People are still taking cruises?

25 March 2020, 01:56 PM

quote:
Carnival Corp.’s Holland America Line said its Zaandam cruise ship has 40 guests and 47 crew with flu-like symptoms.

The company said Tuesday in an email that it deployed another ship carrying Covid-19 tests and other supplies to rendezvous with the vessel.

The two ships are set to meet off the coast of Panama on Thursday. Holland America plans to sail the Zaandam to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, arriving March 30. “However plans are still being finalized,” the cruise line said.

The company has told all 1,243 guests to stay in their staterooms. The ship has a crew of 586.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news...as-87-flu-like-cases

25 March 2020, 02:11 PM

markj

I will never understand the desire to be a guest on a floating hotel.

25 March 2020, 02:14 PM

wtg

quote:
Originally posted by markj:
I will never understand the desire to be a guest on a floating ~~hotel~~ petri dish .

The pathogen before COVID-19 was norovirus. I can't imagine that's fun.

25 March 2020, 02:15 PM

jodi

Wtf.

26 March 2020, 01:22 PM

Daniel

27 March 2020, 03:09 PM

wtg

quote:
Four elderly passengers on board Holland America's MS Zaandam have died on the cruise ship that is stuck in limbo during the coronavirus pandemic.

The ship is currently carrying 138 people who have complained of flu-like symptoms, which are similar to coronavirus symptoms. Two people have tested positive for coronavirus.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with their families and we are doing everything we can to support them during this difficult time," Holland America Line said of the four who had died of undisclosed causes in a statement shared by spokesperson Erik Elvejord.

Elvejord added that Holland America Line couldn't share whether those passengers had reported coronavirus symptoms due to privacy regulations.

Those on the ship who are sick include 53 passengers and 85 crew members. There are 1,243 passengers and 586 crew members on the ship, including 305 Americans.

More on their situation and efforts to get passengers off of the ship. What a disaster.

https://www.usatoday.com/story...se-limbo/2927031001/

27 March 2020, 03:45 PM

Piano*Dad

quote:
Originally posted by markj:
I will never understand the desire to be a guest on a floating hotel.

My parents and I took a little three-day cruise once, between Miami and Nassau. That was fun. I was twelve. They had slot machines on board that we could use once the ship passed the three mile limit. I spent lots of quality time in the dime and quarter slots putting my "clad" coins in and saving all the silver ones that popped out. This was 1968.

Haven't been on a cruise since. Have no desire to be on a floating petri dish pretending to be a city. When in the Caribbean, I see those things come and go and wonder why anyone would choose that as their vacation rather than staying on the island, sampling local culture, and spending quality time in (and under) the water and hiking in the back country.

27 March 2020, 03:56 PM

Nina

Apparently these folks were already on the boat as of March 13th. Maybe questionable judgment, but not suicidal.

On the other hand, I am horrified that there are no protocols in place to assist these thousands of people, who are apparently viewed as collateral damage by many countries, if not most.

I have no desire to go on a large cruise, but I don't think those that did deserve a death sentence.

27 March 2020, 03:59 PM

Mikhailoh

We love cruises. A great way to see a lot of places without packing up and checking in and out all the time.

I was going to say this might be a longer cruise already at sea.

I wish them well.

27 March 2020, 04:02 PM

Beyond the current problem, cruise ships deposit thousands of gallons of waste debris daily IN OUR OCEANS.

They should be banned.

27 March 2020, 04:10 PM

wtg

Good point about the timeline, Nina. It just seems like the virus has been with us forever. I looked up when the cases in my town were. I would have sworn they were back in early February but they were announced March 2nd.

An eternity. Or so it seems.