Europe this summer, almost booked air fare right when the Covid19 issue started, and then decided not to. 4 figure $ savings, maybe 5 with expenses there. But more than saving $, nothing beats peace of mind & being healthy.
Wish all the best to you and your DD.

 

[pearljammer]

I did cancel my Greek cruise yesterday on the PIF date. My daughter was reading about the outbreak in Northern Italy and decided she did not feel comfortable going anymore. She had open heart surgery as a baby and still is prone to infections in her lungs when she gets sick so in our case, I didn't see the point of going until all this has settled. I personally am not concerned but the cruise was for her and she still has several years before she ages out of the Vibe. A lot of mixed emotions as flights and hotels were already booked. I just didn't want to lose more than my flight cancellation penalty if I waited. We will do a more domestic cruise to Mexico in the fall instead.

So we are at a wait and see given we have a few weeks to cancel with no penalty. I spoke with the airline this AM and even if we cancel the cruise, if things digress with Italy, then we may get our funds back on the airlines IF they restrict flights to Rome which we’d then get a full refund. As of now, we’d pay a penalty so while it’s likely we aren’t cruising either this summer, I’m waiting on the flights. So holding steady but I don’t know that it’s looking good.

 

[ahen]

Were supposed to be doing the Med in May and we are long past the PIF date. Guess all we can do is watch, I did buy insurance on the insanely expensive airfare so I am glad I did that.

 

[tarheelz]

Secretly I'm hoping folks get scared off of cruising.* Let's see some of those amazing fare bargains I'm always hearing about from those who have been sailing for decades but I've never see in the wild.

"Don't cruise! You'll get 'The Virus!'"

*This should not be interpreted as wishing illness on anyone.

Edited for pearljammer (and now deide71).

 

[pearljammer]

Secretly I'm hoping folks get scared off of cruising. Let's see some of those amazing fare bargains I'm always hearing about from those who have been sailing for decades but I've never see in the wild.

Don't cruise! You'll get "The Virus!"

There is no nice way to say this but.....I think this quite a tacky and ignorant statement. Of course it’s easy for people to say things safely tucked away at their little ole comp in the safety of their homes.

 

[deide71]

Secretly I'm hoping folks get scared off of cruising. Let's see some of those amazing fare bargains I'm always hearing about from those who have been sailing for decades but I've never see in the wild.

Don't cruise! You'll get "The Virus!"

I seriously don’t know how to respond to this. Are you suggesting the world is overreacting to a potential global pandemic with a death rate 20 times that of seasonal influenza?

 

[tarheelz]

There is no nice way to say this but.....I think this quite a tacky and ignorant statement. Of course it’s easy for people to say things safely tucked away at their little ole comp in the safety of their homes.

Of course, it's tacky. Have you seen my stateroom door?

 

[tarheelz]

I seriously don’t know how to respond to this. Are you suggesting the world is overreacting to a potential global pandemic with a death rate 20 times that of seasonal influenza?

Um, no. I'm suggesting I'm cheap.

 

[Gentry2004]

Us too. Our final payment date is March 3rd. It will be interesting to see what happens between now and then...

I would definitely be planning to cancel prior to PIF in this situation.

 

[tidefan]

I would definitely be planning to cancel prior to PIF in this situation.

Our problem is that we've already purchased airfare. However, if travel is restricted, then that may be flexible as well...

 

[blabadie]

We have a cruise out of England booked for September. We are planning a week in Paris and London on our own first. We don't have final payment until May but I am watching closely now. I am not so concerned about catching the virus as I am about a general disruption in ports and travel in and out of countries.

We have a Greek Odyssey cruise on HAL (Italy, Greece, and that general region) for October. I’m still hopeful it will be fine, but a few weeks ago I wouldn’t even have thought to be concerned that far out. Keeping an eye on things like so many others.

My dad is a reluctant traveler at best and we were treating my parents to this trip as a big once in a lifetime trip for us all (3 generations) to visit some ancestral countries together while everyone was still healthy enough to do so. So many people impacted in both big and small ways—-I hope and pray it can be resolved fairly soon.

 

[blabadie]

Our problem is that we've already purchased airfare. However, if travel is restricted, then that may be flexible as well...

We had success getting a 100% refund on a non-refundable hotel payment for Thailand in March, so you may have more success than the fine print dictates. We felt extremely grateful for that and will think twice taking the cheaper non-refundable rate in the future.

We did swallow a cancellation fee ($150 per ticket) with SingaporeAir but at least were refunded most of the airfare. We might have been successful even getting the cancellation fee waived but the convenience of online cancellation for a (relatively) small fee vs. the prospect of phone battles with airline reps won out.

I think you have to get fairly close to your travel date to have the strongest case, otherwise it’s too easy for airline/hotel/whoever to say wait and see.