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Russell writes…
Welcome to another day at sea. We have left Sydney and we are now en route to Tasmania.
People have commented that they enjoy our little cruise map, so we’ve enhanced it. We will start contrasting our actual route compared with our route BC (“Before Coronavirus”).
Coronavirus continues to be in the news and on the minds of passengers. In Sydney yesterday, the newspapers reported the first Australian death from the virus. While we were walking through town, Russell started coughing. Gail remarked, “You probably look very suspicious right now.”
Cruise Critic has published a comprehensive update of what each cruise line is doing about the Coronavirus situation. Here is CC’s snapshot of Regent:
Between now and April 8, 2020, Regent Seven Seas Cruises is denying boarding to passengers and crew who have visited China, Hong Kong and Macau in the 30 days before embarkation. Anyone denied boarding for this reason will be issued a refund when they provide proof of travel.The line has implemented nontouch temperature screenings for all embarking passengers and anyone who registers a body temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) or higher will not be allowed to board. The line has also rolled out enhanced disinfection programs onboard all voyages.
Any traveler – passenger or crew – holding a Chinese, Hong Kong or Macau passport will not be allowed to board any of Regent Seven Seas' ships, regardless of residency.
In Sydney, somewhere between 250-300 Mariner passengers disembarked, while between 120-150 new passengers came aboard. Many passengers originally scheduled through Singapore also departed here, as we are no longer going to Singapore. As a result, our ship is now less populated than it was a few days ago. We figure there are currently about 450 passengers aboard this 700-passenger ship. There are 466 crew – we may have more crew than passengers aboard ship right now!
The word is that our current itinerary is confirmed and solid through Abu Dhabi (Apr 8). Regent headquarters in Miami is probably waiting to see how things develop before they make any further itinerary changes. One of our blog readers is scheduled to come aboard in Italy; she tells us that Regent won’t confirm her air travel until March 14. We imagine that we will similarly hear an update in mid-March. (Thanks Elaine!)
Beginning today, we have two new lecturers. In addition to Terry Bishop (who is here for the entire world cruise), we have author Mary Atkins and disaster manager William Lokey.
We also have new entertainers. We have already had dinner with Carl Doy, one of New Zealand’s premiere pianists. He has sold a million records and is a favorite of Oprah Winfrey. Tonight we saw virtuoso Danny Elliott. We were already impressed when he played a half-dozen different instruments… and then he started tap dancing!
Our world cruise continues, though our path may diverge from its original course. Cruise director Andy jokingly refers to it as the “Magical Mystery Tour.” It is indeed occasionally a mystery… but still very magical.
