Bertram's logbook

Cruising in times of Corona

Actually, I shouldn't even be here. So not here, at my desk in cold and wet Vienna. Instead, I wanted to spend this week cruising through the southern Chilean summer, admiring fjords, watching icebergs calve - and above all enjoying the new HANSEATIC nature. Why didn't that happen and why is there no impressive whale appearing outside my balcony window, just a stupid pigeon cooing? Because of Milan. Although it is 8,691 km away from Wuhan, the epicenter of the corona epidemic, it is now also considered a high-risk area.

"Until further notice, guests and crew members who have been in China, Iran, South Korea or the Italian regions of Veneto or Lombardy in the last 30 days before the start of their journey will unfortunately not be able to travel on board (...)," said an email from Hapag Lloyd Cruises that reached me two days before my planned departure. Disbelieving amazement - after all, I was only in Italy for a single day - was soon followed by the realization that there is currently no other way for cruise lines worldwide to protect themselves and the people on board. After all, who wants to risk another drama like the one that took place on the Diamond Princess? Almost 620 passengers and crew members fell ill during the forced quarantine in the port of Yokohama, and six even died from the virus.
Anyone who continues to believe that even radical precautionary measures are excessive in view of these figures, or who is toying with the idea of not providing completely honest information before departure, is risking human lives and also contributing to the possibility of unpleasant scenes like those that took place just a few days ago in La Reunion: Fearing the approximately 2,000 passengers who wanted to dock on the dream island with the Sun Princess, locals had set fire to several garbage cans in the port area. They wanted to prevent excursion buses and cabs from reaching the ship.

It almost sounds like a mockery when Helge Grammerstorf, director of the cruise association CLIA, claims in an interview with "Welt am Sonntag" that "cruisers have a healthy composure". In addition to strict travel bans (even if they can affect you personally), it is also important for the shipping companies to take the concerns and uncertainties on board and ashore seriously and respond to them responsibly. With sentences such as "Frequently used surfaces such as elevator buttons, handrails or the railing will be disinfected even more frequently than before. (...) In view of the comprehensive preventive measures, we assume that we have done everything necessary" does not do justice to the current situation. It is actually frightening that the director of the association that represents the interests of more than 50 of the world's largest cruise operators should be allowed to make such statements ...

Cruising in times of Corona

Jörg Bertram

BEITRÄGE

The current CC highlights

Rating - The best hotels

The world of CC Print

Friends of the Caribbean

Hospitality Awards

CC Top tip

CC VIP

Current competition

Unsere Partner