Personally, I can't understand the cruise mentality. Too much can go wrong. The corona virus is a rare occurrence, but noroviruses are all too common. True, they are not a risk to life, but they can result to confinement to one's cabin.
Then there's the chance that the captain will sail too close to shore, the ship will capsize, killing a few dozen in lightless coffins that slowly fill with water.
Or maybe the power will fail, when the non-redundant electrical system malfunctions, and you'll spend a few days trapped in hot summer weather in windowless cabins without air conditioning.
And even when everything works, don't forget the extra fees if you want to eat at one of the specialty restaurants you saw in the ads.
And cancelling if there's a last minute emergency at home? Forgetaboutit.
Not for me.
55
This is not just an extension of a cruise. Passengers are confined to their cabins. So, it is more like being in a nicely equipped cell. Sounds terrible.
37
We recently returned from a lovely 11-day Caribbean cruise rested and refreshed. The experience was fantastic and the crew excellent. It is my understanding that the cruise industry is committed to making ships as environmentally friendly as possible. The debate about cruise ship vacations vs other ways to vacation can be argued indefinitely. My more pressing thoughts are with the crew. These workers need these jobs! I can only imagine the fear in every cruise ship worker as well as other travel industry workers as they worry how the impact of this horrible disease may play out. These jobs offer them a way to provide for their families not found in many of their home countries. We also made sure to spend money in every port to help island residents earn a living. It’s easy to look down on these jobs from the comfort of your first-world life. Like it or not, international travel is a huge industry and a driver of economic well-being for many.
27
If Mr. Abel has diabetes maybe he should not be spending money at the bar.
38
I was stuck on a cruise ship for two extra days while I was in Canada during 911.
It was a party ball.
After that it would have become a real ordeal.
How much booze can you drink and how much food can you eat.
7
Sounds a lot like what it would be like to be trapped on a cruise ship during a cruise.
29
"How many people do you lose on a normal cruise, 30? 40?" - George Costanza
23
China should be held financially liable for failing to enforce its own food laws. We are in the middle of a murderous epidemic because a bunch of rubes think selling live bats (a well-known viral vector) for food is OK, in contravention of their own laws and good sense. China; world leader indeed!
26
Confusing subheadline. It makes it sound like Masako Ishida is famous, but the article doesn't say who she is. So I looked her up and at first glance she's apparently a successful Japanese cross-country skier. Somehow that doesn't seem famous enough to go without saying. So at least for now I'm assuming she's just your average Masako. If so, her name should have been omitted completely from the subheadline.
5
Apparently, it's tobacco addicts who are suffering the true hell.
The ship's in Japanese waters. Japanese law prohibits smoking in public places and the ship's owners, smoking in the ship's cabins.
I'm so glad I gave up cigarettes two decades ago. I'd be fine, provided the ship didn't run out of nicotine gum - to which I remain addicted, 20 years on.
9
Even an “ uneventful “ Cruise is my idea of Disease Hell. The only worse Vacation would be going to one of the Disney “resorts” during a School Break, at full occupancy.
Oh, the Humanity.
53
Sobering thought to be stuck on a cruise ship an extra 2 weeks. I usually only bring a few days extra prescription meds on a vacation. Now something else to plan a "what if" for. The ships have casinos and laundry, but probably not too extensive a pharmacy
23
Many people had booked cruises months before the Wuhan coronavirus was announced, so they hardly deserve to be chastised as some commenters have done.
Further, many of those who have booked cruises that embark currently or in the near future face potential loss of thousands of dollars because some cruise lines are not offering refunds to those who wish to cancel.
For all these folks sympathy is in order.
True, for the next few weeks or months, anyone who books a cruise in, to or around Asia is certifiable or a big gambler.
Given that the Wuhan coronavirus has spread in a short time to much of the world, booking a cruise anywhere is a bit of a toss-up now. Cruise ships now in or near Asia will move to routes around Europe and the Americas when spring arrives; I hope that by then all the ships and their crews (and passengers) will be coronavirus-free, and perhaps a cure or even a vaccine will be available.
