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Of the more than 2000 aboard the Disney Magic, less than 200 are ill with a very annoying (but NOT life threatening) virus. For those that are ill, they will be compensated with either a refund or a free future cruise, and prior to the cruise the passengers were advised of the illness aboard the Magic's previous cruise and were given the option to cancel with a full refund or rebook on a future cruise. About 4% took one of these options.
In this day and age when you can get sued for accidently bumping into someone and spilling their coffee, I think the cruise lines deserve a little credit for their handling of the situation.
Yes, they probably could do better, but that'll come the next time there is an outbreak. After all, hindsight is 20/20. Remember, that while the Norwalk virus is common (about 180,000 cases a year in America), an outbreak of this intensity on so many ships (Ryndam, Statendam, Amsterdam, Disney Magic and now apparently the Arcadia) is unusual if not (in my memory) unheard of.
People are so quick to criticize and condemn when something happens yet have painfully short memories of real scandals and tragedies of the past: "Those terrible cruise ships harming the environment" ... what about those coal burning liners of yesteryear? "The horrible cruise lines allowing the spread of viruses" ... doesn't anyone recall the quarantining of a P&O liner in the early 70's in Vancouver? "Those inept people responible for the Sun Vista disaster" ... remember the Titanic?
For every single "sin" that cruise lines are responsible for I can quote you a dozen worse things that have occurred in the past. Much worse. And while I'm not condoning any illegal dumping, hesitation in responding to viruses or negligence resulting in accidents, I do think cruise lines have come a long way. Remember also that the current standards of acceptable conduct has been raised to a much higher level and rightly so.
So for those who are angered by the cruise lines' response to this unprecedented outbreak, chill out and think back to yesteryear - and get a little perspective.
Sorry for the rant (but boy do I feel better! )
Regards, Kaiser
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