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I work as a home based travel consultant. I've been doing this for 12 years and only book friends. I am an avid cruiser and love to help people plan their vacations. Yesterday, I contacted everyone I have booked until the end of May. Most cruise lines have offered a generous offer if you want to postpone your cruise. Usually if your cruise is paid in full you are charged penalties if you cancel before your cruise. Those were eliminated by most cruise lines yesterday. I'm still waiting to hear from Cunard Cruises.
Two years ago my cousins planned a 14 day back to back Caribbean cruise in April. They are flying to Florida and boarding the Symphony of the Seas, a gorgeous Royal Caribbean mega ship. They are deciding whether to go or not. Royal Caribbean have offered all the money paid on their cruise to be used as a future cruise credit before the end of 2021. However, they got a great deal and I'm sure if they rebook prices could be up.
My friends are asking me what I would do. I would wait until the last minute to make a decision, just in case this virus is eliminated. It would also depend where the cruise was. If I had to take an airplane, I would be concerned about the closed cabin and others on the plane who could be carrying the virus. If my cruise is overseas, I would be worried about someone getting the virus on my cruise, being quarantined in a cabin and then taken off and being quarantined again in a foreign country. It's not an easy decision and I've told everyone I spoke to give it a bit of time. Now they know their options.
I will cruise again for sure. When this virus has been contained, I will watch for cruise specials. If it's during Alaska season, I can go last minute and will! If anyone is interested in bargain cruises message me and I'll add you to my list. I will never sail in another inside cabin. I use to book inside cabins, but now I will be booking balconies only.
If you want to read another good article on COVID-19. I thought this was excellent:
I'm a doctor and an Infectious Diseases Specialist. I've been at this for more than 20 years seeing sick patients on a daily basis. I have worked in inner city hospitals and in the poorest slums of Africa. HIV-AIDS, Hepatitis,TB, SARS, Measles, Shingles, Whooping cough, Diphtheria...there is little I haven't been exposed to in my profession. And with notable exception of SARS, very little has left me feeling vulnerable, overwhelmed or downright scared.
I am not scared of Covid-19. I am concerned about the implications of a novel infectious agent that has spread the world over and continues to find new footholds in different soil. I am rightly concerned for the welfare of those who are elderly, in frail health or disenfranchised who stand to suffer mostly, and disproportionately, at the hands of this new scourge. But I am not scared of Covid-19.
What I am scared about is the loss of reason and wave of fear that has induced the masses of society into a spellbinding spiral of panic, stockpiling obscene quantities of anything that could fill a bomb shelter adequately in a post-apocalyptic world. I am scared of the N95 masks that are stolen from hospitals and urgent care clinics where they are actually needed for front line healthcare providers and instead are being donned in airports, malls, and coffee lounges, perpetuating even more fear and suspicion of others. I am scared that our hospitals will be overwhelmed with anyone who thinks they " probably don't have it but may as well get checked out no matter what because you just never know..." and those with heart failure, emphysema, pneumonia and strokes will pay the price for overfilled ER waiting rooms with only so many doctors and nurses to assess.
I am scared that travel restrictions will become so far reaching that weddings will be canceled, graduations missed and family reunions will not materialize. And well, even that big party called the Olympic Games...that could be kyboshed too. Can you even
imagine?
I'm scared those same epidemic fears will limit trade, harm partnerships in multiple sectors, business and otherwise and ultimately culminate in a global recession.
But mostly, I'm scared about what message we are telling our kids when faced with a threat. Instead of reason, rationality, open mindedness and altruism, we are telling them to panic, be fearful, suspicious, reactionary and self-interested.
Covid-19 is nowhere near over. It will be coming to a city, a hospital, a friend, even a family member near you at some point. Expect it. Stop waiting to be surprised further. The fact is the virus itself will not likely do much harm when it arrives. But our own behaviors and "fight for yourself above all else" attitude could prove disastrous.
I implore you all. Temper fear with reason, panic with patience and uncertainty with education. We have an opportunity to learn a great deal about health hygiene and limiting the spread of innumerable transmissible diseases in our society. Let's meet this challenge together in the best spirit of compassion for others, patience, and above all, an unfailing effort to seek truth, facts and knowledge as opposed to conjecture, speculation and catastrophizing.
Facts not fear. Clean hands. Open hearts.
Our children will thank us for it.
