Diamond Princess leaves Japan for Malaysia

There is no way I'd book a cruise, now or five years from now. Ever before the pandemic, there were countless instances of norovirus on cruise ships. They just seem like giant petri dishes.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/after-months-norovirus-outbreaks-cruise-ships-smoothie-finally-implicated-n1190031

For the life of me I can not imagine anyone wanting to take a cruise anywhere right now!

I feel for the people who have to work on those ships!

Hasan Minhaj's Patriot Act segment on The Real Cost of Cruises on YouTube or Netflix is worth 22 minutes of your time. The industry is not only hazardous to passengers' health but exploits the workers.

I could never understand why people want to spend two or three months on those things. Going from Dover to Calais, was long enough.

Can we now stop hearing and reading about "...including the 700 coronavirus cases from the Diamond Princess docked in Yokohama harbor" in every article related to this virus?

Have never taken a cruise before in my time & will never now.

Having been on a couple of cruises I can understand concerns but they do provide good value for money and, from the point of view of non-seamen staff, provide employment that they might otherwise find hard to get in their native countries. Also, when I worked in a maritime organisation, crews' wages were laid down in accordance with internationally agreed labour wages, which admittedly did vary with where the labour came from.

I thought it has already gone. No one would embark for cruise travel for years.

@The Avenger

There is no way I'd book a cruise

You don't know what you are missing out.

@Yubaru

For the life of me I can not imagine anyone wanting to take a cruise anywhere right now!

55% of people whose cruise got cancelled are taking the credit to rebook instead of refunds.

@Paul

I could never understand why people want to spend two or three months on those things. 

This is the most convenient and luxurious way to travel around the world, if you are talking about three month world cruises. I hope to do one before I die one day, presumably after retirement.

@m6bob

Have never taken a cruise before in my time & will never now.

You don't know what you are missing out.

Cruise ships are nothing more than floating toilets full of deadly bacteria and viruses. The cruise companies are no different than any other slimy corporation today. Profit first, customers and employees last.

I tried to understand why all the negativity toward cruising here by looking at the ships based in Japan.

Looks like ships based in Japan are older, smaller ships 20 years old or older. Not only there are only a handful of cruise ships sailing out of Japan to begin with, but they are not quite upto latest ships.

The Diamond Princess was the biggest ship based in Japan and this ship pails compares to 160,000 ton+ behemoths based in East Coast US; these are literally floating integrated luxury resorts where all your fine dining, entertainment, gambling, pampering, and sleeping needs are taken care of for a price of ticket.

In one of these ships, running around the ship's built-in running track constitutes a 1 km run.

They'll probably have to rename it, many potential guests will avoid it like the plague!

Anyone who gets on one of these floating petri-dishes in the future should be made to sign a waiver stating that their government - or any govt - is not liable to rescue them when the ship is docked half way around the world with a deadly virus rampant on board.

Taxpayers everywhere have spent a fortune bailing out these people who in many cases recklessly decided to take a cruise in the middle of a pandemic.

The cruise industry is a legal business and should not be vilified. If there are proper measures for passenger safety then its time to restart.

Can we now stop hearing and reading about "...including the 700 coronavirus cases from the Diamond Princess docked in Yokohama harbor" in every article related to this virus?

One can only hope! But I wouldn't hold my breath as nearly every news broadcast continues to include their numbers, as if it really matters NOW!

The cruise industry is a legal business and should not be vilified. If there are proper measures for passenger safety then its time to restart.

Not "villified?" you say? They are floating petri dishes and are deserving of all the complaints that get tossed on them.

There is NO WAY possible to have safety from a virus like this, on cruise ships that large, many with over 5,000 people. They should never be allowed into any port in the world, with passengers, until this virus either burns out, and/or a viable vaccination is made available for everyone!

I'd like to go on a cruise someday.

I should like to point out the Petri dish or plate is a normal component found in every biological laboratory. It is used to grow cultures of cells in a deliberate manner and under controlled conditions. As such, assuming normal laboratory protocol is being followed, NO-ONE becomes infected; therefore the "floating petri dish" misnomer is erroneously applied.

We can't really help it, many people are just dumb.

They don't wanna go on a cruise due to the off chance that there might be another pandemic when they do.

I guess they don't ride planes for sure because the chances of planes falling out of the sky are multiple times greater than the tines of another pandemic happening again.

I have never been attracted to cruises, and would never have gone on one even prior to this virus outbreak. So I am definitely not an apologist for the cruise industry, and in fact I regard the practices of many cruise companies as reprehensible on all kinds of issues.

That said, I find it interesting to consider the risks of cruising. While over 700 caught the virus (and some died), in fact almost 3,000 apparently remained healthy - the vast majority. This suggests that despite the highly infectious nature of this virus, more people don't catch it than do. I had a relative in New York who had it (survived well, and didn't even need medical treatment, though he was pretty unwell for a week or so)... but neither of his two flat mates caught it.

So despite the suffering and death for many, even in a highly prejudiced setting such as a cruise or a small apartment, with some basic hygiene practices, most people won't catch a virus which is circulating. Sadly, I think the future of cruising long term is guaranteed - though I reiterate that those sharks will never get a cent of my money :)

It seems to me that people who really love cruise ships really love them. I don't see the industry dying out. But, I hope that there are enough people for it to remain a viable industry. And, they need to clean up their act...or...er...their boats, for sure. Of course, it is going to take a while for them to recover. I wish the industry well.