25
Cruise ship staff members work brutal hours, seven days a week for months at a stretch. Are they supposed to stay magically healthy while living in an enclosed environment with passengers who will become increasingly demanding the more irritated and bored they get with every passing day?
Sure, they're smiling. And if they get sick they'll keep smiling. And working. Until they drop. This is how their families survive.
60
Humanity is faced with a new disease. We don't know much about it yet, including how many are going to die from it. But one thing we do know is that it can easily spread from person to person. So what do we do? We go on cruises. Brilliant!
11
Are we still allowed to go to plays and concerts and sporting events without you sarcastically calling us “brilliant”? Can we still live in cities? (Not that you’re willing to share your location with the rest of us poor saps.). I expect that the people on cruises made those plans many months ago, when Corona was just a beer. But you could predict it, right? Brilliant.
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@A Cynic I think these folks embarked on the cruise before there was much awareness of the virus.
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@A Cynic I'm assuming it didn't occur to you that the cruise started before the outbreak was detailed in the press and before anybody knew that it was the epidemic it has become otherwise such statements are simply unhelpful.
25
I don't think our beloved President understands that his greatest political threat is the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) which will in 2 to 6 months cause a global recession and pandemic in the USA with possibly 30 to 90 millions infections and up to 20 % of those will require ICU/CCU inpatient confinements (there are not enough hospital beds in all America to treat these cases) and if fatalities run between 2% to 3% for those infected, then we are speaking about possibly 2 to 3 million dead if 30$ of the 323 million Americans get infected. No incumbent President can survive such a disaster in this day and age. He is claiming all is wonderful but he is obviously clueless in regard to the dark future which is fast approaching.
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@American Akita Team
I also hear that the sky is falling.
If a coronavirus catastrophe does in fact occur it will be, well, catastrophic. However, I don’t think it is helpful or productive to speculate until more information is known about its disease, progression, cure, epidemiology, all that good stuff.
I am sure that all US, UN and other governmental authorities are bringing to bear all of their wisdom and knowledge in dealing with this obvious threat.
5
@American Akita Team Trump dismantled Obama's Pandemic team last year. It coordinated all the health related departments in the US government. There is really no one in charge in the US at this point. Things like quarantines and travel restrictions would have come from this agency.
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@American Akita Team Sorry but this is a rush to judgement. Keep in mind that most of the expired patients had other co-morbidities, the Wuhan area has deplorable air quality, and the Chinese (yes, I know a generalization) smoke much more than Americans. These facts alone could inflate a death rate to the 2% you mention.
6
So many comments here repeatedly refer to cruises as “floating Petri dishes” or some variation, so obviously this isn’t an original thought, so I am wondering about the source. Did everyone here watch the same documentary? In any event, this petri metaphor seems to have spread faster than...the flu?
9
@Larry D. Don't you recall all the norovirus outbreaks on cruises with literally hundreds of passengers and crew vomiting and suffering diarrhea on a supposed vacay? I think that's where the Petri dish description started.
12
Cruise ships are floating Petri dishes, perfect for cultivating almost any kind of transmissible disease (and especially Norovirus).
While passengers have their own cabins, they mingle with crew and other passengers (and potentially transmit diseases) in numerous locations like dining areas, bars, recreation venues, theaters, elevators, hot tubs, etc.
Crew are sardined in much smaller and densely populated quarters where transmission is even more likely; what could go wrong?
The idea of being confined to a cruise ship cabin for two weeks of quarantine is definitely causing me to consider canceling an upcoming cruise that docks at 7 ports, any of which could decide to quarantine the ship if coronavirus is discovered among passengers and crew.
50
Being on a cruise ship under quarantine can definitely
cure the desire to ever cruise again.
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@jahnay
Cancel immediately.
