Despite horror stories, California cruise passengers won't let
coronavirus spoil their fun
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[February 22, 2020]
By Steve Gorman
LONG BEACH, Calif. (Reuters) - With a white
captain's hat perched on his head, Calvin Ballard seemed relaxed as he
waited to depart on his first-ever cruise to Mexico, unfazed by the
possibility of being trapped on a ship under siege by an outbreak of
coronavirus.
Like many fellow vacationers streaming onto an ocean liner docked near
Los Angeles, Ballard said he was well aware that passengers aboard other
cruises had ended up stranded for weeks, far from home, and he vowed to
take special care to stay healthy. Nonetheless, he was determined to
have a good time.
"What we're planning on doing is washing our hands often, trying not to
touch things and then touch our mouths, and just being aware of how we
come into contact with people - the smart stuff," the 55-year-old asset
manager from Orange, California, said cheerfully. "We're focusing on
enjoying ourselves."
Ballard and his wife, Judy, 50, sporting a sailor's cap, were among some
2,350 Carnival Cruise Line passengers who departed on Thursday from the
Port of Long Beach on a three-day voyage to the resort city of Ensenada
on Mexico's Baja coast.
From those pausing for interviews with Reuters just outside the
terminal, it was clear most passengers had packed extra hand sanitizer
with their sunscreen and would likely approach the food buffet lines
with greater trepidation than in the past.
All readily acknowledged that the coronavirus scare and stories of
cruise ships under quarantine in Cambodia and Japan were not far from
their minds.
"We've all heard the horror stories," said Andrew MacKenzie, 37, from
Napa, California, as he waited with a buddy before boarding the Carnival
Imagination.
But all professed they had made peace with the idea of being herded into
relatively close quarters with hundreds of strangers, and were resolved
to follow meticulous hand hygiene and keep a safe distance from anyone
who appeared sick.
Embarking passengers said they also took comfort knowing their North
American getaway was far from the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic,
which has infected more than 75,000 people and killed over 2,200. The
overwhelming bulk of cases and deaths are in China.
"Hopefully we'll be just fine," said Shirley Sosin, 67, traveling with
her friend, Bernadette Neve, 53, both of them registered nurses from
Fresno.
They booked their trip well before the coronavirus outbreak but felt
reassured by steps Carnival said it has instituted to minimize the risk,
including more rigorous pre-cruise health screenings and "enhanced
onboard sanitation measures."
A central precaution is a strict prohibition against any passengers or
crew who have been to China, Hong Kong or Macau during the previous 14
days - the presumed incubation period of the virus. The cruise line
promised full refunds for passengers denied boarding.
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CRUISE EARNINGS TAKE A HIT
Although the carrier said it is operating as usual in North America
and Australia, its parent, Carnival Corp <CCL.N>, the world's
largest cruise ship company, is taking a major hit from coronavirus-related
disruptions of its business in Asia.
The company, which ended 2019 with adjusted earnings per share of
$4.40, has projected its 2020 financial performance will be
diminished by 55 to 65 cents a share, including passenger
compensation for canceled bookings.
Paul Meade, 57, a resident of Lincolnshire, England, capping a
family visit to Utah with a quick trip to Mexico, said he and his
wife were "following the (coronavirus) story on the news."
"But a three-day cruise from L.A., I don't think there's anything to
worry about," he said. "We do know the precautions for good hygiene,
and we practice them anyway, so I don't think there's reason to be
overly concerned."
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at
Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, agreed
there was little to fear from coronavirus, in light of precautions
taken by cruise lines.
"The risk of someone getting the flu is infinitely greater than the
risk of getting coronavirus if you're cruising in the Western
Hemisphere, or even to Hawaii," he said.
Schaffner said cruise lines have done much in recent years to
improve disinfectant measures and training of personnel in good
hygiene, reducing the frequency of onboard outbreaks of food-borne
and respiratory illnesses.
Nevertheless, he said diligent hand-washing, proper covering of
coughs and sneezes and self-reporting of illnesses are key to
curtailing germs, including seasonal flu and norovirus, a severe
intestinal disease that has been particularly troublesome at sea.
Coronavirus is spread primarily through tiny droplets coughed or
sneezed directly from an infected person into the face of someone
nearby, as opposed to the more contagious "airborne" transmission of
a virus like measles, which can remain suspended in enclosed spaces
and be breathed in hours after being exhaled by sick individuals,
Schaffner said.
Although coronavirus can also be picked up from surfaces, droplet
spread is seen as its principal vector, so "widespread disinfection
is unlikely to be effective" in curbing its transmission, according
to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance.
Overall, the risk of contracting coronavirus on a cruise in North
America remains "very, very low," Schaffner said, adding that his
advice to someone expressing an interest in taking such a trip: "Bon
voyage."
(Reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Long Beach; additional
reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank McGurty
and Daniel Wallis)
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