Coronavirus : general discussion focussed on the impact on the cruise industry

[Rob Lightbody]

As I type this, 6000 people are locked down on board Costa Smeralda in Italy, due to their being sick passengers on board who had visited Wuhan.  They only boarded on the 25th.

Thinking it through, they really need to quarantine the whole ship for 2 weeks.  However if any passenger subsequently does show symptoms, that 2-week incubation starts again - another 2 weeks - and so on, so they'd better hope that confining those poor passengers to quarters works...  Also the ship had already visited a number of ports during the cruise...

I have fairly rapidly come to the conclusion that cruising isn't really possible at the current time, and I'm not the only one - Carnival shares are down 7% already.   

[June Ingram]

Scary situation.  Most likely, other ships will also be affected. 

[cunardqueen]

I remember on one med cruise on QE2 there were a few passengers suffering from l guess the noro virus . One passenger was opposite me on 3 deck , his cabin had been cleaned and he had the view he had paid a lot of money for the cruise and wasnt going to be confined to his cabin for several days .

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

The suspected passengers had the flu, and everyone has now disembarked.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/30/6000-passengers-stuck-on-cruise-ship-in-italy-over-coronavirus-fears

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2020/01/30/coronavirus-costa-cruise-ship-passengers-held-onboard-amid-tests/4618718002/

They are right to follow the proper protocols...

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

Another cruise ship affected : Diamond Princess this time, quarantined in Yokohama.

https://japantoday.com/category/national/Japan-begins-screening-3-700-cruise-ship-passengers-and-crew-in-Yokohama?

Yes indeed, this is not an easy time for cruise ships... not flights, I would imagine.

[Rob Lightbody]

Another cruise ship affected : Diamond Princess this time, quarantined in Yokohama.

Not looking good. They're all confined to their cabins...  Cruise ships are a unique problem... Lots of people, altogether, travelling from place to place...  I'd be wondering if the air conditioning can spread it from cabin to cabin...

Coronavirus: cruise ship carrying 3,700 quarantined in Japan after 10 test positive

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/05/coronavirus-cruise-ship-carrying-3700-quarantined-in-japan-after-10-test-positive

https://twitter.com/PrincessCruises/status/1224847799885402112

[Andy Holloway]

The suspected passengers had the flu, and everyone has now disembarked.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/30/6000-passengers-stuck-on-cruise-ship-in-italy-over-coronavirus-fears

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2020/01/30/coronavirus-costa-cruise-ship-passengers-held-onboard-amid-tests/4618718002/

They are right to follow the proper protocols...

Oh to have been nearby on the jetty  to witness the Mayor and Harbour Master having their heated argument, arms everywhere!

[Rob Lightbody]

"World Dream" now affected too, docked in Hong Kong.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/05/asia/coronavirus-cruise-quarantines-intl-hnk/index.html

[Chris Thompson]

I'd be wondering if the air conditioning can spread it from cabin to cabin...

Good point there Rob, I remember from my time working on ships the incredible speed at which Colds and Tummy bugs would circulate. When starting a new contract it always seemed that I would get sick in the first week or two. Of course then we did not have the profusion of sanitary hand cleaning stations that I see everywhere...

[Rob Lightbody]

QM2 to skip Hong Kong

https://thepointsguy.com/news/coronavirus-asia-cruises/

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

10 more cases on the Diamond Princess, quarantined off the Japanese coast. And now the Westerdam, approaching Japan, seems to have possible cases on board too...

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/02/06/national/science-health/japan-10-more-coronavirus-cases-quarantined-cruise-ship/

[Thomas Hypher]

QM2 to skip Hong Kong

https://thepointsguy.com/news/coronavirus-asia-cruises/

Speaking to passengers who'd disembarked QM2 in Dubai on that section of her current world cruise, then come to stay on QE2 last week. They said QM2 was heading to Singapore instead unless things increase in severity further.

[Rob Lightbody]

https://twitter.com/poetVecheslaff/status/1225517502156988416

The full article is here :

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2020/02/06/coronavirus-cruise-ship-denied-by-japan-philippines-holland-america/4676988002/

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200207_21/?fbclid=IwAR3pIKzPxS0M-LoQUYXDQx58Mzc7avL6vCo8sQpQ3jg2G51uECOa_uAt80s

41 more affected passengers taken off Diamond Princess. Are they beginning to infect each other?

[Chris Thompson]

41 more affected passengers taken off Diamond Princess. Are they beginning to infect each other?

Exactly what I've been thinking Isabelle, it's all very well confining pax to a ship but to stop a spread of infection they should be confined to cabins! Regarding my earlier comment, how far can the virus travel airborne via the AC?