6
When preparing for a cruise, it's good to keep in mind that anyone can end up in cabin quarantine any time. Load up your devices with books and games before you board.
22
Don't forget to book your next floating prison vacation soon !
What were these people thinking ?!
18
@Socrates
You ask what were there people thinking? I've taken a few such trips and I will continue taking them. My thoughts follow:
1. The only way to see a beautiful coastline from the sea in on a ship and I much prefer one where I am not responsible for navigation, maintenance and food prep. That means taking a cruise ship. There will be about twenty-two of them on the Alaskan coast this summer.
2. Select a line that requires all passengers to sanitize their hands before entering any food service area. Holland-America does this.
3. Between concerts, lectures, movies, multiple restaurants, multiple bars, a spa, and a really good fitness center; I most definitely are not on a prison. I am in a big adult playpen.
4. If you're worried about catching flu, take a flu shot.
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@Socrates — just a guess, but maybe they were thinking of having a good time? Things can go wrong anytime, anywhere, even in downtown Verona. But I wouldn’t chide you for living there.
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@Quiet Waiting
Regarding #2, I'm guessing by "sanitize" they mean use Purell? Which does NOT kill Norovirus, the bug that seems to be ruining so many cruises these days?
10
I'd prefer to hear the perspective of the majority of passengers that don't have a balcony and a view.
14
@Monsp
The majority of passengers on these ships do have a balcony. If you're looking for a ship with a majority of passengers in steerage, please look at a video of Titanic
8
Mr. Abel, a diabetic, worried about falling into a coma from lack of food...
Now is worried about his...bar bill?
Clearly, he's not worried about the effects of alcohol and his diabetes.
>insert eyeroll<
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@Laurie Ann Lawrence I had the same thought.
1
@Laurie Ann Lawrence Or maybe, just maybe, he's making a joke and trying to find something to laugh about in this situation?
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Or maybe, here’s a thought, he’s spent decades managing his diabetes and knows what he can safely drink?
22
With the regular outbreaks of Norovirus, you couldn’t pay me to get on a cruise ship with 5,000 other people. This just cements the point.
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@JDK
Exactly! I managed a Senior Center where seniors, fresh off a cruise, came back with Noro virus which spread throughout the Center -- and to me. It was the most horrible ill experience I've ever had. No cruises for me... ever.
40
Recently I had the same thing happen to me when I visited my doctor’s office to get a Hepatitis A vaccination. I was sick for days afterwards, not from the vaccine but from what was floating around in the office. Those offices are cesspools of disease. Don’t go to a doctor’s office or hospital unless you’re in an ambulance. I think that the same can be said for commuting to work, going shopping at a store, attending a concert or a movie, or a sports event. Just stay home.
26
The best documentary that I have ever seen about cruises is on Netflix. I love cruises, but Hasan Minhah did an excellent job on his show to explain how cruises work and it is not a very flattering narrative about cruises.
18
@Kathy I worked on cruise ships and it was not easy. It's also not nearly as bad as some try to portray it. I'd take a cruise in a heartbeat!
15
Been some time since ships last flew the yellow jack (quarantine flag.)
27
Back in the day, ships with disease flew a yellow quarantine flag. Sounds like old times are coming back
23
Reason number 4287 for never taking a cruise:
Cruise ships are just oversized petri dishes.
As the woman in the article said, "Still, things could be worse. The last time she went on a cruise, everyone caught the flu." This time it could be the Wuhan corona virus.
58
How many cruise ship passengers are at sea today in their luxurious petri dishes? I took passage on a ship bound for Crete from Venice. Posters on the terminal wall featured cruises on board the Achille Lauro. Yikes, but I learned and ate some darn good seafood. And they piped in the World Series. Maybe these people get to see the replays of Shakira and J-Lo and the Superbowl while cooling their heels.
13
The guy concerned about his diabetes should cut out the alcohol!
66
@caro Exactly my opinion, too! Diabetics should NOT drink....
