Passengers waiting to travel home relax aboard the MS Westerdam off of Sihanoukville, Cambodia, last month. The large cruise ship with more than 2,000 crew and passengers was completely free from the Coronavirus (COVID-19.) but was turned away from five other Asian locations.
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Have you planned a cruise? If so, should you cancel due to the spread of the coronavirus epidemic around the world? If not, is this a good time to go? After all, cruise-ship companies are rolling out deals as low as $300 for week-long voyages after a slew of bad press related to COVID-19.
But is that enough to step on board given the current climate around coronavirus?
Worldwide, there were 105,940 COVID-19 cases and at least 3,559 deaths as of Saturday evening; 58,402 people worldwide have recovered, according to data published by the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
While the number of new cases in China continues to drop off, growing infection clusters in Iran, Italy and South Korea remain. In the U.S., 19 people have died, health authorities said, and there are approximately 424 confirmed cases, Johns Hopkins added.
See:Gov. Cuomo declares state of emergency in New York over coronavirus
The biggest threats to those contemplating a cruise are the prospect of being quarantined on a vessel should a port refuse to allow the ship to dock and, of course, someone aboard testing positive and the virus spreading among crew members and passengers.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises people not to take a cruise to or within Aisa. “Several destinations in Asia are experiencing outbreaks of novel coronavirus infection,” the CDC has said. “Cruise ship passengers are at increased risk of person-to-person spread of infectious diseases.”
A Princess Cruises ship, the Grand Princess, remains stranded off the coast of California on Saturday after an elderly man who had sailed on the ship’s previous voyage died of the new coronavirus last month. Some 21 people have tested positive for the coronavirus-borne disease COVID-19 on the ship.
Another Princess ship, Diamond Princess, was quarantined off Japan for two weeks. Dozens of people tested positive for the virus, and seven passengers from that cruise ship have died, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said Saturday. Princess Cruises did not respond to request for comment.
Travel on cruise ships is particularly popular among families and the elderly. Younger children with strong immune systems have the lowest fatality rate from COVID-19, but those with stronger immune systems may be prone to spreading the virus to those most at risk of dying from the disease.
Coronavirus has an estimated incubation period of up to two weeks. That can affect how fast an outbreak spreads. If people die from an illness sooner, they are less likely to be walking on the deck, swimming in the pool, eating in the restaurants and, thus, less likely to spread the virus.
“The incubation period for SARS was typically 2 to 7 days, although in some cases it may be as long as 10 days,” the CDC said at the time. Most of those Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome cases were between November 2002 and July 2003. “In a very small proportion of cases, incubation periods of up to 14 days have been reported.”
Passengers on the MS Westerdam cruise ship having their temperatures taken.
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After several other high-profile cases of cruises being quarantined and stranded offshore, people are obviously nervous about traveling by cruise. Cruise lines have updated their cancellation policies to allow passengers to cancel and re-book trips at future dates.
• Carnival Corp. CCL, -2.58%, which owns Princess Cruises, allows passengers to cancel a trip without penalty between now and May 31, but they must use their credits before March 31, 2021.
• Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean RCL, -1.17% also allow travelers to cancel up to two days before departure between now and July 31, but they must use credits before Dec. 31, 2021.
• Passengers on Norwegian Cruise Line NCLH, -5.21% may cancel two days in advance of trips scheduled between now and July 31 and must use their travel credits before Dec. 31, 2022.
• Disney Cruise DIS, +1.13% passengers may cancel trips scheduled to sail before May 31 as little as a day in advance and must redeem their credits within 12 months of their original cruise date.
Passenger John Miller from Seattle, Wash. is overwhelmed with excitement disembarking from the MS Westerdam cruise ship after being stranded for two weeks now docked in February off the coast of Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
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Disney, like most major cruise lines, has introduced precautionary measures for future sailings and warns passengers that they will not be allowed to disembark in certain countries, if they have recently visited or even had a stopover in a place where there was a severe outbreak of coronavirus.
All guests and crew members will have their temperatures checked by a nurse prior to boarding, Disney said. “Additional medical screening will be required for anyone with a temperature of 100.4º F or greater, and they along with their travel party may be unable to sail,” it added.
“If your cruise includes a stop in Nassau or Castaway Cay, please note that the Bahamas will not allow anyone to disembark in any Bahamian port if they have been to China, South Korea, Italy or Iran in the past 20 days prior to arrival,” Disney Cruises said in a statement.
The company added, “If your cruise includes a stop in Jamaica, please note that in addition to the locations noted above, officials there also will not allow guests who have traveled from, to or through Singapore within 14 days of arrival to disembark. These guests will be unable to sail.”
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