If he's worried about falling into a COMA, why would you drink alcohol which only complicates the disease!
12
@caro Or maybe he was just joking ... lighten up.
11
I hope the ship at least waives the bar bills accumulated after the quarantine was instituted, as well as taking care of the tips for staff over the same period of time. Those two items alone can easily balloon the given price of a cruise, and when you're confined to a ship and especially your cabin weeks longer than the amount of time planned for, lots of people will need something to ease the stress of cabin fever that will especially hit the majority of passengers who do not have a window in those tiny cabins.
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@Entera
Quarantined bored people hammering down unlimited alcohol is the last thing the cruise directors want. There is free WiFi for those who failed to load their devices with games, books or reading materials. Anyone booking an inside cabin should be prepared for the possibility of being in it 24/7 because norovirus can happen to any passenger and you cannot leave the cabin for days.
12
No surprise that “there wasn’t much information,” Ms. Ishida said from the ship on Wednesday during a call via Facebook," and that she had to learn about the ship's status by questioning crew members. That's standard operating procedure on cruise ships. At least the lady didn't complain about outright lies, which is on another page of the playbook. The government of China has nothing to learn from the cruise industry.
18
"Nevertheless, the crew members are “serving guests with a smile,” Ms. Ishida said. “That’s giving us some peace of mind.”
The ship is steaming back out to sea so it can empty its bilge and supplement its water supplies, its owner, Princess Cruises, said on its website."
This article just made me think that so many of us thus far are facing 'inconveniences' that would be considered miraculous luxuries to so many others in our world today.
59
If Mr. Abel does indeed have Diabetes, eating may be the least of his concerns. Alcohol (running up his bar bill) will really mess with his blood sugar!
68
@BJA Agreed. People with diabetes have to be very careful with alcohol. High bar bills are not recommended.
13
@BJA Excess consumption will also lower his immunity,, to the coronavirus and to whatever other virus (flu!) that happen to be hanging around.
3
Retired doc, here. There is no better incubator for an epidemic than a cruise ship. What to do? I don’t know, but we could use with a Quarantine Island right about now. Anyone have an unused resort?
31
@Dr. Dixie
I'd agree.
With 3,700 passengers (and a couple of thousand crew members), it's going to take a pretty long time for the ship to be declared 'clear'.
I predict that on about Day 10 of the quarantine, there'll be a couple more cases declared, clock goes back to Day 0 and the cycle repeats. And repeats until practically everybody's had nCoV and recovered (or, in a much smaller number of cases, died).
How about they sail off for a deluxe 3 month nature cruise in Antarctica? Beats sitting around. I'd be quickly bored with deck chess, lectures on old Imperial Japan and yet another Captain's cocktail reception. Provided Princess Cruises was picking up the tab..
15
@nolongeradoc Almost all cruise lines have private islands that are usually part of the itinery so passengers can spend money that goes directly into the company's pockets. Problem is, they are usually in the Caribbean. I used to enjoy cruising once a year when my husband was alive, these days it doesn't seem like fun. The last time I booked, had to cancel because ship was held at sea becquse of the intestinal bug and the cruise line was lopping days off our trip without much compensation.
11
@Dr. Dixie I heard J. Epstein’s island might be up for grabs...
7
One more reason never to travel on cruise ships. You're literally trapped with thousands of other people, if the unexpected occurs.
123
@Mike C. so true. amen.
11
@Mike C. Completely agree. You won't ever get me on a cruise.
18
@Mike C.
Cruise ships are floating Petri dishes, perfect for cultivating almost any kind of transmissible disease (and especially Norovirus).
While passengers have their own cabins, they mingle with crew and other passengers (and potentially transmit diseases) in numerous locations like dining areas, bars, recreation venues, theaters, elevators, hot tubs, etc.
Crew are sardined in much smaller and densely populated quarters where transmission is even more likely; what could go wrong?
The idea of being confined to a cruise ship cabin for two weeks of quarantine is definitely causing me to consider canceling an upcoming cruise that docks at 7 ports, any of which could decide to quarantine the ship if coronavirus is discovered among passengers and crew.
5
Last time everyone got the flu, This time maybe Corona, other cruises had legionnaires, OK maybe my cruises in the Navy were enough. And why isn't every virus genome in a WHO database?
13
@Danny
Because viruses mutate. It didn't take the Chinese more than a few days to sequence 2109WnCoV, anyway.
7
@Danny A virus can mutate several times during one day, they are adept at survival. You could put one in the WHO database and it would have changed into something else by the end of lunch.
10
We will never take a cruise. Too much close contact and unhealthy air!
35
@MKP I've taken many cruises and enjoyed them all, as did more than 30 million people last year. On big ships there are always many places to get away from others, and the sea air is clean and refreshing. Viral outbreaks are far rarer at sea than they are on land. According to the CDC, about one in every 15 America is infected with a norovirus every year, yet only one out of every 5,500 cruise ship passengers gets a viral illness.
11
The worst part of this article is the casual mention that the ship will go back out into the ocean to dump bilge. Cruises are polluters of staggering proportions, and it’s time to rethink the ethics of “cruising” at the planet’s expense. How are cruises still a thing?
239
@LisaLisa Another silly non fact set, I guess they could just go to port in Canada, pump the normal human waste in the land system and then pump it into the local sea or river like is done all over the world by cites and towns. Cruise ships are actually very careful on waste and disposal. I am sure a few fish mid ocean will enjoy an organic meal as other garbage and oil is not allowed to be dumped and is not dumped by a major cruise line. Facts do matter...
27
@LisaLisa
'Cause they make money. Till we find a way to dump our artificial system of valuation (which, among other things, ignore all future costs), cruises will exist, high-pollution cars will exist, and everything of the like. The problem is not even capitalism or selfishness; the problem is our utter and total obliviousness.
16
Because many humans want to see the world and a cruise ship's economics of scale make it possible. Not everyone can afford five-star resorts, thousand-dollar airfares and personal guides. Ships are also handicap-accessible.
34
Reflection, meditation, communication, rumination, and hopefully some exercise. Please stay peaceful and hopefully healthy.
36
The cruise ship passengers are in lockdown in their cabins for 2 weeks; many cabins don’t have windows and are less than 200 sq. ft. in size. They cannot go out and “get some exercise “; they cannot go out at mealtime. They cannot leave their cabins at all. It is not a pleasant experience at all. I feel for these passengers. This situation on a cruise ship is unprecedented. I am very concerned for them, and I wish them well. I hope the Diamond Princess can be sanitized to prevent further spread of this infectious disease, or it could be a financial catastrophe for the cruise ship industry in general, as likely this isn’t the only ship with infected passengers on it. My deepest concern for all involved. And for us. A worldwide pandemic is an unsettling scenario. But as humans, who have abused the animals on the planet to the point of our planet being in the “Sixth Great Extinction”......perhaps we should consider shutting down the inhumane Wildlife Food Markets around the world, where these lethal viruses are suspected of being the origination of the spread of some viruses from the animal species to the human species. Perhaps it is a timely message to humankind to treat the animals of this planet more humanely. For those of you aboard the Diamond Princess, my heart goes put to you.
68
I can't think of a more enjoyable way to spend enforced solitude. Playing games, reading and movies. Sounds like heaven to me.
28
@Bis K confinement is confinement. Yuck, man. They should at least get an hour a day in the yard.
52
Totally a first world problem right? Probably ruined their fantasy of cruise ships as vacation.
14
@Bis K The article explains that the passengers are confined to thier cabins, no pools, no entertainment. Meals are delivered by staff wearing goggles and masks. And anyone who's taken a cruise knows how small the cabins are, I would imagine after 48 hours things start to go downhill fast. Then add in a couple kids or a baby.
Heaven? I don't think so.
122